Contents
- 1 Chelsea Flower Show 2026: The Big Trends
- 2 Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year 2026
- 3 Previous Chelsea Plant of the Year Winners – That We Actually Sell
- 4 The Plant Chelsea Always Loves: Clematis
- 5 The 2026 Chelsea Trends You Can Recreate at Home
- 6 Inspired by Chelsea? Here’s What to Do Next
- 7 A Final Word on Chelsea
RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026 | Plant Trends | Best Plants for UK Gardens | Buy Clematis, Roses, Salvias & More
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026 has thrown open its gates for another year, and the early reports from press day are – as ever – making the rest of us simultaneously inspired and slightly dissatisfied with our own perfectly decent gardens. Running from 19–23 May at the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London, this year’s 113th edition is already shaping up to be a proper feast. More colour than in recent years, a renewed confidence in traditional planting, and enough clematis, roses and salvias to make even the most jaded gardener reach for their trowel.
So what are the early talking points? And – more usefully – which of the plants causing a stir at Chelsea can you actually grow at home? Here’s our guide, hot off the press.
Chelsea Flower Show 2026: The Big Trends
Colour is back – properly back
After a few years of muted, tasteful palettes, Chelsea 2026 is delivering a riot of colour that feels genuinely cheering. Designers and growers are attributing the vibrancy in part to the warm spring, which means plants are in glorious full bloom rather than frowning at their wellies. Lupins, delphiniums, alliums and salvias are everywhere, alongside bold iris in reds and oranges and clouds of roses.
“There is more colour,” says multi-award-winning designer Sarah Eberle. “Maybe people feel we all need cheering up.” Hard to argue with that.
Naturalistic planting is firmly in the mainstream
The loose, flowing, naturalistic style that has been building at Chelsea for several years is now simply how good gardens look. Show gardens feature perennials, grasses and wildflower-inspired planting mingled together rather than arranged in neat rows – which is rather good news for those of us who find formal bedding a bit exhausting. The emphasis is firmly on plants that support wildlife and pollinators, with more than half of UK gardeners now saying they’ve changed their gardening habits to help nature.
Japanese-inspired design is making a strong showing
Four of the nine large show gardens draw directly from Japanese design traditions – calm, considered, with water, stone and beautifully chosen plants working together. A welcome antidote to the relentless pressure to fill every inch.
Roses are having a moment
Roses are absolutely everywhere at Chelsea 2026, and not just in the traditional sense. David Austin has unveiled the much-anticipated Sir David Beckham rose – a soft blush variety with golden stamens – while Harkness Roses has launched five new varieties including the wildlife-friendly ‘Parkinson’s Resilience’. Whether you’re a classic rambling rose person or more of a modern shrub rose devotee, Chelsea is confirming that roses are very much having their moment.
Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year 2026
Already announced on press day, this year’s Plant of the Year goes to Hosta ‘Red Ninja’ – described as the world’s first truly red-variegated hosta, a colour apparently long sought after by breeders. Compact, hardy to -23°C and suited to partial sun, it’s genuinely quite a breakthrough. Runners-up are Hydrangea paniculata Groundbreaker Ruby (a ground-covering form whose flowers deepen from white through pink to ruby-red) and Hydrangea ‘Velvet Night Red Lace’, with its striking near-black foliage.
Interesting plants all – though perhaps not ones that immediately change what you’d plant this weekend.
Previous Chelsea Plant of the Year Winners – That We Actually Sell
This is where it gets properly useful. The Chelsea Plant of the Year award has an excellent track record of spotlighting plants that really do perform brilliantly in UK gardens – and several recent winners are very much in our range.
Agapanthus Black Jack (2024 Winner)
That near-black budded African lily that caused such a stir at Chelsea 2024. The buds emerge almost black before opening to deep violet-blue, on elegant arching stems above a mound of glossy, strap-like leaves. Architectural, dramatic, and absolutely magnificent in pots or a sunny border. We stock a lovely range of agapanthus – and if you haven’t yet tried them, this year is the moment.
Growing tips: Full sun, very well-drained soil. They adore pots and gravel gardens. Give them a little water in dry spells during summer, and allow up to five years for full flowering potential. Worth every moment of the wait.
Philadelphus Petite Perfume Pink (2025 Winner)
Last year’s winner was the world’s first pink-flowered philadelphus – a genuine breakthrough in breeding that rather confirmed what we’ve known for years: that no garden should be without a mock orange. We stock two outstanding varieties:
- Philadelphus Belle Etoile – single white flowers with a purple eye, intensely fragrant, and superb as an informal hedge or specimen shrub. A favourite of gardeners for generations, and rightly so.
- Philadelphus Virginal – the finest double-flowered philadelphus in cultivation, covering itself in large, heavily scented white blossom in June. Clips well and makes an extraordinary informal hedging plant.
Neither is pink, admittedly – but both are far more useful in a real garden than a show novelty, and the scent alone is worth planting for.
The Plant Chelsea Always Loves: Clematis
Few plants enjoy Chelsea as thoroughly as the clematis. Every year, without fail, they’re scrambling through show garden shrubs, tumbling over walls, and threading themselves through roses with that particular brand of effortless elegance that takes rather more effort than it looks. This year is no exception – with clematis featuring prominently across the Great Pavilion and show gardens alike, including three new container varieties from renowned breeder Raymond Evison.
