Lovehoney Sponsors Aphrodite-Themed Pleasure Garden at Chelsea
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is set to unveil a sex-themed garden at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, sponsored by Lovehoney, a company specializing in vibrators and sexual wellness products. The garden, inspired by Aphrodite, the goddess of love, will showcase flowers and plants associated with love and sexuality.
The Chelsea Flower Show, a prestigious event in the UK social calendar, has faced funding challenges after the charity Project Giving Back announced that 2026 will be its final year of support. The RHS is actively seeking new charitable funding for the 2027 show.
Aphrodite’s Hothouse: Design and Concept
The garden, named Aphrodite’s Hothouse, is designed by award-winning designer James Whiting, founder of . Whiting aims to challenge societal taboos through this garden, which centers on a large greenhouse featuring a giant ornamental heart and Aphrodite-themed elements such as a clam with a pearl inside.
“Chelsea flower show is the perfect stage for storytelling with plants, and I’ve never been one to play it safe. Creating the ultimate pleasure garden with Lovehoney was too irresistible to pass up.
Gardens should spark curiosity, break a few taboos and make people stop in their tracks. Houseplants, much like pleasure, are something we should celebrate openly and abundantly.”
Plant Selection and Symbolism
The garden will include plants with heart-shaped leaves, flowers, or bracts, predominantly in red or pink hues. Orchids, often associated with Aphrodite, will also be featured. Additionally, plants evoking the sea—referencing Aphrodite’s mythical emergence from sea foam—will be incorporated. These include mistletoe cactus, spider plants, Spanish moss, and ferns from the asplenium family.
Whiting plans to use "flirty" and "playful" plants such as heartleaf philodendron and spiderwort, alongside pink-hued blooms like phalaenopsis orchids and caladiums to symbolize early love. Plants representing lust with deep velvety foliage, tactile leaves, and rich red and burgundy colors will also be present. This includes densely planted flamingo flowers, prayer plants, pitcher plants, and red-leaf philodendrons, arranged to evoke suggestive desire.
Lovehoney’s Perspective
Jo Connarty of Lovehoney commented on the company’s involvement:
“You don’t expect to see a sexual wellness brand at Chelsea flower show and that’s precisely the point. We’re always looking for cultural spaces to show up in and new ways to tell stories about sexual wellbeing, especially where it’s been absent. An immersive, unexpected pleasure garden designed to spark curiosity and challenge expectations, because if we want to change the conversation around sex, we can’t stay in our lane.”
End of Garden Gnome Ban and Celebrity Involvement
In addition to the Aphrodite garden, the RHS has announced the end of a longstanding ban on garden gnomes at Chelsea. Celebrities have been invited to decorate gnomes that will be displayed at the show and later auctioned to support future gardeners. The ban was previously lifted only once in 2013 to mark the centenary of the Chelsea Flower Show. Historically, gnomes were banned as they were considered tacky and inconsistent with the event’s aesthetic.
The show will also feature a garden partially designed by King Charles, in collaboration with the King’s Foundation Curious Garden. This garden will showcase delphiniums, one of King Charles’s favorite plants. As a patron of the Delphinium Society, the King cultivates many delphiniums in his Highgrove garden.
Another notable exhibit is a garden co-designed by David Beckham, which will include seven raised plant beds symbolizing his shirt number during his tenure with Manchester United and England.
Event Details
The Chelsea Flower Show will take place at the Royal Hospital Gardens from 19 to 23 May.
