Spring truly sprung for celebs as the stars turned out for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show launch day.
Dame Mary Berry, 89, was photographed in the Bridgerton garden, joined by Hannah Dodd, who plays Francesca Bridgerton in the series, and Ruth Gemmell who portrays her mother, Lady Violet. The garden is inspired by Penelope Featherington, played by Derry Girls star Nicola Coughlan, whose love story is one of the main focal points in the romance series’ latest season.
Dame Mary also visited the National Garden Scheme garden, joined by the Chelsea Pensioners, who are retired soldiers of the British Army. The pensioners are based at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, where the annual flower show takes place.
The TV chef is the president of the scheme, which gives people access to over 3,500 private gardens in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. She was pictured in the garden wearing a pink, green and blue dress alongside gardener and broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh - another supporter of the scheme.
Elsewhere, Dame Judi Dench 89, planted a seedling grown from a seed taken from the felled Sycamore Gap tree, which grew in a dip in Hadrian’s Wall, Northumberland, on the garden commemorating the co-founder of the National Trust at the Chelsea Flower Show.
Dame Judi, who has previously professed a love of trees, was joined by seven-year-old competition winner Charlotte Crowe, a pupil from the closest primary school to Sycamore Gap, to place the small seedling in the Octavia Hill Garden by Blue Diamond with the National Trust garden at the show.
Visitors to Chelsea will be able to see the seedling, which has been grown at the National Trust’s Plant Conservation Centre in Devon, before it is returned there after the show. Dame Judi said she had named the seedling Antoninus, after the adopted son of the Roman Emperor Hadrian.
Charlotte said of winning the competition, which involved children drawing a picture and writing a poem: “I am so happy that scientists are trying to grow the tree back as it means a lot to our school. I was so surprised that I had won the competition and am excited to go to London because I have never been before.”
Andrew Jasper, director of gardens and parklands at the National Trust, said: “The huge outpouring of emotion after the tree was felled showed that our deep-rooted feelings of connection to our natural heritage are as powerful today as they were in Octavia Hill’s lifetime. We hope that those who visit the garden at Chelsea this week will feel that beneficial connection to the natural heritage that we care for and also take inspiration from seeing the seedling - when we first saw the seedlings germinate, we knew there was hope for the tree’s future.”
Dame Judi is known for her love of nature and helmed a 2017 BBC documentary called My Passion For Trees, wore a colourful jacket and black sunglasses to the annual event. The Chelsea Flower Show regular also visited the Octavia Hill Garden, sponsored by Blue Diamond Garden Centres and the National Trust.
She was photographed with a seedling in a pot from the Sycamore Gap tree, which was a much-photographed tree, chopped down in September last year. Another visitor to the site was Dame Joan Collins who cut an elegant figure in black sunglasses and a blush-coloured summer hat and jacket which had a flower fastened on it.
The 90-year-old veteran actress appeared alongside her husband - producer and actor Percy Gibson. Game Of Thrones actress Indira Varma unveiled the WaterAid Garden at the flower show and posed with an umbrella made from climate-resilient flowers.
The garden aims to shine a light on the global water crisis with its flood and drought resilient plants which can adapt to a changing climate. The centrepiece of the garden is a 3.6 metre tall rainwater-harvesting pavilion that is inspired by the charity’s work to help provide access to clean water across the globe.
Former Countdown star Carol Vorderman batted off the sun with some wide rimmed sunglasses paired with a denim jumpsuit and cream coloured handbag. Elsewhere Dame Joanna Lumley was seen in a stylish blue hat, joined by The Great British Bake Off judge Dame Prue Leith and celebrity chef Marcus Wareing.
Other celebrity attendees included TV presenter Nick Knowles and his fiancee Katie Dadzie, Good Morning Britain ’s Charlotte Hawkins, sports presenter Gabby Logan, Britain’s Got Talent judge Bruno Tonioli and Wicked Little Letters star Joanna Scanlan.
The Gentlemen star Joely Richardson also attended and was photographed in the Burncoose Nurseries Garden. The world famous show opens to the public on Tuesday.