Rubbing shoulders with gardening royalty at the Chelsea Flower Show

Peter Dowdall took in the first few days of the international flower show this week and spent time talking to the some of the best and brightest gardeners and designers in the world of horticulture.

I first walked through the gates of the Royal London Hospital in Chelsea to see the world famous Flower Show in 1990. Now 26 years later I am still making the trek, if not every year, but certainly regularly.

I still get the same buzz, the same feeling of excitement as I enter this showground, similar perhaps to a fashion addict attending Paris or New York Fashion Week, or a sport’s fan going to see their favourite team in a cup final.