PROFILE
…with star of the show Clare Matterson, director general of the Royal Horticultural Society
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024 is just around the corner. This must be a mad month for you…
It is! We have the biggest spreadsheet in the world, listing every single event and feature, and who’s doing what, when and how. It’s constantly being reviewed and updated as the show comes together. I cycle down to the site for at least two half-days during the final week of build-up to chat with the designers and watch the show gardens taking shape. There’s so much going on – trucks reversing, water being pumped and hundreds of people milling around in hi-vis jackets. Health and safety is top priority.
So what happens when the first show day dawns?
My diary on the first two days runs from 6am to 11pm, starting with a fundraising breakfast and running through press interviews, ministerial visits, escorting the royal party, the president’s lunch and much, much more. Later in the week, I talk to every exhibitor in the Great Pavilion. Chelsea is an incredibly fun and exciting week but, of course, exhibitors are on their feet all day, so I ask them how they’re doing and what support they need.
Chelsea has always been well attended by the royals. What’s it like walking a monarch around the show?
Last year was my first Chelsea as director general, and I escorted the Queen. She’s a keen gardener, like her husband. Both of them are happy to get their hands in the soil, so they are interested to hear about the gardens. I just have to make sure I introduce them to the right people and remember everyone’s names! Because everyone they meet wants to say so much, it can be achallenge to keep the party moving so that we don’t leave someone out.
What are the particular highlights for you at this year’s show?
We’ve heard there’s a No Adults Allowed garden… Yes, as well as repeating the children’s picnic that we started last year, we are unveiling an RHS show garden designed for children by pupils at a west London primary school. They have included aden and a water slide and called it the No Adults Allowed garden. I’ve had to use my negotiating skills to see whether we might get some special passes to go in! Children will be judging the show gardens this year, too – let’s see how their opinions compare with those of the real judges…
Would your own children be interested in the show gardens?
I have 21-year-old twins, Louis and Lily, and one garden I’m sure my skateboarding daughter will be excited about is the Planet Good Earth garden, an edible skate park with a granite skate ramp
