King signs up David Beckham to his Chelsea flower show team | Chelsea flower show
Rare roses and stunning irises are often among the top picks at the Chelsea flower show. But this year’s star attraction may be pink, sequined and decorated by David Beckham.
The former England football captain is designing a garden with King Charles at the event in May and has been given a garden gnome to paint as part of the effort. It will be auctioned for charity.
Such a display would not have been possible in previous years: garden gnomes have been unwelcome since 1927, considered “tacky” and not in line with the high-profile aspirations of the event.
This year, the show took a one-off decision to lift the ban to raise funds for the Royal Horticultural Society’s school gardening campaign, an initiative aimed at getting children interested in gardening.
It’s unclear whether Beckham’s fashion designer wife, Victoria, had any input into the dwarf’s decor. But that doesn’t seem to be the case, as the former Spice Girl’s designs are generally minimalist and tasteful.
Beckham nodded and grinned when told by the RHS that she was free to use as much sequins and glitter as she wanted on her midget.
Examining the primary colored paints she had been given, she told them: “I might need some pink.”
Sources at the RHS said Beckham spent days painting the garden and met with the king and gardener Alan Titchmarsh at the Highgrove royal residence last week to discuss his plans for the garden. Charles is said to have been keen that the ban on dwarfs be lifted and some of them displayed in the garden; he is a fan of fairytale characters and has one on his mansion in Gloucestershire.
Inspired by their passion for beekeeping and honey production, they decided to house a beehive in the garden at this meeting. The garden will feature an easel created by Snowdon Furniture School graduate Eleanor Pickin, who met those interested in garden design at Highgrove.
The show will be more interesting than ever this year and will include a number of unusual attractions, including a “sex garden” sponsored by a company selling vibrators. Visitors can warm up while visiting the Aphrodite-themed “pleasure garden” filled with flowers and plants associated with love and sex.
The RHS is asking celebrities to decorate gnomes for the king’s garden and they will all be auctioned. Those signing up include actor Cate Blanchett and chef Mary Berry. The RHS previously lifted the gnome ban in 2013 to celebrate the event’s centenary.
