2008 CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW
in the Great Pavilion

Notcutts are proud of their heritage as one of the first ever exhibitors with The Chelsea Flower Show. Over the years Notcutts have won an unprecedented 49 Gold Medals. An achievement that we are honoured to have worked to whilst continually striving to better.

The Notcutts exhibit for the 2008 Chelsea Flower Show was an embodiment of many of the different requirements demanded of a contemporary garden. This combined the excitement of flowering plants of contrasting colours displayed together in a small garden setting, with the increasingly important world of growing your own vegetables.

The exhibit was in association with NS & I, one of the UK's largest savings providers. NS & I was an ideal partner as it is a key supporter of the RHS's 'Grow Your Own Veg' Campaign.

Every Notcutts Garden Centre has a dedicated Kitchen Garden area, where you can find vegetable, fruit and herb plants, with varieties to suit the needs of novice and keen gardeners alike.

The garden is often described as an outdoor room and our 2008 Chelsea exhibit incorporated the home production fun of the kitchen garden, through to the lifestyle lunch-in-the-garden feeling. A garden such as this creates opportunities for young and old to work together, knee to knee, discovering the wonders of nature. A cutting garden was included to give romance with flowers that could be picked for indoor display whilst providing a sumptuous show outdoors. As gardens are an important habitat for British wildlife, an area was set aside for growing native flowers in a meadow grass setting.

Naturally, everyone's vision of the ideal garden varies but we hope our interpretation gave some enjoyment and visitors could take away some ideas that could be used at home.

The 2008 exhibit was designed by Jason Lock, assisted by Chris Deakin. Jason has been responsible for the design and staging of Notcutts' exhibits since 1998 and so has a wealth of experience at both what it takes to make an eye catching display but also designing gardens for real people that are enjoyable throughout the season. The exhibit had approximately one third of its area dedicated to the kitchen garden and this was separated from the ornamental garden by a terrace and a meadow grass garden. Within the kitchen garden there was a chicken coop and on press day Notcutts were the first exhibitors to show chickens at Chelsea!

New plants that were featured on the stand included Cercis canadensis 'Lavender Twist' and Hydrangea macrophylla Endless Summer 'The Bride', both of which are available at our garden centres.