Knitted and crocheted poppies take centre stage at Chelsea Flower Show

A stunning display of 300,000 handmade poppies has been unveiled at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, carpeting the grounds in a sea of glorious red yarn.

The breathtaking installation honours servicemen and women who have fought across all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations over the last 100 years.

Designer Phillip Johnson, who won Best Show Garden in 2013, is the creator behind the poignant handmade flower exhibit along with textile designers Lynn Berry and Margaret Knight.

Image credit: RHS

Phillip’s ambitious design for Chelsea incorporates a stunning selection of knitted and crocheted poppies from over 50,000 contributors from across the globe, ranging in ages from 2 to 106 years old.

This spectacular sea of red came from humble beginnings in 2013 when Lynn and Margaret set out to crochet 120 poppies in memory of their fathers who fought in WWII.

The idea captured the hearts and imaginations of crafters from around the world and before they knew it, the trio had enough crocheted red poppies to carpet the grounds of Chelsea’s Royal Hospital.

Volunteer knitting group Knitting For Victory has contributed 1500 poppies to the display. The inspirational organisation was founded by Verena Tucker and Sara Davies. It unites knitters from the UK, Canada, Australia and America to create handcrafted poppies to raise funds for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.

Image credit: RHS

Lynn Berry says: “Even as a founder of this project I have been completely astounded by the support we have received every step of the way. We are immensely proud to bring this project to such a scale on the world-renowned stage of RHS Chelsea Flower Show.”

The stunning arrangement will be in place for the duration of RHS Chelsea Flower Show (24-28 May).