Let the battle commence! The air of gladiatorial combat at the Chelsea Flower Show this year is only enhanced by the fact that the leading contenders in the main show garden arena are all young(ish) men.

Among the 15 design teams, only two women figure prominently. So it’s been testosterone time during the build-up, belying the ostensibly gentle realm of garden design. Still, there have been no reports of fisticuffs (as yet).

There are two main themes in the show gardens this year: woodland gardening and the Mediterranean look, with the former more evident than the latter. A strong international component is another feature, with submissions by designers from Japan, Australia and Norway. Any number of gold medals can be awarded in any one year, followed by silver-gilt, silver and bronze.

Laurent-Perrier
Garden The Laurent-Perrier Garden
Designer Tom Stuart-Smith
A perennial favourite – and not simply on form (Stuart-Smith has won best in show three times, the last in 2008). His show garden exhibits a winning design formula: a woodland garden featuring complex naturalistic planting with a handful of key repeated plants, all set within a strong structural ground plan in which the texture and colour of tree bark and foliage (birches in this case) offsets subtle metallic tones and well-finished stonework.