So, what are we going to learn from this year’s internationally-acclaimed horticultural show?

While sustainability may be the watchword of this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, with emphasis on biodiversity, wild planting areas and inviting eco-systems, so many of the designs simply wouldn’t be feasible in our own gardens.

So, eminent designers ranging from Tom Stuart-Smith to Jekka McVicar are offering advice to gardeners based on their own experiences in a new centenary edition of Take Chelsea Home by Chris Young, which looks at how gardeners can adopt similar techniques to create beautiful spaces in their own residential plots.

Here’s a few tips from the award-winners: Organic herb grower Jekka McVicar, who has won 14 gold medals at Chelsea, on planting a summer salad crop container: “Salad rocket, dill and mustard are all great salad herbs that can be easily raised from seed and grown in a container.

“The trick is to choose a planter large enough to grow a crop for cutting; an ideal size is 23cm (9in) wide by 18cm (7in) high, or 5 litres/1 gallon, or larger. Fill with compost and water well, then sow the seeds and cover lightly with more compost.

“Set the container in a sheltered warm spot that is shaded from the midday sun. Once you start cutting your salad, feed the plants every week with a balanced liquid fertiliser.”

Landscape designer Tom Stuart-Smith, who has eight Chelsea golds under his belt, on layered planting: “The idea behind layered planting in the garden is to repeat the ecological patterns inherent in complex plant communities.

“In an oak woodland, for example, there are various different levels: an upper canopy, often a middle canopy of medium-sized trees and saplings; a shrub layer, a herb layer, and then bulbs and corms at the bottom.

“By adapting this natural pattern to a garden, it is possible to have different layers flowering at different times, usually with the lower layers flowering first.”

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show takes place from May 21 to 25, in the grounds of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea. For more information, visit rhs.org.uk