Chelsea Flower Show: Train passengers treated to onboard display for opening day

‘Not everyone gets the chance to experience it so we wanted to give travellers a little taster’

Passengers admire the Heathrow Flower Express

Passengers boarding the Heathrow Express were greeted with a flower display including a cascade of purple and pink hydrangea, wisteria and fresh sea lavender on the walls of their carriage.

More than 3,000 flowers in total were installed on the 43 seat, 23-metre long Heathrow Express carriage filling the air with the aroma of fresh spring blossom.

The mix of real and artificial flowers were attached to the ceiling and walls using suction grips and hooks and the plants in the luggage racks were held in place by foam.

It took the eight-person team four hours to install – and several months of planning.

“The duration of our transfer service is just 15 minutes so we wanted to make an instant impression on customers departing from and arriving in the UK," said a spokesperson for Heathrow Express which commissioned the display to celebrate the 2019 RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

“The Chelsea Flower Show is one of the biggest events of the year but not everyone gets the chance to experience it so we wanted to give travellers a little taster. And we’re delighted to say the reaction of customers has been blooming marvellous.”

The “flower express” display, which was created by London-based Jamie Aston Flowers, featured 1,850 hydrangeas, 220 wisterias and 1,000 stems of fresh sea lavender.

Around 18,000 passengers were expected to use the transfer service across its 150 journeys.

Mr Aston said: “We’ve created all manner of flower displays but have never had the chance to create one on board a train. We wanted to create something which would bring a smile to passengers’ faces and help them to unwind ahead of or following their flight.”

SWNS