Many gardening and nature enthusiasts have doubtless already made preparations to head to London later this month to attend this year's Chelsea Flower Show, now celebrating its 148th year. The landmark gardening event is not only the biggest horticultural event in the UK, but also the most well-known garden show in the world.
Organised by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and taking place at London's Royal Hospital, the Chelsea Flower Show marks a major date in the capital's social calendar, as well as offering garden lovers a great chance to find out about the latest developments in the horticultural world. One of the most enduringly popular features of the event is the show gardens, set up by leading designers in the field, as well as green-fingered celebrities looking to make a memorable impact. And this year looks to be no exception.
The most talked-about addition to this year's show that's currently shaking the horticultural community is the organiser's decision to allow artificial grass in one of the exhibits, which has famously been refused at past shows but is now being recognised for its unique advantages in situations where natural grass just won't do.
The exhibit in question is the Urban Plantaholics Kitchen Garden, designed by festival favourite Tony Smith, who won the Silver Flora medal at last year's event for his innovative Quilted Velvet Garden of flowers. According to the Mail, the RHS granted permission for the inclusion of synthetic grass as it features inside a shaded grotto, where natural grass wouldn't be able to grow.
This is not the first time synthetic grass has featured at the event though - that honour went to last year's show, when the UK's leading artificial lawn product LazyLawn made a big impact at the show's trade stands. This year marks the first time artificial grass has been allowed as a professional installation however, showing how opinions of synthetic garden products are changing thanks to the leaps and bounds made by manufacturers over the last few years in developing the products as a viable alternative to natural grass.
So, while the RHS is renowned for its strict rules, its acceptance of artificial grass shows that attitudes may be changing among gardening elite - especially considering last year's event permitted an exhibit from Top Gear presenter James May consisting of a garden made entirely out of plasticine. It remains to be seen what other spectacles await to dazzle the crowds and confuse the traditionalists when this year's Chelsea Flower Show opens to the public from 25 to 29 May.
