Free flowers at Heathrow Airport

Heathrow flowers two

London’s Heathrow Airport & the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) have put together some lovely traditional English gardens to welcome passengers and will be handing out free seed packets to travelers so they can start their own gardens.

The terminal approach areas outside Terminals 3, 4 and 5 have been transformed into a living art installation by Tony Smith, winner of three Royal Horticultural Society best in show awards and gold at RHS Chelsea, RHS Hampton Court, RHS Tatton Park and Gardeners’ World Live Flower Shows.

Heathrow flower one

The special gardens will be blooming through May 25 and are in honor of England’s National Gardening Week (April 15 – 21) and the Chelsea Flower Show (May 21 – 25).

Inside the airport, over 170 volunteers wearing Wellington boots and gardening aprons will be welcoming arriving passengers, dispensing gardening advice and handing out 20,000 packets of seeds.

Airport restaurants will also have special flower-themed menu items, such as native lobster with elderflower foam, pea shoots and violets from Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food and spring salads with edible flowers from “rhubarb”.

Worried about leaving your plants alone when you travel? Experts at the Royal Horticultural Society say most houseplants will tolerate being alone and untended to for a few days, but if you’ll be away for more than a week:

*Move houseplants and outdoor containers to a sheltered, shady site outdoors to stop them drying out as quickly.

*Re-pot pot-bound plants. If they’re too crammed in, they will dry out quickly. Choose containers with integral reservoirs and incorporate water absorbent gel into the compost.

*Give plants a good soak before leaving them, but don’t leave them standing in water as this can lead to them suffering from over watering.

*Ask neighbors or friends if they can check whether the pots need watering while you’re away. If you can, give them a quick tour before leaving to explain what is likely to need attention and what isn’t.

*Consider installing an automatic watering system (available at garden centers and DIY shops) for patio pots and greenhouses.

Thanks for visiting Stuck at the Airport. Subscribe to get daily travel tidbits. And follow me on Twitter at @hbaskas and Instagram.