Hartley Botanic’s 2024 RHS Chelsea Tradestand ‘Simple Elegance – A Traditional English Garden’. Manufacturer to showcase largest structure ever shown at Chelsea, reflecting demand for grander Victorian Glasshouses. The stand officially launches Hartley Botanic’s NEW range of elegant water butts and showcases two new Greenhouse colours. 

Four contrasting Greenhouses are set against an inspiring, yet traditional, Victorian English garden theme

An illustration of Hartley Botanic’s 2024 RHS Chelsea Flower Show tradestand by Landscape Architect Rachel Sampson, who is designing this year’s stand

Hartley Botanic, England’s most historic and respected Glasshouse and Greenhouse manufacturer, will be proudly showcasing four of its beautiful handmade structures (two in brand new colours) at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year, and is launching an exciting new range of Hartley Botanic aluminium water butts in two different sizes. The stand has a design and planting scheme inspired by the English gardens of the Victorian period, a nod to the longevity of Hartley Botanic’s Greenhouses, and a celebration of the era’s opulence and elegance. Four contrasting structures demonstrate the breadth of choice available to Hartley Botanic customers as part of a range which remains ‘incomparable,’ with a stately Victorian Manor, joined by a Modern Opus Glasshouse, a practical Wisley 8 Grow and Store and a Patio Glasshouse. The 8.146m long and 4.128m wide Victorian Manor is the largest Glasshouse the manufacturer has brought to the flower show, reflecting a trend for larger and grander Victorian-style structures amongst its customers.

The 2024 Hartley Botanic tradestand has been designed by Landscape Architect Rachel Sampson (BA(Hons) Dip. CMLI) and built and planted by Stewart Landscape Construction.

The Victorian Manor Glasshouse in NEW Matt Black – Victorian Range

The largest structure Hartley Botanic has ever brought to RHS Chelsea, the magnificent Victorian Manor Glasshouse has been powder coated in matt black, a NEW custom colour, includes integrated coldframes to the left rear and sits on a dwarf wall of pretty Cotswold stone. The Glasshouse is part of Hartley Botanic’s nostalgic and romantic Victorian range which is the manufacturer’s most popular. There has been an emerging trend for larger structures amongst those choosing a Victorian-style Glasshouse which reflects increased growing ambitions and a greater lifestyle reliance on growing edibles.

The planting and design of the Victorian Manor on the Chelsea stand showcases the pioneering introduction of ‘new’ plants during the Victorian era which were associated with luxury and opulence, as wealthy homeowners bought Glasshouses and filled them with exotic plant collections. The plants on show represent the Victorian era’s most popular, with palms, ferns, exotics and citruses in pots. With its generous size, the Glasshouse can comfortably accommodate both growing and lifestyle uses, and features a dining area separated by an internal partition. 

NEW Hartley Botanic Water Butts – Product Launch

Hartley Botanic has launched a new range of elegantly designed water butts which can be seen for the first time on the tradestand. The handmade, aluminium water butts, available in both large and small sizes, have a beautiful and unique design aesthetic which combines a clean shape with curved legs, providing a finished look which is both refined and stylish.

The large water butt has a 167-litre capacity and is seen on the stand next to the Victorian Manor in matching Matt Black. The smaller butt can accommodate 88-litres and is next to the Wisley 8 Grow & Store Greenhouse in matching bronze. Water Butts can be powder coated to match a Hartley Botanic structure and provide customers with a useful water storage solution, addressing the necessity to consider sustainability in the contemporary garden.

Opus Glasshouse in Dark Bronze - Modern Horticulture Range

The Opus Glasshouse is the most contemporary structure on the stand, with its concealed engineering and its expansive glass-to-ground windows, the Glasshouse maximises both light and architectural styling.

The Opus on the stand is powder coated in dark bronze and filled with colourful orchids. Quintessentially Victorian, the abundance of the orchids’ contrasting colours will be complemented by non-flowering plants such as ferns. Visitors will be afforded a tropical journey through this Glasshouse, as they experience the vibrancy of the orchids on show.

Wisley 8 Grow and Store Greenhouse in Bronze – Heritage Range

A Greenhouse design classic, the Wisley 8 Grow and Store Greenhouse is a highly attractive and practical structure – thanks to its partitioned-off internal storage area. Part of the heritage range, the Wisley 8 Grow and Store Greenhouse has a historically-inspired design based on an original, historic Hartley Botanic model. The Grow and Store on the stand has been powder coated in bronze. 

Displayed as a working Greenhouse, the Wisley 8 Grow and Store is simple in its layout with staging, a potting shoe and homegrown plants such as pelargoniums, cut flower and vegetable seedlings. Edible crops will also be on display, including chilli and tomato plants, referencing one of the primary reasons Hartley Botanic customers give for owning a Greenhouse – to grow their own. A number of heritage edible varieties will feature too, a nod to a 2024 edible growing trend which sees Greenhouse owners seek out heirloom seeds for their specific taste benefits.  

Patio Glasshouse in NEW Matt Forest Green – Hartley Botanic’s Smallest Structure

Hartley Botanic’s smallest Glasshouse, the Patio Glasshouse, also features on the stand painted in a new colour – Matt Forest Green. At just 0.735m wide, the space-saving Patio means even the smallest of spaces, city gardens or balconies can enjoy the growing benefits of owning a Hartley Botanic.

The tradestand Patio is full of ariculas, a pretty and delicate alpine primula - demonstrating that Victorian-style plant collections can be started in the smallest of Glasshouses.

A Victorian English Garden Theme

This year’s stand celebrates the beautifully inspiring English gardens of the Victorian era, a period of gardening history known for its opulence and for helping to establish gardening ‘under glass.’ The design reflects simple elegance, through a minimal material palette, that is surrounded by an abundance of flowers. Romanticising traditional English Gardens, the planting will be full, spilling over paths and showcasing rich displays of colour. The structural simplicity of the design scheme incorporates a formal hedge, topiary, two feature multi stem trees and paths leading into each of the Glasshouses. Withstanding the test of time, the Hartley Botanic structures celebrate the elegant longevity of this era, mimicking the Victorian style of rich, dark tones through the Glasshouse frame colours.

The planting will be characteristic of a cottage garden with elegant and timeless roses, spires of digitalis, phlomis and iris poking through an abundance of cascading layers of colour and texture from plants such as geraniums, astrantia, phlox and salvia.

Tom Barry, CEO of Hartley Botanic said; “Achieving an elegant and traditional garden aesthetic is an aspiration for many customers, and often a driving force in their decision to invest in a luxury Hartley Botanic Greenhouse. The Victorians certainly knew how to create beautiful and opulent planting schemes and we see customers recreate this look in their Greenhouses today, especially those within our Victorian range. 

“Much of Hartley Botanic’s reputation is built on looking back. Customers feel reassured that we have been in the Greenhouse business since 1938, and the structural integrity of our buildings certainly means they stand the test of time. But the breadth of our range shows our desire to also look forward – to cater for many different Greenhouse needs and styles, and to provide different models to suit all kinds of gardens and uses. Our new water butts answer both a modern customer issue and sustainability concerns around water consumption, delivering this in an elegant, carefully considered design Hartley Botanic structures are known for.” 

All Hartley Botanic’s Glasshouses and Greenhouses are handmade, bespoke, and made to order. Customers interested in purchasing a Hartley Botanic Greenhouse should visit www.hartley-botanic.co.uk or call 01457 819 155 for more information.