Chelsea Flower Show

RHS Chelsea is the UK's premier Horticultural event of the year attracting tens of thousands of visitors to the grounds of Royal Hospital Chelsea which for 5 days is transformed into a patchwork of innovative gardens designed by some of the leading garden designers from the UK and around the world.

As well as a visit from Her Majesty The Queen the event is well attended by a host of celebrities and also some of the leading horticultural companies with displays of their latest hybrids and products.

As always there is new trends and new plants for visitors to admire and plenty of inspiration for gardens back home. Over the next few days we will have a number of features covering the Chelsea Flower Show looking at the different gardens and new products on show.

In the meanwhile here are just a few facinating facts and news snippets about RHS Chelsea.

* Tickets are sold out, however tickets are available for other RHS shows at Hampton Court in Middlesex and Tatton Park in Cheshire, both of which are also extremely popular.

* Winners have been announced. Gold Awards have been given to the following show gardens - BUPA, Cadogan Estates, Cancer Research UK, The Daily Telegraph, Flemings Nurseries, KT Wong Charitable Trust, Laurent Perrier and Savills PLC.

* Approx 250 new plants have been launched at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show over the past four years.

* During the show week, approx 49,000 glasses of Pimms, and 5,000 bottles of champagne, 54,000 cups of tea and coffee and 28,000 sandwiches are sold!

* The area the show covers is 11 acres, with 6 football pitches worth of ground put under canvas.

* The first show was held in 1862 and has been at the current site for 85 seasons.

* Exhibitors from Sweden, Barbados, Sri Lanka, France, Holland, Germany, Australia, Jamaica, South Africa, Trinidad & Tobago and Zimbabwe will all be at the 2008 show adding a real international dimension.