Celebrities get Chelsea Flower Show look

Joanna Lumley poses in front of the M&S stand. Photos: Jonathan Brady/PA

A party of royal guests headed by the Queen were yesterday given a sneak preview of the Chelsea Flower Show, ahead of its public opening today.

Prince Harry was also there to show his grandmother, patron of show organisers the Royal Horticultural Society, around a garden very close to his own heart.

The B&Q Sentebale Forget-Me-Not Garden has been created by his charity, which is showing at Chelsea for the first time.

The Chelsea Flower Show is celebrating its centenary year – and has even lifted its ban on gnomes to mark the occasion, with a host of stars invited to decorate the ornaments.

Among those getting the first glimpse at this year’s blooms were baker Mary Berry, gardening expert Alan Titchmarsh and actress Joanna Lumley.

Chef Jamie Oliver said: “I’ve had a good look around and there is some very, very good stuff. There’s a nice array of completely different styles, which is fantastic.

I expected it to be big, but it’s absolutely spectacular

“Some of my favourites so far are the centenary garden designed by Roger Platts, which is phenomenal, and the Australian garden.

“I love gardening but I don’t have as much time to do it as I’d like – but I’m massive on veg, I spent all day yesterday picking things from my garden for Fifteen.

Jamie Oliver at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show yesterday.

“When you’re a chef, the closer you get to nature the better.”

England cricketer Michael Vaughan, visiting his friend Jamie Dunstan’s garden As Nature Intended, said: “This is my first Chelsea. I expected it to be big, but it’s absolutely spectacular. It’s a brilliant family day out.

“I’m not a huge gardener but I know when I see something special.”

Historian Dan Snow said he was particularly taken with the East Village Garden, based on the area of London that was formerly the athletes’ village at London 2012.

“I think it’s terrific,” he said. “I love the idea of the urban garden.

“And I’m obsessed with wildflowers at the moment, so it’s lovely seeing them today. They’re such an expression of spring.”

The show garden was created by renowned landscape gardener Jinny Blom for Sentebale, which helps vulnerable children in Lesotho. She said Harry had been “passionately” involved in the design process – even having preliminary drawings sent to him for approval while he was serving in Afghanistan.

Ringo Starr dropped by.

The garden is intended to represent the mountainous landscape of Lesotho as well as its people.

Wildlife expert David Bellamy praised the garden for its inclusion of willow trees.

“They’re very important because they have their catkins and they feed all the creepy-crawlies.”

He said he came to the show “every year if I can” and added: “Without this, what would happen to Britain?”

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) said it was hoping to inspire young people to start gardening as a result of this year’s show.

The miniature gnomes will be auctioned on eBay for the RHS Campaign for School Gardening.

Their designers include Sir Elton John, who gave his gnome a pair of his trademark colourful glasses, and Dame Helen Mirren, who decorated hers in yellow and green.

The society is also set to be boosted by the auction of a giant orchid sculpture by renowned artist Marc Quinn. The piece, The Rush of Nature, will raise funds for the RHS Chelsea Centenary Appeal.

Former Beatle Ringo Starr posed wearing a garland of flowers at a garden promoting the work of charity WaterAid, which gives people in poor countries access to clean water.

“I’d like to congratulate Chelsea, 100 years and I’ve been here from the first year,” he joked.

He said he had been coming for a number of years.

“I used to come just to enjoy it and look at it, now I come to be of some use, promoting WaterAid.

“The idea that blew me away was that people don’t have water.”

He said the charity was helping thousands of people, including children who were dying every day because they did not have clean water.

He said he loved the Chelsea Flower Show and all the gardens, and he would like to see the gnomes.

Asked if he played music to his plants to help them grow, he said: “I’ve been known to talk to them but I’ve not got my drums out.”

And he said that rather than getting his hands dirty, he was “big at talking to my gardeners”.

This year’s gardens heavily feature native British plants, with wild and wacky presentations seen in previous years being few and far between.

A total of 165,000 people are expected to attend the show over the next week. More than 500 exhibitors spent the weekend putting the finishing touches to the 15 show gardens, 19 smaller gardens and 150 exhibits that make up the 2013 show.