Events & Festivals

If you haven’t done so already, be sure to enter 16 to 24 May in your diaries for a diverse and stunningly beautiful festival, the Chelsea Fringe. If you love historic buildings dotted around the majestic River Thames with a rare combination of ornate gardens and plant and vegetable life from all over the world, then this festival and its settings is the one for you.

Currently (22 March), organisers have not yet confimed whether the festival will go ahead as planned, however it is liely that it will be a virtual event.

The Chelsea Fringe with its festival buzz stretches over nine days and offers events throughout this time. It includes two action packed weekends and part of it coincides with the internationally renowned Chelsea Flower Show.

There are so many different events on offer that the visitor is advised to log on to the Chelsea Fringe website to get a full flavour of the varying venues. As a taster of what is to come a few are amplified here.

{The following information is for the 2019 event. It will beupdated when further informaton becomes available}.

Chelsea Fringe Programme 2019

On 26 May, The Art and Healing of Plants is open from 11am to 6pm. This takes place in the Chelsea Physics Garden, on a secluded stretch of the River Thames. It is the oldest botanic garden in London and is home to five thousand different medical herbal plants. The event is run annually in collaboration with The Royal Brompton Hospital and specifically looks at medicinal herbal remedies to aid heart and lung conditions.

For history lovers, in 1673 The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries chose this walled, protectedgarden site stretching down to The Thames partially because of the warm air currents coming from the Thames and also because its members could take off in small craft to look for interesting plant life. The accessibility to water also encourages international interest and until this day there has been a global exchange scheme dating from the 1700’s called the Index Seminum. The garden contains the largest fruiting olive tree in the UK.

On May 18 it is the time to celebrate London Trees when Tree Officers in all 33 London boroughs have been asked to show the public their twelve most favourite trees. At a time when all citizens are being encouraged to plant a tree to help to prevent global warming this is clearly an important initiative.

There is also an Urban Woodland Walk led by Peter Fiennes, author of Oak, Ash and Thorn: the ancient woods and new forests of Britain, on Wimbledon Common. Peter is the.

The floral Spectacular at Chelsea Barracks in order to show two of London’s garden square to the public is a must. This will be the first time that the barracks has been open to the public in 150 years

Two new garden squares will be exhibited in Mulberry Square and Bourne Walk designed by landscape architect Neil Porter, together with a team from the Chelsea Barracks. The Chelsea Barracks Kitchen will also be open throughout the Chelsea Fringe Festival and The Chelsea Flower Show, Organiser Quatarii Diar on www.chelseabarracks.com.

Fancy a trip on the river in your own craft decorated to your own design with plants, flowers , fruit or vegetables then make a note of the Floral Flotilla on 25 May. Book early for this fun occasion as there are only a limited number of people able to participate. There is no entry fee but registration is necessary and can be done through the website. Boats will gather alongside the Mill Meadow Mooring at Henley. You can take your own picnic or by refreshments on site.

There is a plethora of other events across London over this stimulating and innovative nine-day festival now in its eighth year from Tree Adventures and Magical Fairy tales on the Embankment on Sunday, 18 May to the Urban Tree Festival which explores the Urban Forest from The Angel to Old Street on 18 May.

Other events include a city beekeeping demo at the Town House in Spitalfields by Bee Urban, as well as workshops on boosting your herb collection at the Jetty in Greenwich, flower-staking at the Doddington Place Gardens in Sittingbourne, Kent, and a seed-sowing session at Pop Brixton.

Art at the Chelsea Fringe

Art is strongly represented at the Fringe. Borrowed Light Floral Studio will install three sculptures inspired by the water cycle and local flora at Walthamstow Wetlands, and children from Horniman Primary School will create a recycled bottle garden installation inspired by Matisse (Horniman Museum and Gardens).

Chelsea Fringe Programme

The full programme is not available yet, but it will be www.chelseafringe.com.

When is the Chelsea Fringe

The festival will be from 15-23 May. Normally it coincides with the Chelsea Flower Show but the latter has been delayed until from 21-26 September.

Where is the Chelsea Fringe

Chelsea, London, although there are events across London.

More information on the Chelsea Fringe

Visit the website.