Chelsea Flower Show 2025: Mediterranean Garden Inspiration for Your Norfolk Oasis
Every year, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show offers a glimpse into the future of garden design—and this year, Mediterranean planting palettes are taking centre stage. From drought-tolerant succulents to climate-resilient landscapes, the 2025 show is filled with ideas that align beautifully with our ethos here at The Norfolk Olive Tree Company. If you’re looking to create a low-maintenance, design-forward garden in Norfolk, these showstopping themes are your starting point.
Mediterranean garden plants UK
Mediterranean Style Takes Root at Chelsea
This year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show is embracing the warmth, texture, and resilience of the Mediterranean garden. With increasing focus on sustainability and climate-aware planting, designers are looking to sun-soaked regions like southern Europe for inspiration.
From hardy succulents to statement palms, the plants showcased mirror the collections we offer right here in Norfolk—proving that Mediterranean beauty can thrive in British gardens.
Three Standout Gardens with Mediterranean Alignment
1. The Karoo Succulent Garden
This show garden celebrates rare, drought-tolerant succulents from arid South Africa. With its focus on texture, form, and resilience, it echoes the structural elegance of Mediterranean landscaping. Expect stonework, gravel planting, and architectural plants like agaves and aloes—perfect inspiration for low-maintenance borders or container gardens.
2. The British Red Cross ‘Here for Humanity’ Garden
This garden takes design cues from Morocco and Turkey, showcasing plants that survive in post-disaster landscapes. Think aromatic herbs, alpine groundcovers, and flowering perennials that echo the resilience of life in dry climates. For UK gardeners, this is a lesson in tough yet beautiful planting.
3. Jo Thompson’s Glasshouse Garden
While rooted in rehabilitation, Jo Thompson’s work is always known for elegance and texture—often incorporating Mediterranean plants like lavender, myrtle, and salvia. If you’re looking to soften structured planting or blend formality with fragrance, this garden will offer endless inspiration.
Design Ideas You Can Steal for Your Norfolk Garden
- Go Gravel: Use gravel mulch around palms, olives, and lavenders to evoke the Mediterranean climate and suppress weeds.
- Choose Drought-Resistant Heroes: Think Trachycarpus fortunei, olive trees, and Cistus—all offered in our Norfolk nursery and online shop.
- Mix Textures: Pair spiky succulents with soft perennials like Nepeta or Verbena bonariensis for contrast.
- Frame with Structure: Use cone-shaped olives or pleached hornbeam to define spaces with style and shade.
Why Mediterranean Gardens Matter Now
With shifting climates and drier summers, Mediterranean planting is no longer a trend—it’s a practical design solution. These gardens are beautiful, biodiverse, and low-effort once established. Best of all, you don’t need to go far to achieve the look. Our Norfolk nursery offers the largest selection of Mediterranean trees and shrubs in the East of England, with friendly, expert-led delivery right into your garden.
Mediterranean garden plants UK
Inspired by Chelsea? Bring Mediterranean beauty to your Norfolk garden today.
With expert insight, garden-to-garden delivery, and design-led planting, we’ll help you create your own slice of Chelsea at home.
Browse our collection of palms, olive trees, and drought-tolerant showstoppers—available to shop online or explore in person at our Norfolk nursery.
