For peat’s sake: RHS faces conservative backlash over Chelsea flower show

Critics of Royal Horticultural Society turn hose on corporate sponsorship, peat-free compost and general ‘wokery’

There was King Charles and David Beckham as well as a nocturnal garden to support bats and a Viking-themed allotment full of edible plants in pots. The Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea flower show, which ends on Saturday, was as lovely and celebrity-glittered as ever, most agreed.

But dig a little deeper, say critics on the conservative wing of the RHS – including one spectacularly outspoken former contributor – and not everything is necessarily smelling of roses.