If there’s one plant that gives you the most flower for the least fuss in June and beyond, it’s hard to argue against a good clematis.
Why clematis works so well:
The beauty of clematis is its versatility. Grow one through a philadelphus – the contrast of rich colour against those great clouds of white scented blossom is rather wonderful. Let a late-flowering viticella scramble up through a rose once the first flush is done, extending the season into August and September. Train one up a wall, over a fence, or through a tree. There are varieties for every situation, every colour palette, and every level of ambition.
We stock a huge range of clematis – from the classic large-flowered varieties beloved of Chelsea, to the more delicate viticellas, the evergreen armandii, and the charming small-flowered species types.
A few of our favourites for June planting:
- Large-flowered varieties for walls and fences, in shades from deep purple to pale lavender, rich red and pure white
- Viticella types for scrambling through shrubs and roses – extremely vigorous, very floriferous, and virtually indestructible
- Late-flowering varieties to extend the season well into autumn
The 2026 Chelsea Trends You Can Recreate at Home
Based on what was turning heads at Chelsea this year, here are the plants worth seeking out – and that we can help with.
Salvias
Salvias were, by all accounts, galore at Chelsea 2026. Both the hardy herbaceous types (like the classic Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna‘, with its near-black stems and violet-blue spikes) and the more tender varieties were everywhere. They pair beautifully with ornamental grasses, bloom for months, and are magnets for bees and butterflies. We stock a hand-picked selection of the best varieties.
Roses
Chelsea confirmed what rose lovers already knew: there is no substitute. Whether you want a rambling rose to cover a fence or wall, a classic hybrid tea for cutting, or a modern shrub rose for a mixed border, our rose range covers the full spectrum. And if you haven’t ordered your bareroot roses for autumn planting yet – now is exactly the right time. Order now and lock in last year’s prices.
Dahlias
Dark, saturated dahlias are very much the Chelsea look right now – deep burgundy, near-black foliage, dramatic dinner-plate flowers from July to frost. If you haven’t got your dahlia tubers in yet, do it now. The soil is warm and they’ll reward you lavishly from late summer onwards.
Wisteria and Clematis as Climbers
Climbers were having a significant moment at Chelsea 2026 – with wisteria, clematis and roses being used together to create layered, multi-season vertical planting. A clematis growing through an established wisteria, flowering once the wisteria has finished, is one of the best tricks in the book for extending interest on a wall or pergola.
Inspired by Chelsea? Here’s What to Do Next
Chelsea always leaves a long wishlist. Here’s how to act on it sensibly:
Plant now (June is ideal): Clematis, lavender, salvias, dahlias, cosmos, perennials. The soil is warm, the days are long, and plants will establish beautifully before any summer dry spells arrive.
Pre-order for autumn: We’ll soon be taking pre-orders for bareroot hedging, trees, roses and fruit plants for autumn and winter planting – at last year’s prices. Bareroot plants are the best value and the best way to establish a new hedge or tree, and ordering early guarantees availability.
Order spring bulbs now for September despatch: Alliums, tulips, narcissi – the bulbs that give Chelsea those moments of effortless early-season drama. Order now while the best varieties are available, ready to despatch from September.
A Final Word on Chelsea
There’s something quietly important about Chelsea, beyond the spectacle. It’s an annual reminder that plants matter – that a good garden is one of life’s genuine pleasures, and that there is always something new to discover, something worth growing, something that will flower and surprise you. The show runs until Saturday 23rd May, and if you haven’t watched any coverage yet, BBC Two has it every evening at 8pm and BBC One from 2pm daily. Whether you’re watching from the sofa with a cup of tea or lucky enough to be there in person, we hope it leaves you feeling the same way it does us every year: slightly overwhelmed, thoroughly inspired, and very glad indeed to have a garden.
Now go and plant something.
This year’s Plant of the Year was awarded to Hosta ‘Red Ninja’, described as the world’s first truly red-variegated hosta. Runners-up were Hydrangea paniculata Groundbreaker Ruby and Hydrangea ‘Velvet Night Red Lace’.
The 2025 Plant of the Year was Philadelphus Petite Perfume Pink – the world’s first truly pink-flowered mock orange, which secured a landslide victory with 43% of the judges’ votes. If the pink philadelphus caught your eye, our Philadelphus Belle Etoile and Virginal are both outstanding garden performers with exceptional scent.
Colour was the big story – lupins, delphiniums, salvias, alliums and roses in abundance. Naturalistic, wildlife-friendly planting continued to dominate the show gardens, alongside a strong showing of clematis, ornamental grasses and Japanese-inspired design. Roses were everywhere, with several major new launches from David Austin and Harkness.
Chelsea Flower Show 2026 runs from 19–23 May at the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London. Coverage is on BBC Two each evening at 8pm and BBC One from 2pm daily, and available on BBC iPlayer.
Container-grown clematis can be planted at almost any time of year, but spring and early autumn are ideal – the soil is warm enough for roots to establish without the stress of summer heat or winter cold. If you’re planting in summer, water well and keep an eye on moisture levels for the first few weeks.
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