The world’s biggest gardening charity fundraiser, RHS Chelsea Flower Show (19 – 23 May 2026) has sold out before opening its doors to the public for the first time since pre-covid, five years ago, as it works harder than ever to support critical RHS charitable work.
The capped 150,000 tickets help raise millions of pounds for RHS national community gardening programmes and science research to inform climate change adaptations.
Last year money raised from RHS Chelsea was equivalent to that invested into RHS science and communities work.
The RHS believes that the nation has never needed the joy of gardening so much. History has shown that in uncertain times people turn to gardening and the RHS is seeing people increasingly turn to gardening for respite, enjoyment and as a way of doing something good for themselves, and the planet.
In April there were 4 million visits to the RHS website for gardening advice. Since the beginning of the year nearly 9 million visits have been made to RHS online.
The RHS is also celebrating its highest April for membership acquisition since the Covid gardening boom in 2021 and 2022 (therefore higher than any point in the past), with some 30K new people signed up for membership since 1 February, 9.7k signed up in April alone. RHS Garden Wisley also had 176,000 visits this April (its second busiest April in history) and the new RHS Grow App had its biggest April with over 110K users across the month.
Clare Matterson CBE, RHS Director General, says: “RHS Chelsea being a sellout show is great for gardening and the world famous event is our, and horticulture’s, most important fundraiser, enabling the RHS to support and work with thousands of community groups across the UK and provide scientifically backed gardening advice to millions of people.
“This year at Chelsea we’ll also be announcing a new partnership, which will see a major investment boost into, and significantly more support for, community gardening nationally for even greater impact – watch this space.”
To further support the next generation of gardeners, the RHS is also lifting the gnome ban at RHS Chelsea and has invited celebrities to decorate gnomes to be auctioned off to raise funds for the RHS’ Campaign for School Gardening. Celebrities painting gnomes include Cate Blanchett, Dame Mary Berry, Sir Brian May, Baroness Floella Benjamin, Tom Allen and Joanna Lumley.
One of the most hotly anticipated gardens in 2026 is The RHS and The King’s Foundation Curious Garden designed by Frances Tophill, who has been joined by Sir David Beckham and Alan Titchmarsh CBE on her journey creating the garden. The garden encourages the nation to discover the joy of getting curious about gardening and the vital contribution plants make to the health of people, places and planet.
All gardens at RHS Chelsea live on after the Show. The RHS’ own feature gardens at Chelsea have been living on since 2016 and for decades the RHS has been encouraging gardens to be reused, repurposed and relocated after its shows.
Iconic British Brand, Range Rover, is the new 2026 headline sponsor of the RHS Chelsea and its Charity Gala Preview. Celebrities helping to raise the profile of gardening and supporting the RHS by visiting the show this year include Sir Brian May, Miriam Margolyes, Dame Mary Berry, Adjoah Andoh, Joanna Lumley, Tom Allen, Kim Cattrall, Dominic West, Judi Love and Monica Galetti.
Clare finishes: “We encourage people not to buy tickets from touts or third parties. Often sold for inflated prices there is no guarantee these are authentic and people risk being turned away at the gate. Better to visit one of our five beautiful RHS Gardens or buy tickets for our exciting new Flower Shows in Badminton or Sandringham.”
The RHS is the UK’s Gardening Charity, founded in 1804, today the charity helps millions of people across the country garden and grow for health, happiness and the environment. With a mission to promote the Science, Art and Practice of Horticulture, the charity runs national grass roots school gardening and community gardening movements and conducts vital science research to help mitigate some of the biggest environmental challenges facing us today.
