The Olympics of Landscaping! Building a Chelsea Flower Show Garden

I show a behind the scenes look at what it takes to build a Chelsea show garden at the 2024 RHS Chelsea Flower Show. This is the highlight of the horticultural calendar with Landscapers and Designers from across the globe, competing for the prestigious gold medal!
Its the Olympics of Landscaping!!!

[@TheLittleHouses10]

Lovely job to you and the team. I knew that a lot of work went into creating a show garden but didn't realise how much work to create a little garden.

[@Elvo7684]

Outstanding work, great insight, I didn't appreciate all the challenges and stress you and the team had to go through. You need eyes in the back of your head, my worst fear is somebody walking in front of a working machine.

[@Olliegunns]

Its by far the most stressful place to operate machinery. There's always someone within your working radius - sometimes multiple people! It gets worse during week 3 when the planting teams turn up as they just aren't used to being around kit like this and walk in some very stupid places....

[@jameselderton4414]

Well done for taking the time to film this, great video 👍

[@csw671]

A very good insight that. 👏 👏

[@jepyraco]

I always wanted to go to that show, nice video!

[@mditch84]

Great video mate, great to see all the hard work that goes into the garden, and congratulations on the awards 🎉

[@Olliegunns]

Thanks, I wish I could have filmed a bit more, some different angles etc, but its hard to do a job and think about filming it at the same time! Hopefully I captured enough to give a feel for what its like to build one of these show gardens.

[@callumaitken668]

All the plant moving and pre built items being placed very precisely plus it being tight and awkward a Roto telehandler would be great for that job.

[@Olliegunns]

It would indeed and Ive thought about it! Sadly, the show wont let us have one as they class it as a crane so would need an appointed person, lift supervisor etc - just adds too much cost. So we run the telehanders to their max instead....

[@villageearthwright]

@@Olliegunns I was thinking that you needed a 10 ton wheeled excavator with engcon would really be a great machine for this project. like a Hydradig or a Wacker EW100

[@Olliegunns]

@@villageearthwright I’d love to use one of those but they won’t let you have an excavator over 5ton sadly

[@davidmiller2050]

Nice one Ollie! I have a few questions which I’ll ask next time I see you!

[@65Lynchy]

Haha I'm just across the road on the barge in the Thames on long reach Hitachi

[@Olliegunns]

I saw that machine there and thought about borrowing it a few times - could do with the extra reach! Are you working on the new sewer there?

[@lucasblack9993]

Great work Ollie! May i ask who pays for all of this and who profits from this huge amount of work?

[@Olliegunns]

The gardens are mostly all sponsored, a couple will be self funded but that's pretty rare due to the cost! As for profiting, the work that goes on before we even get onto site, the planning, the long hours, and pretty much devoting the entire month of May to the show means that it doesn't actually pay anything like as good as a proper job (at least for me). But I do it to show off my skills to other contractors who are all in my area and I have made some great connections and got some decent jobs outside of the show that I otherwise would not have got. So its a bit of a lost leader for me, and I think that's the same for the contractor I work for. But get a Gold medal at Chelsea and you wont be short of work - and very high end work at that.

[@bobrose7900]

Amazing, but just what did that cost and it's all got to come back out. Sounds like a plug pulled ion the Avant. I've had the seals go on the main boom ram... The loader is crazy without proportional controls, that'll be an extra then! Where did the judges score the garden? Great video.

[@peefor135]

The Avant controls (on the buttons) are either on or off. The levers give you proportional control, but as you say, you have to remove your hand from the handle, to use them.

[@Olliegunns]

We got a Silver Gilt medal - and were only one point off a gold! So close. The Avant got worse and actually ended up letting us down with an oil leak which turned out to be a loose hose but right deep down inside the machine. They replaced the fuse in the joystick circuit and it blew again a few hours later so obviously some kind of short there. I sadly think the quality of the Avants has gone down hill the last few years. Paintwork is poor, the plastic panels are really flimsy and lots of electrical issues with the ones we end up hiring. Shame because they are very capable in the right circumstances.

[@bobrose7900]

@@Olliegunns Great result Ollie! Beers all round I should think. What looks like a small job is massively complex and the tilt rotator was priceless. Agree with the paint finish on the Avant, although JCB take the biscuit for me. I've had no electrical gremlins(touch wood) on the Avant, it's a 2021 model. The versatility for forestry and grounds maintenance is unmatched with the range of accessories available, but how expensive! Don't regret though, and ours is, crucially, kept in the dry, as with all the other machinery, including 8026 and E10z(stunning little machine). Hire machines take a beating and are never loved. Our mini digger and small plant hire company will only work Kubotas for durability and reliability. Actual performance is way down the list of desirable traits for them.

[@jerryvane6491]

Great video Ollie, can't have been easy to find the time and energy to film all that, operating a telehandler at Chelsea is pretty high on the list of stressful jobs I've done , you certainly could have done without that ridiculous boom control ! congratulations on the awards.

[@Olliegunns]

Thanks Jerry, I wanted to film more but its hard to get the work done and think about trying to film it. Certainly not an easy place to drive machines there but it makes normal jobs feel very relaxed!

[@MurphysGarden]

Thank you Ollie for this fantastic video, such a valuable insight into the hard work behind the scenes of these stunning gardens at Chelsea. I’ve put a link in a recent video I did about the show so that people can see this for themselves Many thanks Jenny from Murphy’s Garden Design Ideas from The Chelsea Flower Show 2024 kzbin.info/www/bejne/m4O7dpqthNKXi7c