Sparsholt’s Chelsea return

Sparsholt College is heading back to the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show in May 2026 with a concept garden called “Washday Hues.” (sparsholt.ac.uk) The college said the garden will appear at the show from May 19 to May 23, 2026, at Royal Hospital Chelsea in London. The Royal Horticultural Society lists those same dates for the 2026 show. (sparsholt.ac.uk) (rhs.org.uk) “Washday Hues” is built around natural dyes: colors taken from plants and used on fabric. Sparsholt said the design explores “the relationship between fabrics and plants” and shows how plant-based dyes can produce vivid colors. (sparsholt.ac.uk) The college’s Chelsea team includes full-time and part-time mature horticulture learners, not just staff designers. Sparsholt said the garden is being delivered by its “multiple-medal-winning team.” (sparsholt.ac.uk) Chelsea is the biggest public stage in British horticulture, with more than 168,000 visitors across the five-day event, according to Visit London. The Royal Horticultural Society calls it the world’s most famous flower show. (visitlondon.com) (rhs.org.uk) For Sparsholt, the return extends a long run at Chelsea. The college said its 2024 entry won a silver-gilt medal, its sixth silver-gilt, adding to a record that also included 10 gold medals, three bronze medals and seven “Best in Category” awards at that point. (sparsholt.ac.uk) The college was also on the Chelsea roster in 2025 with “The Ugly Bug Ball,” a garden created with the Royal Entomological Society. That project focused on insects including ants, beetles, earwigs, hoverflies and moths. (royensoc.co.uk) The new design shifts from insects to color-making plants, but the format is familiar: a teaching college using Chelsea as both a show garden and a live training ground. When the gates open on May 19, “Washday Hues” will test whether Sparsholt’s medal run can continue on horticulture’s biggest week. (sparsholt.ac.uk) (rhs.org.uk)