Leon Kluge, who led the award-winning Team SA to this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, recalls the long hours, anxious moments and hard work that culminated in gold again for South Africa.

The journey to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show was a long and hard one. Following a four-year absence and after longstanding sponsors had pulled out because of the tough post-Covid climate, it became increasingly likely that the world’s most prestigious flower show would never see a protea again.
But this year was different. Despite all the challenges, a small group of passionate individuals and the private sector came together to secure the funds necessary to send Team SA to London once again. Flights booked and budgets drawn up, we set about designing a display inspired by the mountain ranges of the Western Cape.
Undulating cracked-earth panels would weave through the presentation, dividing and connecting different zones of fynbos. The cracked-earth texture came to represent our contrasting seasons in the Cape as well as the fragility of its habitats. In addition, as if carved by the infamous ‘South-easter’, holes dotted these panels to provide vistas into the next zone.
The design sorted, we shifted our focus to the flowers, the stars of the show. Sourcing 22 000 stems of high-quality fynbos cut-flowers from farmers across the Cape would be no mean feat. The most obvious challenge was to find blooms that would be ready in time for the flower show in May, as most protea varieties only start blooming from June and continue to November. We visited farms from Citrusdal to Bredasdorp to see what would be available and to draw up an extensive wish list for D-day or ‘harvest day’. The weather needed to be on our side during this period and thankfully it was.
Boxes of some of the finest fynbos cut-flowers eventually arrived at Cape Town International Airport, all transported at a frosty 4°C to preserve the fresh blooms.
Meanwhile, the unglamorous but important work of compiling the paperwork for each species was going on behind the scenes so that the relevant papers would accompany the mass shipment to Customs. All was in order and we were given the all clear for take-off.
As well as having to withstand the transit from Cape Town to London (the tight budget meant a stopover in Dubai as well), the blooms had to last almost three weeks from time of harvest until the end of the show. Fortunately many fynbos species, especially proteas, are incredibly tough while in transit. Their woody stems are perfectly adapted to hold the flowers in place and they have the remarkable ability to rehydrate when placed in water. But even with this in our favour, it would all count for nothing should our wonderful selection of flowers fail to pass the rigours of UK Customs. A stray frog, a fleck of disease or a wandering gogga could spell the end of all our hard work.

Thankfully, our pristine flowers passed the test and when they arrived at the showground in Chelsea we knew half the battle was won. By this time our team had already been working tirelessly to complete the clay structure that would become the backdrop for the flowers. Although we had done tests back home in South Africa, it was always going to be nerve-wracking to find out if the clay would indeed ‘crack’ the way we wanted it to. For a while it remained wet, glossy and smooth, the exact opposite of what we wanted. But after a couple of days the London weather finally turned sunny and dried out the clay to produce a network of cracks on the surface. We were once again back on track; the design was beginning to come together.
After 10 gruelling days of set-up, often starting at 7am and ending at 10pm, our team in now-muddy high-vis vests could finally take off their steel-capped shoes. It was time for the judges to get to work, and for our anxious wait to begin. The morning after judging we went to check our display and were greeted by a Gold Medal award! The team were overjoyed and relieved that all our hard work and sacrifice had been worth it.
But the best was yet to come. The president of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), Keith Weed, named our display the ‘Best Exhibit in the Great Pavilion’ and the ‘Best New Design’. With perfect scores from the judges and a full trophy cabinet, our hearts were so full with pride and gratitude.
When the show officially opened to the public, perhaps the most rewarding part for us was hearing all the positive comments from not only visitors, but all the South Africans sending messages on social media. Many of those who marvelled at our exhibit were not familiar with ‘fynbos’, let alone the wide variety of hybrids and cultivated forms on display. Yet very few regions of the world have such a recognisable kingdom of plants.
For many South Africans, the protea is far more than just a flower; it has come to symbolise home and national pride. This was evident when hundreds of South Africans now living in London saw the exhibit and had an immediate emotional response to the display. The sheer abundance and richness of our natural heritage pulled at the heart strings of those who missed home. Even King Charles took the time to meet us at our display and admired the selection of proteas, which His Majesty remembered fondly from visits to Cape Town.
The display was a celebration of not only our diverse flora, but also our booming cut-flower industry, which contributes immensely to the rural economies where proteas and their ilk are grown. It also inspired visitors from all over the world to come and visit South Africa to see these magnificent plants in their natural habitat.
Thank you to all our sponsors and to my incredible team for once again putting South Africa on the map as a destination for flowers. Our natural heritage is something to be celebrated and conserved. V