How to get the Chelsea look at home
Every year, the Chelsea Flower Show is packed full of inspiration for gardeners, and this year was no different! From calming water features and natural landscaping to cottage-inspired displays, there were so many ideas that can be easily recreated at home, whatever the size of your outdoor space.
This year’s show highlighted how thoughtful garden design can completely transform the way we use our outdoor spaces, with some of our favourite displays incorporating:
Naturalistic planting – embracing meadow-inspired planting and rewilding to create a softer, wildlife-friendly garden that feels relaxed and low maintenance.
Water features – introducing water into the garden can encourage wildlife while also creating a calming and tranquil outdoor environment.
Curved forms – flowing shapes and curved pathways help soften the overall look of a garden and improve the sense of movement throughout the space.
Uplifting colour palettes – thoughtful pops of colour, from vibrant blue delphiniums to rich purple alliums, can bring energy, personality, and joy into your planting schemes.
Cottage garden style – countryside-inspired planting dominated the show this year, with timeless favourites such as hydrangeas, lupins, foxgloves, and roses adding charm and character to outdoor spaces.
Use a soft colour palette to create calm in your garden
Soft pinks, blues, purples, and creamy yellows were everywhere throughout Chelsea this year, creating calm planting schemes that felt romantic and timeless.
Roses were paired with lavender, salvias, and alliums to create layered, cottage-inspired borders, while softer whites and green foliage were used to create tranquil outdoor retreats.
The David Austin Roses stand was an example of this, and was filled with beautifully scented blooms in apricot, blush, and buttery yellow tones.
Recreate the Chelsea palette with:
Lavender
Alliums
Lupins
Salvia
White foxgloves
Focussing on texture
This year, texture played just as important a role as colour throughout the show gardens, with interesting planting combinations throughout.
Designers featured grasses, hostas, and ferns to create movement and a softer, more natural feel. Rather than follow traditional planting schemes, many gardeners embraced a looser, layered style that felt calming and full of character.
This trend is easy to recreate at home by mixing ornamental grasses with leafy foliage plants and flowering perennials to build a garden that feels full and established.
Achieving a Chelsea-standard garden on a balcony or compact space
Gardening in smaller spaces continued to be very popular, with many displays showing practical ways to showcase more compact areas with plant and floral displays.
Balcony and container gardens gave us fresh ideas on how to maximise outdoor areas that have less space, with designers highlighting how even the smallest balcony or patio can support biodiversity, improve wellbeing, and create a calming outdoor retreat, as well as support with flood prevention and noise pollution.
Layered planting, vertical gardens, and multifunctional spaces were all key themes throughout these displays, helping city gardeners make the most of every inch of space.
Embrace a natural way of planting
One of the biggest themes running throughout Chelsea this year was naturalistic planting. Borders were fuller and more relaxed, with flowers, grasses, and foliage weaving together to create movement and texture.
Instead of perfectly spaced planting, designers are embracing a more ‘grown-in’ look, allowing flowers to spill naturally into pathways and soften hard landscaping. Foxgloves, salvias, grasses, and ferns all featured heavily, helping gardens feel more immersive (and wildlife friendly!).
To recreate the look at home, avoid planting neat rows and instead layer different heights and textures together. Combining upright plants with softer foliage creates a garden that feels established and full of life.
We’d recommend:
Foxgloves
Salvias
Ornamental grasses
Ferns
Hostas
Hardy geraniums
Beyond flowers and foliage
Whilst flowers will always play an important role in our gardens and at Chelsea, texture was just as important this year.
Many of the show gardens focussed on interesting leaf shapes, contrasting textures, and structural planting to create depth and movement. Hostas, grasses, and ferns were layered together to soften borders, while darker foliage planting added drama and contrast.
One standout display came from the Houseplant Studios, where rugged cacti, sculptural succulents, and mature structural plants created a more charismatic and relaxed indoor jungle feel.
Terracotta pots featured heavily throughout these displays, adding warmth and helping the display feel more natural and lived in.
You can bring the style home with:
Structural houseplants
Ferns and foliage plants
Making the most of smaller spaces
Chelsea 2026 showed us that you don’t need a huge outdoor space to create a big impact. Balcony and container gardens were a big focus throughout the show, sharing clever ways to maximise smaller patios, terraces, and balconies.
Layered containers packed with grasses, flowers, and herbs helped create mini wildlife-friendly retreats, while vertical planting and multifunctional spaces proved that compact gardens can still feel lush and full of personality.
One of the easiest ways to recreate this look is by grouping pots together at different heights, and mixing flowering plants with foliage and grasses.
Your small space gardening essentials are:
Compact shrubs
Outdoor cushions and accessories
Adding the final touches
Chelsea this year wasn’t just about planting, it was about creating gardens that feel enjoyable to spend time in. Water features, comfortable seating, and practical gardening accessories all helped gardens feel more immersive and relaxing.
Burgon & Ball showcased some must-have gardening tools and accessories for the season ahead, including their upcoming Woodland Wonders collection, featuring nature-inspired gardening accessories and gifting products arriving in select Dobbies stores later this year.
Whether you’re refreshing your borders, styling a small balcony, or adding more texture and colour to your planting this season. Chelsea 2026 proved that creating a beautiful outdoor space is all about embracing personality, layering planting, and making your garden work for your lifestyle.