RHS/LUKE MacGREGOR
18 May 2019 • WAR CRY • FEATURE 3 A visitor photographs flowers at last year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show
Flower power D
AZZLING displays of flowers will be opening in London’s backyard next week with the start of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show on Tuesday (21 May). Since it first took place in 1862, the annual event has become well established. Every spring about 165,000 people wander round the grounds of the Royal Hospital, admiring floral displays and discovering the latest developments in horticulture. Among last year’s visitors were actress Joanna Lumley, comedian David Walliams and TV presenter Holly Willoughby. They saw gardens that explored a variety of issues, including forced migration, dependence on technology, and human interactions with the environment – which goes to show that the displays at Chelsea are designed to be more than merely decorative. Every year they encourage people to see the world from a different perspective. This year the Trailfinders Undiscovered Latin America Garden seeks to raise awareness of how rainforests are rapidly disappearing as a result of urbanisation, overfarming and logging. Featuring tumbling waterfalls and lush tropical plants, the plot showcases the biodiversity of the South American rainforest, and highlights the essential role that the
Gardeners spring into action with return of the Chelsea Flower Show, writes Emily Bright ecosystem plays in sustaining a healthy planet. The Duchess of Cambridge has also dug deep into her creativity by designing her own show garden. Her RHS Back to Nature Garden is a woodland space designed to connect people with nature, and to demonstrate the physical and emotional benefits that come from spending time outdoors. The garden includes a play den, a swing seat, and a waterfall and stream
In the Back to Nature Garden seeds were sown to provide nectar for bees for children to play in. But it is also carefully cultivated to sustain wildlife. Flower and fruit seeds were sown to provide food for animals and nectar for bees and butterflies. RHS directorgeneral Sue Biggs describes it as a place where families can ‘connect with nature’. We can sometimes forget the power
of nature in shaping our world. Seeds may seem small and insignificant, yet are the source of the planet’s bountiful array of flora and fauna. Nothing could survive without the oxygen plants produce. In the Bible, Jesus taps into an appreciation of the natural world to communicate the importance of faith, which allows people not only to survive, but also to thrive. He tells a story about a seed to explain how just a little faith in him can have a transformative impact on a person’s life. He says: ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches’ (Matthew 13:31 and 32 New International Version). Jesus’ words tell us that, even if someone’s faith in him is as small as a mustard seed, they can still experience all the fullness of life with him. Our lives may not always be rosy, but if we are rooted in a relationship with God, we can flourish.