Houseplants make RHS Chelsea debut

In this studio, the magic of autumn was captured using a palette of yellow, brown and orange. Comfort and warmth were evoked using natural, sustainable materials mixed with lush, soft leaves, colourful fruits and vibrant, variegated foliage.

Featuring plants such as Strelitzia reginae (bird of paradise), Aglaonema ‘Orange Star’, Pilea peperomioides ‘Mojito’, Nertera granadensis (bead plant) and Philodendron ‘Painted Lady’, this display aimed to demonstrate how mindful immersion in nature and plant care can have a soothing impact on wellbeing, even as the winter nights draw in.

Designer: N1 Garden Centre

With a theme of plants and people living in harmony, this studio demonstrated unique and inspiring ways to display houseplants in a small urban setting. It illustrated the health benefits of indoor gardening and showed how houseplants can offer both aesthetic and environmental benefits.

Hanging Rhipsalis, Hoya and Tillandsia mimic rainforest epiphytes clung to branches and cascade from the ceiling, while climbing Philodendron and Epipremnum scrambled up the walls and out through the windows.

Designer: Fran Bailey forest.london

Visitors could escape the hustle and bustle of the show into this plant-filled retreat ‘suspended’ in a giant macramé hanger.

There they could find themselves gently swinging in a suspended seat surrounded by the trailing root systems of orchids, air plants and macramé plant hangers with a carpet of mosses underfoot.

A potting bench was illuminated by a grow light, which can be used to boost light levels for prize specimens during the darker months.

Designer: Ian Drummond of Indoor Garden Design
Sponsor: Malvern Garden Buildings

This immersive studio suggested a contemporary interpretation of a traditional pharmacy with interior plants set out as healing products on display cabinets.

Monstera deliciosa ‘Variegata’, Goeppertia ‘Whitestar’, Echeveria ‘Thriller Pearl’ and Alocasia ‘Dragon Scale’ are among the extraordinary houseplants which were chosen for their unusual leaf texture and patterns, many featuring white in their leaves, alluding to a pharmacist’s white coats.

A section on aquatic plants displayed in clear glass vessels provoked the question; what is a houseplant?

Designer: The Edible Bus Stop
Sponsor: Patch Plants

This bathroom setting demonstrated how you can create a natural paradise in the smallest forgotten corners of your home.

It showcased a wide range of plants suitable for bathrooms, such as hanging epiphytes, structural tropical specimens and architectural cacti, which thrive in low light, high humidity or on sunny windowills.

Designer: Conservatory Archives

This studio created an area of calm and peace, a place to escape and focus; removed from day-to-day life in the home but without leaving the home, the ideal pandemic home office.

The interior was painted in tones of pink to evoke a sense of tranquility and then dressed with several varieties of houseplant. Soft furnishings, glassware, terrariums and accessories also adorned the studio.

Hanging plant installations on the walls, along with kokedama strung from the ceiling shrouded visitors in lush greenery.

Designer: RHS Wisley