Celebrities out in force for Chelsea Flower Show

BELLY-dancers, sportsmen and former pop stars were yesterday promoting a variety of weird and wonderful garden designs at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show.

Everything from catwalks to the hallowed FA Cup were being given a horticultural interpretation as the show opened for the media.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were due to visit the show yesterday before it opens to the public.

The annual festival of flowers officially opens today, but, as is traditional, the royal couple are among those invited to the preview day of the show.

Among the new plants unveiled was the Soham Rose which is in memory of murdered school children Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Representatives of Soham Town Council received this new rose and sales of the plant will benefit the Holly and Jessica Appeal Fund.

Meanwhile, from the sporting world Olympic legend Sir Steve Redgrave attended the event as did ex-Arsenal star Frank McLintock. McLintock was promoting a floral recreating of the FA Cup which was the centre piece of a display at the show.

Adding some glamour to the spectacle was supermodel Jodie Kidd who showed off a £4,000 dress in a garden which was designed to appear like a fashion show catwalk.

Television personality Cilla Black also appeared, having her pictures taken at the Barbados Horticultural Society's display.

She told reporters: "I am an appreciater, a watcher. I do not have green fingers but I do appreciate my own garden at home.

"Even at Westminster, I have a roof terrace and a herb garden."

Continuing the fashion theme two students with the London College of Fashion, Anne Dolerius and Katherine Ali, were helping to promote a variety of Elder known as Black Lace.

The pair wore specially designed costumes, created by other students at their college, and also posed for pictures in the garden.

Former Beatle, Ringo Starr was opening the octopus garden to show his support for the cause to conserve coral reefs.

The Hasmead octopus garden is a design concept aiming to simulate three marine environments a coral garden, shallow reef and an eel garden. Starr arrived wearing a grey kagoule.