Verdant Visions: we're sponsoring an exhibit at this year's Chelsea Flower Show

1-2 minute read

By Daisy Goddard | April 29, 2024

Using our newspaper collection, botanical stylist James Whiting is bringing the 1970s to life with a houseplant studio at the 2024 Chelsea Flower Show.

2024 sees two-time RHS medal winner James Whiting return to the Chelsea Flower Show for the third time.

We're delighted to announce that we have sponsored his highly anticipated new houseplant studio, even delving into our extensive newspaper archive to provide rich and colourful stories that will be showcased within the exhibit.

The Chelsea Flower Show reported on in the Daily Mirror, 26 May 1979.

‘Verdant Visions’ will take Flower Show visitors on a nostalgic journey into the past, to experience the definitive soundtrack, bold designs, and vibrant tropical houseplants of the 1970s. Transported back to a 70's-inspired teen bedroom, exciting interactive elements will enable people to dive headfirst into their own past, or encounter an iconic era for the first time.

Chelsea Flower Show, 1973. Explore this clipping.

The studio will incorporate milestone moments clipped from the pages of our vast historical newspaper collection, charting the events great and small that defined the decade, including coverage of Chelsea Flower Show from the 1970s.

To quote our Managing Director, Sarah Bush:

"We’re delighted to support James’ spectacular new Verdant Visions exhibit, which delivers all the disco-dancing, floral-wallpapered, glossy jungle nostalgia of the ‘70s. Plants have the power to transport us and offer a potent connection to the past and our family stories... We share James’ passion for storytelling, bringing to life moments that shape your present and inspire your future. We’re excited to help more people to connect with the colourful stories of their own past – in the branches of your family tree and in the vast collection of records and historical newspapers on Findmypast."

Discover colourful stories in black and white

Lose yourself in the world’s largest online archive of British & Irish newspapers for a nostalgia-fuelled trip down memory lane.

Search for stories in our newspapers and publications

Explore millions of digitised pages of newspapers and other publications from our British and Irish collections, dating as far back as the 1700s.

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Not only do our newspapers offer unmatched colour and context for your family tree, you can also snip, save and share old photos and clippings to create your very own scrapbook of simpler times.