RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023
The Newt in Somerset returns to RHS Chelsea Flower Show from 23 to 27 May 2023. In addition to the spectacular show gardens Chelsea is famed for, visitors will be invited to step inside our scaled-up hive to see the world from a bee's eye view, as we create a buzz around the plight of the bee. There will also be an opportunity to sample a taste of the West Country, thanks to our Cellar Master ensuring the Fine Cyder tastings are free flowing. Our sponsorship of the show continues to support the RHS with its mission to safeguard the future of horticulture through research, education and community programmes. Much like the RHS, we are firm believers in the power of gardens to inspire creativity, enhance communities and facilitate learning: an ethos at the core of every experience we shape for guests and members of The Newt.
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Beezantium
Bringing the buzz of our gardens to the capital, our feature garden at RHS Chelsea offers enlightening insights into the mysterious life of the bee, through a scaled-up beehive surrounded by nectar-rich planting. Designed to provide a sense of the world from the bee’s perspective, the garden helps visitors understand the important role bees play in our global ecosystem, and why they need our protection. Inside, a multi-sensory honeycomb explores what happens inside a real hive; from how a colony shares information to the art of the ‘waggle dance’, revealing how and why bees create wax, and the importance of honey production. Inspired by the Beezantium exhibit on our estate, it looks at the colony as a superorganism and its relationship with humans, because everything in our ecosystem is connected. The hive sits at the heart of an apiary garden created by Head Gardener, Stephen Herrington in collaboration with Head Beekeeper, Paula Carnell, and is hosted by gardeners and beekeepers.
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Official Cyder of Chelsea
Our favourite West Country tipple takes centre stage, as The Newt’s Fine Cyder once again becomes the official cyder of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Visitors will enjoy tastings, led by Cellar Master, Greg Carnell. Made with specially selected dessert apples and using modern techniques, this super-fresh, still cyder is the perfect refreshment for a busy show day. The stand features a display of Bramley apples and product showcases of the full cyder range.
Sample our Fine Cyder at home with our show special case price of 6 bottles for the price of 5 for the chance to win a two night hotel stay. See T&Cs for details.
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Official Rosé of Chelsea
Our friends in South Africa, at Babylonstoren, are getting in on the act again this year, giving visitors to the show the first opportunity to sip the newly-released Mourvèdre Rosé 2023 – the official rosé of RHS Chelsea. With subtle notes of rose petals and ripe berries, the dry and elegant wine transports you to the magnificent gardens at Babylonstoren – a historic Cape Dutch working farm, winery and hotel in the Franschhoek wine valley. To complement the rosé’s pale orange and pink-tinted hues, the stand will be decorated with a multitude of pink protea cynaroides to celebrate South Africa’s national flower.
Sample the exceptional 2023 vintage at home with our show special case price of 6 bottles for the price of 5 for a chance to win a two night hotel stay. See T&Cs for details.
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About our Bees
With decades of widespread chemical use and a shortage of food putting bees at huge risk across the UK, we began our bee conservation programme in 2017. An estate-wide bee survey at the time revealed two native honeybee colonies and eight species of solitary and bumble bees. Fast forward six years, and today The Newt’s 1,000 acres are home to 20 honeybee colonies, along with 26 species of solitary and bumblebees, all of which play a vital role in our wider land management. From funding research to creating plant corridors that encourage natural migration of pollinators across the landscape, we are committed to ensuring the estate is a safe place for all pollinators. To this end, none of the estate’s honeybee colonies are fed sugar or treated with chemicals, which has resulted in them adopting the characteristics of Apis mellifera mellifera, or ‘black bee’- previously thought lost or exceptionally rare in the UK. Fully adapted to their local environment, our colonies buck the trend for mass winter losses and are gently increasing in size each year.
Grow Slowly
The best things in life take time. Gardening is about nurturing nature and working with the seasons. Many of the gardens at RHS Chelsea this year are highlighting native and naturalistic planting, and the importance of pollinators for our environment and habitats. In solidarity and as reference to our own efforts to encourage pollinators and conserve the landscape in Somerset, we will be reminding visitors to smell the roses, Grow Slowly and Bee Well.
Free Shipping
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