Behind the scenes of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, top garden designers employ secret strategies to achieve perfection. Multi-award winner Sarah Eberle, with 19 gold medals, uses an artist to paint over damage on rocks, trees, or plants. Her team of helpers uses scissors, tweezers, and dusters to prepare plants.
Australian designer Katerina Kantalis keeps plants in their pots, combining multiple pots to create the illusion of a single mature plant. This saves time, with pots hidden under soil and mulch.
Lucy Hutchings of She Grows Veg welcomes rain, as it drives crowds into the Great Pavilion where her exhibit is located. She also highlights the luxury of a chair, with exhibitors forbidden from having one on their stand, so they use hidden chairs backstage with a rota.
Phil Johnson of English Sweet Peas describes the painstaking preparation of seeds, individually packing hundreds of packets into envelopes. Max Parker-Smith notes the collaborative spirit, with designers helping each other despite the competition. His garden's plants will go to Kensington Gardens and hard landscaping to Longleat.
Alex Michaelis, co-designer of The Eden Project garden, describes the build teams working through the night to perfect every detail. He likens Chelsea to a mini-city with a bustling community that pulls together when things go wrong.
