Derbyshire at Chelsea Flower Show and Chelsea in Bloom

Our county has long been renowned for its gardens, craftsmanship and creativity. As Karen McIlwraith discovers, two Derbyshire businesses took those qualities to one of the world’s most prestigious horticultural events

The world’s most famous flower show might be held in the heart of London, but this year a pair of Derbyshire businesses helped bring a touch of the county to Chelsea.

One transformed luxury saucepans into a floral rocket ship; the other showcased furniture grown from living trees.

Together, the Chelsea Flower Show and Chelsea in Bloom represent one of the most influential weeks in the horticultural calendar. Organised by the Royal Horticultural Society, the flower show attracts leading garden designers, growers and plant specialists from around the world, while Chelsea in Bloom transforms the surrounding streets into an open-air floral gallery. The events draw thousands of visitors and international attention, making them a coveted showcase for creativity, craftsmanship and innovation.

From the Peak District to one of the most prestigious events in the gardening calendar, David Mellor and Full Grown demonstrated how Derbyshire creativity continues to find a national audience.

Pan-Galactic Voyage won a Silver award in this year's Chelsea in Bloom competition (Image: Karen McIlwraith)

A pan, a rocket and a silver award

Chelsea in Bloom’s 2026 theme, Out of this World, encouraged designers, florists and retailers to look skywards for inspiration.

Among the standout installations was Pan-Galactic Voyage, a playful floral rocket created for David Mellor’s Pavilion Road shop.

At its centre was an unlikely spacecraft – a gleaming saucepan rocket designed and built at the company’s iconic Hathersage factory before being transported to London for launch. The display appeared to capture the moment of lift-off, with clouds of dried flowers and foliage billowing beneath the rocket and fiery blooms bursting from its base.

Florist Anna Potter, of Swallows & Damsons, was brought in to help realise the vision, using sustainably sourced flowers and foam-free techniques to create the dramatic smoke and flame effects. The result combined humour, craftsmanship and floral artistry, earning a Silver award in this year’s Chelsea in Bloom competition. Although displayed in one of London’s most fashionable districts, the installation had unmistakable Derbyshire roots. The rocket itself was designed and manufactured in the Peak District, reflecting the same precision engineering and attention to detail for which David Mellor has long been known.

That connection between design and landscape runs deep. David Mellor famously relocated production from Sheffield to Derbyshire, inspired by the surrounding countryside, and the company’s woodland factory remains one of the county’s most distinctive examples of architecture and manufacturing existing in harmony with nature. Beneath the theatrical flowers and hidden smoke machine was a celebration of local creativity and collaboration. As the team behind the project joked: ‘It’s one small step for a pan, one giant leap for Pankind.’

The team at Full Grown (Image: Karen McIlwraith)

Growing furniture, not making it

Just a few miles away, another Derbyshire business was attracting attention at the Chelsea Flower Show itself.

Based near Wirksworth, Full Grown has spent years challenging conventional ideas about furniture making by encouraging trees to grow directly into the shape of chairs.

Founded by Gavin and Lisa Munro, the company featured in the Plant Heritage Missing Collectors Garden, where a bronze cast of the Full Grown Gatti Chair formed a focal point of the award-winning design.Created by Sally-Anne Rees, Kate Campbell and William Murray of the Planting Design Collective, the garden highlighted concerns about the future of rare, cultivated plants and the specialist knowledge needed to preserve them.

Awarded a Silver Gilt Medal by the Royal Horticultural Society, it encouraged visitors to consider how important horticultural expertise can be passed to future generations.

The theme resonated strongly with Full Grown’s own story. The idea traces back to Gavin Munro’s childhood fascination with an overgrown bonsai tree that resembled a throne. Years later, while studying at university and exploring themes of waste and consumption, he began questioning whether products could be created by working with nature rather than forcing materials into shape. Together with Lisa, he developed a process that allows trees to be carefully guided, trained and grafted as they grow. Instead of cutting timber and assembling components, the tree gradually becomes the finished object.

Full Grown achieved a Silver Gilt Medal by the Royal Horticultural Society (Image: Karen McIlwraith)

The approach requires remarkable patience. One of the company’s chairs displayed during the Chelsea celebrations, the Sterry Chair, began life as a tree planted in 2009. Cultivation started in 2012 and the finished chair was not harvested until 2025.

Today, Full Grown’s work sits at the intersection of horticulture, art and design, demonstrating how sustainability and craftsmanship can go hand in hand.

The couple are increasingly focused on sharing their knowledge through workshops and online courses, helping a new generation of ‘chair farmers’ learn the techniques they have developed over many years. Whether preserving rare plants or passing on specialist skills, the message at Chelsea was ultimately the same: knowledge matters, and the future depends on ensuring it is not lost.

For both David Mellor and Full Grown, Chelsea provided an opportunity to showcase very different forms of creativity on one of horticulture’s biggest stages.

Yet each demonstrated how innovation, craftsmanship and a strong sense of place continue to thrive in Derbyshire – proving that some of the most imaginative ideas on display this year had their roots firmly planted in the county..