Entrants prepare for this year's Chelsea Flower Show

14:03 03 March 2011

The Chelsea Flower Show 2011 will be held between the 24 and 28 of May, but for the entrants preparation begins months, sometimes years in advance.

See how The Australian Garden in particular gets ready for the event and why the event is so important to an overseas entrant.

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The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne has selected three of its highly experienced horticulturists to lead the planting team for its Show Garden entry to the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London from 24 – 28 May.

The three team members, Phil Bowyer-Smyth, Sandra Hodge and Warren Worboys, leave Melbourne for London on 10 May and will spend two weeks in the UK, staying in Chelsea and walking to and from the Show Garden site each day.

The team will be kept very busy at the Show Garden, with over 2,000 plants to get in the ground during the seven-day planting period from 13 – 20 May before the show opens to the public on 24 May.

Royal Botanic GardensÂ’ Director and Chief Executive, Dr Philip Moors, congratulated Phil, Sandra and Warren on their selection and welcomed them to the project team.

Dr Moors said:

"Our Show Garden will reflect the beauty of Australia and its unique plants, so itÂ’s really important that we have experts such as Phil, Sandra and Warren on the ground to do the planting.

"We are very excited about our entry to Chelsea – it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to showcase the best of Australian garden design to the rest of the world."

The Australian Garden presented by the Royal Botanic Gardens will be one of only eight Show Gardens on prestigious Main Avenue at this yearÂ’s show.

At 220m², the Main Avenue sites are some of the largest on offer and attract a great deal of attention from thousands of visitors and millions of BBC viewers.