May 5th 2022
The 2022 RHS Chelsea Flower Show blooms into action for the first time in May (24-28) since 2019 with a standout environmentally themed attraction aimed at inspiring garden lovers to play their part in balancing our ecosystems through planting more species that sustains bees, our wild pollinators, currently in decline within the UK and beyond.
The BBC Studios Our Green Planet & RHS Bee Garden is designed by UK-based horticulturalist and designer Joe Swift and has been in development for over two years.
It features the silhouette of a bee wing as the centrepiece of a vibrant habitat brimming with nectar and pollen rich plants, many of which are included on the RHS Plants for Pollinators list: www.rhs.org.uk/science/conservation-biodiversity/wildlife/plants-for-pollinators
The Garden shares the same conservation principles as the David Attenborough narrated TV series The Green Planet created by BBC Studios Natural History Unit which led to a global digital impact campaign #OurGreenPlanet.
Since it launched in February #OurGreenPlanet hosted on BBC Earth Instagram has engaged millions of people globally in the green world.
Across the month of May, the RHS and BBC Studios #OurGreenPlanet will empower audiences with practical ideas on how everyone can help bees and other pollinators thrive in their local communities and outside spaces.
Mike Gunton, Creative Director of BBC Studios Natural History Unit and Executive Producer of #OurGreenPlanet said: “The garden will bring to life the #OurGreenPlanet belief that we should all push for plants, pollinators and people to work together. Alongside the beauty and spectacle of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the bee garden has an important message at its heart, that pollinator decline will have a serious impact on biodiversity, food production and our precious gardens globally but the good news is, we can all do something to help.”
Joe Swift, Garden Designer, said: “The RHS has used scientific evidence, extensive experience and the records of gardeners to create year-round flowering plants for its Plants for Pollinators list to help tackle the decline in pollinator numbers. It is one of the best resources for gardeners today to support pollinators and collectively if we all grew more of these plants in our gardens, community spaces, window boxes, allotments and schools we can make a huge difference. I hope this garden both inspires and shows everyone just how easy it is to consider pollinators whilst making your garden a more beautiful space too, a win-win!”
Some of the best plants for bees in this Garden include, Hesperis (Sweet Rocket), Salvia, hardy geraniums, Euphorbia and Viburnum opulus (Guelder rose). There is also shallow water for insects to drink from, some mud for bees to make nests and a dismantleable Bee Hotel, which can be cleaned out.
The BBC Studios Our Green Planet & RHS Bee Garden, which won’t be judged, is situated at the bottom of Main Avenue, opposite the triangle.
After RHS Chelsea Flower Show the BBC Studios Our Green Planet & RHS Bee Garden will live on at a local school for students, teachers and the pollinators to enjoy.
For more information, please visit:
www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-chelsea-flower-show/news/2022/plant-for-pollinators
Source: RHS Press Release