Chelsea Flower Show: Stunning black-and-white photos show the botanical event through the years

Thousands of flowers, hundreds of sandwiches and royal guest or two - the famous Chelsea Flower Show has returned to London for another year.

This year's competition is bigger than ever, and the streets of SW1 have also gotten a floral makeover as part of the Chelsea in Bloom competition.

But if you didn't manage to get tickets to this year's horticultural event, why not take a retrospective look at the rich history of the event in days gone by with these brilliant black-and-white photographs.

Aside from gaps during the two World Wars, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show has been held in the grounds of the Chelsea Hospital every year since 1913.

It used to be Britain’s largest flower show (second now to Hampton Court), but it still remains the most prestigious event in every florists’ and flower-lovers’ calendar.

The images feature all manner of goings-on at the show, from helpers riding donkeys at the show in 1919 to disgruntled patrons holding up their umbrellas during a downpour in 1923.

One of the earliest photographs gives us a glimpse at some of the members of royalty that have graced the show over the past century, including Queen Mary and her daughter Princess Mary in 1920.

A later photograph shows Queen Elizabeth II viewing a rose bed during a royal tour of the gardens in the swinging Sixties.

There’s also a glimpse into the work that goes into setting up the show, with scenes of gardeners carrying flowers into the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in 1955, and an enormous floral clock being assembled by four men in 1966.

The pictures span a period of six decades, taking us on a journey from 1913 to 1973.

Click on the image above to view the gallery.

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