Virginia orchid grower wins silver-gilt medal at 2025 RHS Chelsea Flower Show

Chadwick & Son Orchids, a Virginia-based orchid nursery, won a silver-gilt medal from the Royal Horticultural Society for its orchid exhibit at the 2025 RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London, England, in May.

Queen Camilla visited the exhibit on the opening day and saw her namesake orchid that Chadwick’s bred.

This was Chadwick’s first appearance at the show, and it was the only American exhibitor.

“It was thrilling to be on the world stage, receive this prestigious award and meet the queen,” said President Art Chadwick. “Since their introduction in the late 1800s, orchids have been wildly popular at home and abroad.”

Chadwick’s operates 13 greenhouses in Powhatan County and two retail stores in Richmond, Virginia. The second-generation family business produces hybrids honoring first ladies, with two books on the subject: “The Classic Cattleyas” and “First Ladies and their Orchids: A Century of Namesake Cattleyas” from University Press of Florida.