Burlington in Bloom

Our Stand at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show
May 21, 2026

For Gladwell & Patterson, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is more than a fixture in the diary - it is a defining moment in the year. A meeting point for collectors, designers, makers and leading specialists, united by a shared commitment to quality and creative vision, Chelsea offers something that few other contexts can: genuine encounter, unhurried and open.

This year marks the gallery's eighteenth year at Chelsea, a milestone that places it in a category of its own. Not only is Gladwell & Patterson London's oldest art gallery, but it holds the distinction of being the first art gallery ever to exhibit at the show. That legacy quietly shapes everything: the way the stand is conceived, the conversations it invites, and the collectors it welcomes each year.

  • An ode to
    Burlington Arcade.

    This year's stand, SR167, is conceived as a love letter to two great institutions of British heritage and excellence. Having recently made its home at the magnificent House 50, Burlington Arcade - one of London's most celebrated covered promenades - the gallery has brought the spirit and architecture of the Arcade directly to the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

    The design of the stand has been created in collaboration with interior designer Lucinda Sanford, whose flair for considered, beautiful interiors has given the space its distinctive character. The result is something rare at a flower show: an environment that feels genuinely inhabitable.

    The Burlington Arcade premises draw inspiration from several of the gallery's previous London homes, including its well-known premises on Queen Victoria Street and later locations on Albemarle Street and Beauchamp Place. Elements of these earlier galleries have informed the atmosphere of the current space, alongside the continuing presence of the gallery's Stamford location.

    Positioned halfway along the Arcade, the gallery offers an intimate setting in which visitors may view paintings and sculpture away from the pace of the city. The surrounding Regency architecture and the quiet authority of the Arcade's historic Beadles lend the space a character that is genuinely its own, and it is that character the stand at Chelsea seeks to reflect.

  • Why Chelsea.

    Over eighteen years, Chelsea has become one of the gallery's most important moments for engaging with collectors, both established and new. Conversations begun at the stand have led to lasting relationships, significant acquisitions and, often, friendships that extend well beyond the show's five days.

    There is an openness and curiosity among Chelsea visitors that is unlike almost any other context in which the gallery operates. People arrive willing to look, to linger, to ask. It is something Gladwell & Patterson has long treasured, and something that continues to make the show, year after year, worth returning to.

    The RHS Chelsea Flower Show runs until 23 May 2025. Gladwell & Patterson can be found at Stand SR167, near the Bull Ring Gate.