Blue Forest Treehouses at Chelsea Flower Show 2023

24 May

Last year I was lucky enough to go to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for work - photographing for a regular client ID Systems of a stand they had provided the doors for - Blue Forest Treehouses. This year the lovely folks at Blue Forest asked me to head back, this time working for them to document their stand in all it’s glory.
These luxury treehouses are truly spectacular with many hidden surprises, built to an incredible standard.

The Blue Forest Treehouse and Hobbit House

The treehouse had an incredible interior with the wonderful scent of the cedar wood creating an atmosphere that photos just can’t capture!

The planting of the stand was created by renowned garden designer Randle Siddeley with the planting not just complementing the treehouse and hobbit house but truly elevating the stand to a magical place which drew people in by their thousands.

Don’t forget to look up - a rope ladder & huge net hammock makes use of the space (and provides a comfortable place for an afternoon snooze!)

The Hobbit House was a huge draw, fully decked out with TV, popcorn machine and bean bags, the planting really creating the mood that you were stepping into the Shire!

Some more shots of the treehouse interior

While at the show it’s always a treat to take a look around at the various show gardens and stunning floral displays, all at the home of the Chelsea Pensioners in the grounds of Royal Hospital Chelsea.

The BBC coverage of the flower show is huge these days with filming taking place pretty much all day, every day so it’s no surprise to turn a corner to see multiple cameras, boom cranes and presenters trying their best to remember their lines. Above, Monty Don and Joe Swift present a piece from the RSCPA show garden.

There was some excitement on the Monday morning as news spread that there was to be the first ever same-sex wedding at the flower show. I managed to get a good spot standing next to the charming BBC weather lady Carol Kirkwood, she was just as lovely in person as she is on screen and later stopped by the Blue Forest stand where we chatted some more and she had a good look around the treehouse and Hobbit house.

With Monday being VIP/Press Day there were plenty of recognisable faces wandering about. Above is Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels star Jason Flemyng and Texas frontwoman Charlene Spiteri and BBC weather lady Carol Kirkwood on the right.

The Chelsea Pensioners are a wonderful bunch and clearly thrilled to have all of this going on in their back yard once again.
Top right is the bubble lady who entertained us all on the stand (and managed to cover us with burst bubbles many times!).
Bottom left is former McClaren boss Ron Dennis chatting with designer Randle Siddeley, bottom right is Hollyoaks & I’m a Celebrity get me out of here star Owen Warner.

Some real legends come to the show on Press Day, Joanna Lumley being one.

It was lovely to meet so many familiar faces on the Blue Forest stand, here we have Floella Benjamin, Angellica Bell and Vanessa Feltz, all of them incredibly sweet and more than happy to pose for my camera.

Comedian Bill Bailey was on top form, giving an interview to BBC Radio London here.

And finally some of the team behind Blue Forest Treehouses.

It was a real honour to be asked to photograph at the show for Blue Forest, the stand deservedly won an RHS Five Star tradestand award this year. The stand was a huge team effort involving not just Blue Forest Treehouses and Randle Siddeley but also DCM Surfaces, Deepdale Trees, HAV Woods, Make Limited and Marley Roof Specialists. Congratulations to all for an amazing collaborative creation!

A short video I produced for Blue Forest to show off the treehouse and Hobbit House.

Chris Taylor