Netflix sponsors Bridgerton-themed garden at Chelsea Flower Show
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Netflix will debut at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show with a Bridgerton-inspired garden as the charity tries to broaden the event’s appeal and bring in a younger audience.
The streaming service will sponsor a “secretive and secluded space” inspired by Penelope Featherington, a central character in the new series of Bridgerton being broadcast six days before the event starts.
It is the first time a streaming service has backed a garden at the show, which has turned to new sponsorship sources in recent years as traditional corporate funding has slowed.
In addition to its own garden, Netflix is also sponsoring the “London gate” entrance to the show, which begins on May 21.
The Netflix garden was designed by first-time Chelsea gardener Holly Johnston, who incorporated elements inspired by Bridgerton into her original plans after the sponsorship deal was agreed.
Among the elements include a dark, shaded space on one half of the garden with ferns, ivy and ground cover. It is contrasted with a brighter ensemble of lilacs, pinks and blues.
The brighter flowers represent Penelope Featherington as she becomes more confident and outgoing, whereas the richer, greener plants that create shade represent the character in the early series when she was more secretive.
The RHS said it was thrilled to have the Bridgerton garden at this year’s show. The charity has faced criticism in recent years that its shows do not appeal to a diverse audience, with Monty Don last year admitting it was “too white, too middle-aged and too middle-class”.
This year, it has introduced its first children’s garden as part of a push to make its flower shows more welcoming, following years when children were effectively discouraged from attending.
Gardens at the show can cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to produce, including planting labour and special features, and gardeners are expected to secure sponsorship to feature.
Experts say costs have risen in recent decades as show gardens have become more extravagant.
In 2017, a drop in corporate sponsorship left the show with less than half the number of gardens compared to previous years. It has introduced new sponsors in recent years, including Facebook parent company Meta, and in 2021 gained a new headline sponsor for the first time in 11 years, after investment company M&G ended its partnership with the show.
Netflix said: “RHS Chelsea is truly an institution in the UK with such a hugely passionate fan base.
“In cementing Bridgerton as a beloved franchise in the UK, Netflix wanted to speak directly to the Chelsea audience and celebrate the beauty and opulent English florals that fill our screens in the Bridgerton world.”
Bridgerton is a period drama but rejects historical accuracy in favour of symbolic fashion, including the use of colour to represent character development and differentiation.
The Featheringtons, one of the series’ central families, wear bold colours and overly patterned clothing to show their “new money” status, with lots of yellow. The colour Wedgwood blue is used to represent the Bridgertons, who are considered a more refined family, because of its association with fine porcelain china.
Penelope Featherington wears only patterned yellow clothing in the first series, which is intended to represent her secretive nature. As the drama moved into its second series, pink elements were incorporated to demonstrate her growing confidence and maturity.
Miss Johnston moved from New York to London to retrain as a garden designer at the Chelsea Physic Garden after a career in corporate marketing and sponsorship deals.
She said she hoped her first Chelsea garden will “give people the confidence to be who they want to be, and to come out of the shadows and into the light”.
The space features a moongate at the entrance, leading to sunken seating area and a hand carved wall fountain engraved with a phrase from Bridgerton.
“The moongate in the garden is symbolic of new beginnings, and is inherently feminine,” said Miss Johnston.
