Dame Mary Berry and the stars of Bridgerton are among the celebrities who visited the Chelsea Flower Show on Monday, before it opens to the public.

Among the highlights of this year’s show are gardens filled with drought-resilient plants, water storage and green innovation as the show embraces sustainability and a future with climate change.

Dame Judi Dench placed a seedling from the Sycamore Gap tree, felled in an act of vandalism, onto the National Trust’s Octavia Hill garden.

The seedling, grown from a seed taken from the tree which had stood for 200 years in a dip on Hadrian’s Wall and named by Dame Judi as Antoninus after the adopted son of Emperor Hadrian, will be on display during the show.

Andrew Jasper, director of gardens and parklands at the National Trust, said he hoped visitors would take inspiration from seeing the seedling, saying: “When we first saw the seedlings germinate, we knew there was hope for the tree’s future.”

Ms Berry, 89, a former judge on The Great British Bake Off, was photographed in the Bridgerton garden with actresses Hannah Dodd and Ruth Gemmell who play Francesca Bridgerton and her mother, Lady Violet, in the hit Netflix series.

The garden is inspired by Penelope Featherington, played by Derry Girls star Nicola Coughlan, whose love story is one of the main themes of the recently-released third season.

Emmys 2021: The Crown and The Mandalorian lead nominations with 24 nods – as British talent shines

Intimacy co-ordinators and sex on screen: The reason why sexual scenes are getting better

Ms Berry also visited the National Garden Scheme garden, joined by the Chelsea Pensioners, who are retired British Army soldiers based at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, where the annual flower show takes place.

The TV chef is the president of the scheme, which gives people access to over 3,500 private gardens in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Ms Dench, 89, a well-known nature-lover, met naturalist and TV presenter Chris Packham.

She was photographed with a seedling in a pot from the Sycamore Gap tree, which was a much-photographed tree, chopped down in September last year.

Read more on Sky News:
Sienna Miller walks Cannes red carpet with daughter
How Sarah Harding’s dying wish is helping young women
Strictly Come Dancing star denies ‘threatening behaviour’

Dame Joan Collins, Carol Vorderman, Dame Joanna Lumley, Gabby Logan and Bruno Tonioli were among the other celebrities who visited the show, which opens to the public on Tuesday.

Sustainability is one of the themes of this year’s show, with organisers, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), introducing a “green audit” for larger gardens and handing out an environmental innovation award for the first time.

The King and Queen are scheduled to tour the event on Monday.

Related posts:

Man jailed for raping and robbing two men he met on dating app National investigation to be launched over Arthur Labinjo-Hughes murder ‘Tinder rapist’ who sexually assaulted five women he met on dating app is jailed for life Ex-police officer poisoned in Salisbury novichok attack reaches settlement with old force ‘A disaster zone’: Families say loved ones are dying on trollies in overcrowded hospital corridors Royal Navy sailor, 24, found dead at Cornwall training base Football shirt number retired and fundraiser launched after death of six-year-old Political parties secure £24m in donations over three months – with Clegg adding to Lib Dem coffers Rishi Sunak confirms HS2 leg to Manchester will be scrapped Children among injured after chemical attack in London Two horses which bolted through central London in a ‘serious condition’ Why is it suddenly cold and when will the weather get warmer?