Pictures: Chelsea Flower Show 2011

Highlights from the horticultural extravaganza

Flora and fauna abound at this year's Chelsea Flower Show, with around 600 exhibitors coming together to create an astonishing spectacle of sculptures, new plant varieties, creative landscapes and the most glorious flower arrangements known to man. In celebration, we've created a gallery of the striking highlights from this year's show, which runs until 28 May.

Click on the images below to launch the gallery and see exhibits including a hand-woven Thai temple to an Avatar-inspired garden in the sky.

Chelsea Flower Show

Nong Nooch Tropical Garden from Thailand brings a… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

Nong Nooch Tropical Garden from Thailand brings a replica Thai temple to the Great Pavilion, covered in 100,000 flowers.

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Chelsea Flower Show

The exhibit includes elephants, made from… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

The exhibit includes elephants, made from intricately-woven blooms.

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Chelsea Flower Show

A close-up reveals the sheer level of detail… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

A close-up reveals the sheer level of detail invested in the Thai garden.

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Chelsea Flower Show

It took 800 people 33 days to build the show from… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

It took 800 people 33 days to build the show from bare grass to the finished article - and with this sort of beautifully orchestrated flower arrangement on display, you can understand why.

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Chelsea Flower Show

B&Q creates an environmental garden with an… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

B&Q creates an environmental garden with an eight metre-high vertical, living wall of window boxes to demonstrate vertical farms and urban food production.

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Chelsea Flower Show

A magnificent cross section of work is exhibited… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

A magnificent cross section of work is exhibited in this garden from thesculpturepark.com.

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Chelsea Flower Show

Vanessa Redgrave unveils a rose named in honour… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

Vanessa Redgrave unveils a rose named in honour of her late daughter Natasha Richardson, who died two years ago following a skiing accident.

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Chelsea Flower Show

A close-up of the roses. Love reading? See our… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

A close-up of the roses.

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Chelsea Flower Show

Leaping hares at play sculpted by Marney Hall in… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

Leaping hares at play sculpted by Marney Hall in the SKYshades Garden.

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Chelsea Flower Show

Fashion designer Zandra Rhodes embraces the… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

Fashion designer Zandra Rhodes embraces the floral theme amid a backdrop of flowers.

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Chelsea Flower Show

A flower embroidered jacket - one of the entries… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

A flower embroidered jacket - one of the entries in the show's Young Florist Of The Year competition 2011.

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Chelsea Flower Show

The Laurent-Perrier Garden by Luciano Giubbilei,… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

The Laurent-Perrier Garden by Luciano Giubbilei, a first time Chelsea designer, explores the relationship between nature and human intervention.

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Chelsea Flower Show

The Cancer Research Garden by Robert Myers. The… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

The Cancer Research Garden by Robert Myers.

The theme of the garden is "surviving" and celebrates how Cancer Research UK saves thousands of lives with its work. The display is an abstracted representation of a coastal landscape using water, plants, timber and rock.

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Chelsea Flower Show

One of the show's many fans conveys his… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

One of the show's many fans conveys his enthusiasm with this vegetation-themed hat.

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Chelsea Flower Show

Dame Helen Mirren poses at the Borneo Exotics… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

Dame Helen Mirren poses at the Borneo Exotics stand, where she unveiled the new hybrid Nepenthes "Helen" named in her honour.

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Chelsea Flower Show

The William and Catherine English Musk Hybrid… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

The William and Catherine English Musk Hybrid rose, by David Austin Roses, created in honour of the newlywed Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

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Chelsea Flower Show

M&G Investments, the title sponsors of the… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

M&G Investments, the title sponsors of the Chelsea Flower Show, celebrates its 80th anniversary this year with a theatrical ballet display at The M&G Garden.

M&G commissioned Vashti Cassinelli, couture flower designer, to design the "living" tutu inspired by the hit box-office film Black Swan, and worn by Central School of Ballet star Natalie O’Brien.

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Chelsea Flower Show

The British Heart Foundation Garden, by Ann-Marie… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

The British Heart Foundation Garden, by Ann-Marie Powell. The red installations represent the muscles of the heart, surrounding by the green "healing" powers of plants.

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Chelsea Flower Show

A model poses in the Australian Garden, presented… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

A model poses in the Australian Garden, presented by the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne and designed by landscaper Jim Fogarty.

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Chelsea Flower Show

This stone mill house and water mill from Leeds… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

This stone mill house and water mill from Leeds City Council highlights the role of water power in the industrial revolution of Leeds.

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Chelsea Flower Show

The Monaco show garden by Sarah Eberle, complete… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

The Monaco show garden by Sarah Eberle, complete with a glamorous Monaco swimming pool.

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Chelsea Flower Show

Diarmuid Gavin returns to the show with an… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

Diarmuid Gavin returns to the show with an impressive hanging sky garden - the largest ever built at RHS Chelsea and inspired by the landscape of James Cameron's movie Avatar.

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Chelsea Flower Show

A Bonsai tree takes centre stage at the… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

A Bonsai tree takes centre stage at the show.

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Chelsea Flower Show

The BBC New World Garden presents an intriguing… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

The BBC New World Garden presents an intriguing fusion of sculpted designs.

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Chelsea Flower Show

Different types of daffodils vye for attention on… More details
Chelsea Flower Show

Different types of daffodils vye for attention on this eye-catching stand.

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