Penrose Sparks Chelsea Flower Show Backlash as RHS Posts £8.1m Loss
Tim Penrose used the chelsea flower show backlash to turn criticism of the Royal Horticultural Society’s peat policy into a public protest, after saying he was blocked from exhibiting this year. The award-winning RHS exhibitor arrived in a Superman suit and said only the fictional hero could save the society.
The dispute comes as the RHS recorded a net loss of £8.1m in the year ending January 2025, while saying its unpublished financial accounts for the last financial year were healthier. It also said it grew income by 7%, made a cash profit of £4.8m and invested £83m in its charitable work.
Penrose and the RHS
Penrose said the society turned him down because he had not attended anti-peat seminars and was not committed to its anti-peat policy. “In my application I agreed to adhere to their rules,” he said. He added: “So I was very upset and astonished when they turned me down on the anti-peat issue, writing to me saying they would not be able to ‘give me space’ because they were not ‘committed’ to anti-peat policy and that I hadn’t attended any of their anti-peat seminars.”
He also said: “They just don’t like me speaking out.” And he added: “There are others who agree with me about the way things are going, but everyone is too scared for fear of being excluded … There is unbelievable snootiness from staff who behave like school teachers … The thing is, you go too woke, you could go broke.”
RHS finances and support
The society made its shops peat-free in January in recognition of the environmental damage caused by peat extraction. Its latest filed accounts showed the £8.1m loss, even as it said the unpublished figures for the year were healthier.
Support has also changed around the show. A mystery philanthropic couple who had spent more than £23m on Chelsea ended their backing this year, and The Newt launched its own garden show with free entry to under-16s.
Chelsea Flower Show Saturday
The Chelsea flower show ends on Saturday, leaving the RHS with the dual task of defending its peat-free policy and replacing lost support. Penrose’s protest has turned that pressure into a public dispute at the show itself.
