VISITORS to this year's Chelsea Flower Show will be smelling more than just the flowers when they are treated to a "sensory experience" of what it is like to be blind – thanks to a Leatherhead charity.
SeeAbility, which has five support centres around the town, will present their display at the Royal Horticultural Society's world renowned show in May.
The charity's garden will be themed on sight loss and aims to inspire people to think about the impact of visual impairment.
Clare Oades, manager of SeeAbility's Millennium Centre in Wesley Road, said: "It's great that our charity will be at the Chelsea Flower Show.
"The garden will be a tremendous opportunity for SeeAbility to raise awareness about our specialist work with people who have sight loss and multiple disabilities.
"Many of the people we support enjoy the gardens here, which provide an opportunity to appreciate different sensory experiences."
The Chelsea Flower Show is an annual event held over five days every May in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London, and attracts visitors from around the world.
The charity's bid to have their garden included in the show was supported by private bank and wealth managers Coutts and Co, while the display was designed by gardener Darren Hawkes.
Monica Cornforth, spokeswoman for SeeAbility, said: "The garden will highlight specific sight conditions and express them conceptually through its design and a range of different materials and planting. The garden's message will be an overridingly positive one, focusing on enriching life through maximising limited vision and other senses."
Michael Morley, chief executive of Coutts and Co, said: "SeeAbility does a tremendous amount for the visually impaired which will be reflected through the design of the garden.
"The Chelsea Flower Show is an iconic event that is known around the world and we are proud to be collaborating with SeeAbility to showcase a garden at Chelsea in what will be its 100th year."
SeeAbility is a specialist charity supporting people who have multiple disabilities, including visual impairment, learning and physical disabilities, mental health difficulties, and acquired brain injury.
