How to up your Instagram game at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is the biggest date in the UK gardening calendar. For garden designers, it's not only a chance to showcase your vision in real life but also an opportunity to share your work with a much wider audience online.
Garden design by Ula Maria for RHS Chelsea: ‘Muscular Dystrophy UK Forest Bathing Garden’ | Garden design photography by Kat Weatherill
Introduction: Using Instagram to nurture your brand’s presence at RHS Chelsea
Use Instagram increase exposure and to raise your profile in the run up and during Chelsea week. And use it to connect with potential clients and to give your followers a real insight into your Chelsea experience. Whether you're exhibiting, designing or just visiting, here's how to make the most of it on Instagram.
The top ten takeaways for leveraging Instagram at RHS Chelsea
Prep Your Profile Early: Your Instagram is a digital home; ensure your grid reflects your best work and pinned posts introduce who you are before the show begins.
Create Dedicated Highlights: Use a "Chelsea" Story Highlight to archive the journey, making it easy for new visitors to catch up on the magic.
Invite Collaborators: Use the 'Invite Collaborator' feature on grid posts to reach new audiences through shared connections with partners or exhibitors.
Show the "Slow" Process: People value the craft; share the "unseen" build-up, from initial sketches to the final plant deliveries.
Engage with Intention: Use Stories engagement tools like polls and countdowns to make your followers feel part of the Chelsea adventure.
Prioritize Video Content: Capture the movement of the gardens and genuine visitor reactions to create a more immersive digital experience.
Tag Strategically: Mention @RHS Chelsea and your collaborators in every Story to increase your visibility within the wider community.
Share Your Inspiration: Move beyond your own work by sharing the designers and trends that are sparking your own creativity.
Connect Chelsea to Your "Why": Explain how the show's themes—like biodiversity or seasonal rhythms—influence your everyday design philosophy.
Bridge the Gap to Your Website: Ensure your link-in-bio is ready to guide inspired followers toward a more permanent home on your website.
1. Get your Instagram account prepped before you go to Chelsea!
In the run up to RHS Chelsea:
Refresh your Instagram bio - make it clear you're a garden designer and include a reference to RHS Chelsea 2025 if you’re exhibiting
Ensure you have added keywords to your Instagram Bio - like garden designer + your location
Ensure your location is listed in your Bio - this is a really important detail that is often overlooked!
Are all your weblinks up to date?
And have a relevant call to action listed in your Bio also
Ensure you have recent posts on your grid that reflect your best work - share recent projects, moodboards or previews of up and coming projects
Don’t forget you can pin up to three posts to the top of your feed - include an intro post to you and what you do plus a Reel showcasing a recent design project
Create a Story Highlights folder and label one for Chelsea so people can easily view your Chelsea content
Key points
Refresh your bio with keywords like "Garden Designer" and your specific location to ensure you're found by the right people.
Update your links and call-to-action so the path from your profile to your services is effortless.
Pin three posts to the top of your grid that reflect your best work and your brand's essence.
2. Planning your Chelsea Flower Show Instagram content
Don’t wait until Chelsea week to start posting your Chelsea content. In the weeks beforehand start to share more behind the scenes content and start to become more visible on Instagram to encourage people to look out for your content when the event arrives:
If you are designing a garden for Chelsea - share as much of the behind the scenes as possible; people love to see the detail not just the beautiful end results!
Start to talk about designers and exhibitors you’re looking forward to seeing (remember to @mention the accounts that you talk about)
Make a plan of what you’d like to share or talk about in the run up to the week (check this year’s Chelsea Flower Show dates)
Use the Invite collaborator feature to collaborate on your grid content - this can be a great way to reach more of your audience
Key points
Start sharing content weeks before Chelsea to give your audience a sense of belonging in your journey.
Mention and tag fellow designers or exhibitors to foster meaningful collaborations.
Create a "Chelsea" Story Highlight to serve as a permanent archive of your hard work.
3. Make the most of using your Instagram Stories during Chelsea week
Instagram Stories are the best way to show what’s happening during Chelsea week.
Use them to bring your audience along with you for the Chelsea experience:
If you’re exhibiting share the build-up: setting up your space, final plant deliveries and how the design unfolds into reality
Use the Stories engagement tools: polls, questions and countdowns to get your followers involved
Don’t forget to tag your collaborators and RHS Chelsea to help to increase reach
Don’t forget to show up & be visible - your Instagram Stories are a great way to raise your profile and exposure during Chelsea week
Key points
Use Stories to document the "build-up"—the raw, honest moments of setting up your space.
