De Boer’s ‘Great Pavilion’ at RHS Chelsea Flower Show

Gardening enthusiasts have begun flocking to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, with De Boer UK’s ‘Great Pavilion’ forming the spectacular centrepiece of the world-famous horticultural gathering. 

5-day event
The five-day event runs from May 22-26, with tens of thousands of guests heading from across the globe to the site of Chelsea’s historic Royal Hospital. 

11,000 queare metres
De Boer began its construction work in late April and has managed to create the 11,000-square-metre ‘Great Pavilion’ using an enhanced self-lifting system. The process meant that much of the huge temporary exhibition space could be raised into position without the need for cranes. 

Hydraulic lift
The fully computerised hydraulic equipment, which was introduced to great effect for the 2005 show, has undergone improvements to make its operations even faster and smoother. 

Delta by De Boer
De Boer UK has once again provided the flower show’s organisers with an exhibition space that can play host to more than 100 displays and thousands of plants. The ‘Great Pavilion’ comprises two huge Delta System structures, erected using the innovative self-lifting equipment, with cranes then being used to link the two structures via a specially adapted A-frame structure. 

Two football pitches of floral displays
The huge exhibition space, covering a total area equivalent in size to two football pitches, was handed over to the Royal Horticultural Society two weeks ago. It has since been fitted out with spectacular floral displays ready for the launch of the five-day event. 

This year biggest and best ever
This year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show is set to be the biggest and best ever, with organisers unveiling a host of new features including layout improvements, a bridal bouquet competition, expanded catering facilities and bigger gardens than ever before. 

Attractions being staged inside De Boer’s structures include a new roof gardens display and a new Garden Design Forum – a special talks area featuring presentations by a range of speakers and horticultural experts. 

Excellent relationship
De Boer Sales Manager Tom Osborne said: “We have established an excellent relationship with the Royal Horticultural Society and have been proud to introduce a succession of innovative ideas for the Chelsea Flower Show. This year’s enhanced hydraulic lifting system follows the introduction in 2006 of an all-new ‘Great Pavilion’ which featured structures created just weeks before the event got under way.” 

Self-lifting system
The self-lifting system has offered a broad range of benefits including reduced noise and traffic congestion. It has also lessened the need to operate heavy cranes in restricted areas and has cut back on manual handling of heavy equipment. As part of the lifting process at Chelsea, concrete foundations were laid at regular intervals around the Royal Hospital site, with the foundations then being used to accommodate the legs of lifting jacks that allowed sections of the structure to be raised hydraulically into place.