At every Chelsea the President of the Royal Horticultural Society, Sir Simon Hornby, addresses a lunch for Chelsea judges, garden writers and the great and the good of the plant world.

'This is the same old Chelsea,’ he told us today, ‘but it feels excitingly new. We have the same old ingredients in a new form. Replacing the marquee has given us the opportunity to improve the layout of the Show and the new marquee gives us a lovely clear span and a feeling of lightness and airiness. So I can say again that this really is the greatest flower show on earth.’