Leverage interactive tools like polls and countdowns to make your followers feel like active participants, not just observers.
Tag RHS Chelsea and your collaborators to increase your reach naturally and beautifully.
4. Capture & share as much video content from RHS Chelsea as possible
Sharing Reels on Instagram is a highly effective way of reaching more of your audience.
Here are some Reels tips for your Chelsea content:
Remember to capture all of your video content in vertical clips so that your content fits the full-screen 9:16 Reels dimensions
Capture as much video content as possible of the behind scenes from your Chelsea experience - the build process, the final garden reveal, planting details; and of course the all important visitor reactions
Get creative with your filming techniques - capture from different angles, film time-lapses and use voiceovers
Don't forget how much people love to watch behind the scenes as much as the beautiful end results
Key points
Always film in vertical (9:16) format to ensure your work feels immersive and fits the digital space perfectly
Capture the "rhythms" of the show: the planting details, the visitor reactions, and the quiet moments in between
Focus on storytelling through time-lapses and voiceovers to add depth and personality to your Reels
Take your garden brand further: as you prepare for the world’s most famous flower show, remember that your digital presence is the ‘home’ your audience visits when the show gates close. For more strategic insights on navigating this season, explore our pillar guide: Marketing for garden designers: Chelsea Flower Show.
If you feel your current online space doesn’t quite ‘reflect your true identity’ or function as effortlessly as it should, we are here to help. We create thoughtfully designed, custom-coded websites specifically for design-conscious businesses like yours.
Ready to help your business flourish? We’d love to hear about your vision. Enquire today to start a conversation about your new website.
5. Four ideas for your Instagram content at RHS Chelsea
And here are some content ideas to inspire you in the run up and during RHS Chelsea:
1. Chelsea prep – Behind the scenes
Show snippets of your work in progress: planting, sketching designs and prepping your materials.
2. What I’m most excited to see at Chelsea
Share your top 5 gardens, designers or trends you're watching out for.
3. How to make the most of Chelsea flower show
Share your tips (if you’ve been before): When to arrive, what to eat and which are the must-see gardens.
4. How Chelsea inspires my own work
Share how the show influences your own designs, colour palettes and planting styles.
Key points
Anything else I need to know about using Instagram to market my business at the Chelsea Flower Show?
Just remember that using Instagram is a really effective way of reaching more of your audience and in the run to and during Chelsea week there will a huge surge in interest in content about Chelsea. And posting lots of content about Chelsea across your feed with carousel posts and Reels and lots to your Stories is a strategic way of increasing your reach in May.
If you would like to find out more about how to use Instagram in a way that engages people and sparks conversations with your target audience, then you can find me on socials - Spark Social on Instagram - or via my website, Instagram specialist in Bristol.
Frequently Asked Questions
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We believe in slow, intentional creativity. Start planting the seeds a few weeks before the show by sharing your sketches, prep work, and anticipation to build a meaningful narrative
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Not at all. Your brand should feel refreshingly honest. An iPhone captured with care and an eye for detail is often more ‘polished yet personal’ than a high-production video
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It’s about revealing what makes you unique. Use specific location tags and clear keywords in your bio, and always include a clear invitation to enquire so the right people know how to step into your world
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About the author:
This is a guest post by Lou Chudley from Spark Social, an Instagram specialist based in Bristol. Lou is an Instagram coach running online Instagram courses and masterclasses and one-to-one training sessions to give you the confidence to you Instagram with clarity and purpose for your business.
In this article:
Introduction: Using Instagram to nurture your brand’s presence at RHS Chelsea
The top ten takeaways for leveraging Instagram at RHS Chelsea
Free Chelsea checklist: Help your website grow
Get your Instagram account prepped before you go to Chelsea!
Make the most of using your Instagram Stories during Chelsea week
Capture & share as much video content from RHS Chelsea as possible
Anything else I need to know about using Instagram to market my business at the Chelsea Flower Show?
About Wildings Studio
Thoughtful, beautiful branding and websites for design-led businesses
Wildings is a website designer for small business offering website design. Based in South Devon, UK, we deliver small business website design for design-conscious brands like garden designers, interior designers, architects, circular ethos restaurants, speciality coffee shops, organic cafés and boutique hotels.
