Of roses and strawberries, cherry blossom and crushed turf

A MID all the hoopla that surrounds the horticultural event of the year that we call the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, at its heart is a group of folk who continue a tradition that is as old as Adam.

- Alan Titchmarsh

It would be a travesty if they were regarded as merely an add-on, for what they do is keep alive the plants and the growing skills that have made British gardens the envy of the world.

It may be the show gardens that steal the newspaper headlines: this year, we are promised a Bridgerton Garden sponsored by Netflix. One only hopes that the ghastly artificial wisteria that flowers all year round on the townhouse owned by that family in the television series is not a feature. Yes, the show gardens themselves offer inspiration (although their six-figure construction costs are eye-watering), but it is the expertise of specialist growers in the Great Pavilion that deserves every bit as much attention and praise.

Having attended every Chelsea since the late 1960s and presented the BBC coverage for 30 years, it has been interesting to observe and commentate onits development over the decades. Back in the 1970s, the same garden designers would pop up year after year Donald Farthing for the Daily Express, John Brookes for the Financial Times and Dougie Knight with his Lancastrian rock garden on what is still known as the Rock Garden Bank. Now, such creations are consigned to history --but perhaps only temporarily...