Take inspiration from RHS Chelsea's smallest gardens
Sure, the big gardens are Chelsea Flower Show's ultimate showstoppers, but we argue that for most homeowners, the real magic happens in the balcony and container gardens. These clever designs are inspiring reminders that even the smallest spaces have big potential. Browse this year's round-up below, packed to the brim with ideas that are both pretty and practical.
All the designers of the Balcony & Container Garden category are making their Chelsea debut this year. Their designs range from wildlife-friendly spaces to nostalgic, rose-filled gardens created with large reclaimed pots and vessels – as seen in the Whittard of Chelsea Garden – to practical, space-saving solutions featuring foldable furniture and corner planters, showcased in the Transient Garden.
To try these ideas at home, the RHS recommends the following:
Designed for no more than two people, this small urban sanctuary draws inspiration from traditional Persian gardens. Towering trees and dense, lush planting in large containers create an immersive escape from the hustle and bustle of city life, while also enhancing the view from indoors.
Despite being inspired by the Sightsavers' mission to protect sight, this container garden isn't just a feast for the eyes but was designed to appeal to all senses. Throughout the space, you can catch the scent of fragrant herbs and hear foliage rustling in the breeze. Planting at different levels makes the space accessible to everyone – a great example of the enormous impact a small space can have.
This balcony garden is designed as a creative retreat, with the space cleverly arranged to accommodate shelving, a workbench, a small seating area and large planters. Vertical planting keeps the space lush and green while leaving room for the essentials.
Often overlooked, British hedgerows are home to countless living organisms, from plants to animals to fungi. This biodiversity-boosting balcony garden shows how even small spaces can be a boon to nature, with planting designed to grow and flower at different times of the year, creating year-round interest for both people and pollinators.
This container garden aims to raise awareness of the increasingly well-evidenced link between gut health and brain function. Inspired by the process of making apple cider vinegar – renowned for gut health benefits – the design centres on an apple tree representing 'The Mother', the naturally occurring culture of bacteria formed during fermentation. A high-gloss sculpture curves protectively around the tree, sheltering both 'The Mother' and the person sitting on the bench within.
Tales from the Riverbank taps into a growing lifestyle trend and is a clever example of how gardening can thrive in even the most unconventional places. Complete with rigged railing, the design evokes a boathouse and celebrates the arts and crafts of riverside living – a way of life currently enjoying a revival.
The angels' share is the portion of whisky lost to evaporation as it's left to age in oak casks. This balcony garden draws on the poetic language of whisky-making, using planting designed to attract endangered native pollinators – species that are themselves at risk of becoming part of the angels' share.
This balcony garden wasn't just designed to be a green oasis in an urban environment, in which the key colours – orange, purple and white – complement the blues and greys of the sky beyond. It's also full of space-saving solutions, including vertical planting, a drop-leaf desk and angled planters that take up less room.
Celebrating 140 years of Whittard, this nostalgic container garden is created using only reclaimed or recycled materials, from the pots to the paving and gravel, made from cockle shells collected from the bank of the Thames. If this design, full of scented roses and trailing foliage, proves one thing, it's that large containers definitely belong in a small garden.
The most colourful of all the balcony and container gardens, this modest design is a striking example of how effectively colour can transform a space. Beyond containers overflowing with vibrant blooms, there is little else – proving that even with limited means, bold use of colour can have a dramatic impact.
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