The Queen's in bloom! Display featuring Her Majesty's head framed by flowers takes centre stage at Chelsea 

For high society, it is the highlight of the summer calendar, and this year's Chelsea Flower Show doesn't look like disappointing the host of celebrities and royals who are attending the prestigious event.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are making their first appearance together later today on Royal Hospital Road, arriving to admire the Princess Charlotte chrysanthemum, which is named after their daughter.

As the gates opened at Chelsea's Royal Hospital this morning though, it was celebrities who were first out of the floral blocks. Some 160,000 visitors will pour through the SW3 gates this week, with actress Naomie Harris, Mary Berry, Judi Dench Jerry Hall and Rupert Murdoch this morning leading the way.

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Regal inspiration: A Chelsea Pensioner looks through the 'Behind Every Great Florist' design at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which pays tribute to the Queen's image and was sponsored by the New Covent Garden Flower Market and designed by Veevers Carter

Already a hit: The colourful Behind Every Great Florist design is one of the most eye-catching displays at this year's Flower Show. The three-metre high installation comprises 112 buckets (the Flower Market's icon), 10,000 flowers and 300 metres of ribbon

Living art! A model poses in a dress entirely fashioned out of fresh flowers and ferns

A new bloom for a new royal! The Princess Charlotte Chrysanthemum, to be shown to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge later today, is displayed at the Chelsea Flower Show

Isn't it lovely? The pink flower with green tips is on display on the National Chrysanthemum Society's exhibit

Press day is very much about the royals though and organisers are anticipating the Queen and Prince Philip's arrival late this afternoon.   

William and Kate, for the first time appearing as a couple at the event, will accompany the Queen to Chelsea for the first time along with Prince Harry, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie.

The Princess Charlotte chrysanthemum is baby pink with green tips and has been produced by Dutch company Deliflor, the world's biggest breeder of the blooms. 

Elsewhere, TV gardener Rachel de Thame will present the first blooms of a new 'Sandringham' rose to Sandringham head gardener Martin Woods.

The deep pink rose was chosen by the Duchess of Cornwall when she was given a choice of three new seedlings by Peter Beales Roses in Norfolk at the 2014 Sandringham Flower Show. The intensely perfumed rose was later given the name Sandringham after the Queen's country retreat in Norfolk.

The Queen is set to see three stunning floral tributes at the show celebrating her 90th birthday year. 

The RHS has created a 21ft floral arch of 10,000 pastel blooms. New Covent Garden Flower Market, making its debut at the event, presents a spectacular three-metre high portrait in the shape of the Queen's head featuring 10,000 colourful flowers, designed by Veevers Carter. 

The installation comprises a whopping 112 buckets (the Flower Market's icon), 10,000 flowers and 300 metres of ribbon.

And, when the Queen arrives later this afternoon, she will also admire an 'immersive tunnel' featuring over 5,000 fresh rose blooms. 

While the show gardens will be vying for the top prize, it's another, more poignant floral expression that is grabbing the early headlines.  

A sea of red: The Chelsea pensioners pose in front of one of the event's most talked about gardens, the 5000 Poppies Project, which contains 300,000 hand-crocheted poppies and honours all servicemen and women who have fought across all wars in the last 100 years

Designer Philip Johnston (pictured centre with Lynn Berry and Margaret Knight) poses in front of his ambitious 5000 Poppies Project

Bringing flowers to life! A Chelsea In Bloom peacock-bird design made of purple flowers cuts a colourful figure at the show

Don't let the kids see these: The Blue Forest tree houses offer a very creative way of working with wood

A contender for Best in Show? The Cloudy Bay Garden by Sam Ovins offers a meditative water-filled garden

The Mad March Hare sculpture at the Robert James stand costs an eye-watering £9,450

It's not all about gardens! There is plenty of furniture on display for those wishing to part with their cash, including this patriotic cow, which holds plenty of bolly

The 5,000 Poppies project, designed by Phillip Johnson, contains 300,000 hand-crocheted poppies and honours all servicemen and women who have fought across all wars in the last 100 years.

The design, laid out on the lawns, features a simple central geometric installation and is complemented by more than 25,000 actual stemmed poppies. 

When it comes to the actual gardens, 2016 is a year dedicated to mindfulness with plenty of designers taking their inspiration from the current trend for well-being.   

Some have political messages, although it isn't necessarily easy to understand them from just looking at the gardens. Take, for example, The Imperial Garden - Revive, which carries a calming wheels-in-motion design and offers an analogy on 'the complex relationships between Russia, Ukraine and the UK.' 

According to the designers, the garden considers 'what could happen if politics was removed from the world and as humans we all took a step back and focused on what unites us all.'

The Modern Slavery garden, designed by Juliet Sargeant, the first black designer to feature at Chelsea, has an oak tree in the middle of it; designed to represent where William Wilberforce sat when he took the decision to abolish slavery. 

A simpler message comes from God's Own Country - A Garden for Yorkshire, a garden designed by Matthew Wilson, which takes its beauty from the East Window at York Minster, and brings medieval stained glass to Chelsea. 

Wilson says: 'Trying to get something of that scale and presence and sheer power in a Chelsea garden is an interesting challenge.'  

Floral-inspired art: This 'Celeste' sculpture by Simon Gudgeon comprises leaves made of metal

Shining in the Chelsea sunshine, this dazzling sculpture on The David Harber Stand

And the award for best jacket goes to...a gardener hoping for show-winning status by the end of the week attends his tulips

A taste of the Orient: Dancers perform on the Viking Cruises Mekong Garden, which takes influences from South East Asia

Other gardens set to prove popular include The Harrods British Eccentrics Garden, which is sure to strike a chord with those visiting this week.

Designed and created by TV personality Diamuid Gavin, the garden claims to offer 'a pastiche of a typical British garden from days gone by' and every 15 minutes bursts into life. 

Barnardo's ambassador Rosamund Pike, wearing a simple sleeveless floral dress with cross-over detail at the neck, launched the apricot and pink 'Sweet Syrie' rose, also from Harkness, at the show to mark the charity's 150th anniversary.

It is named after charity pioneer Dr Thomas Barnardo's little known wife Sara Louise Elmslie, nicknamed Syrie, who rescued 8,000 girls from a life of begging and prostitution in the Victorian East End.   

Actress Naomie Harris looked particularly glamorous, wearing a tailored cream short suit which perfectly matched the blooms she was posing alongside.

Also spotted getting a first glimpse at the show gardens ahead of mere mortals were Judi Dench, a smitten-looking Jerry Hall and Rupert Murdoch, Mary Portas and wife Melanie Rickey and show stalwart Alan Titchmarsh, looking dashing in a lime green tie that matched his wife Alice's outfit.  

The garden incorporates the hull of a traditional boat, inviting viewers to experience life on the Mekong River in Cambodia

A mindful approach to gardening: The Imperial Garden - Revive aims to do just that with its wheels in motion design

Security's tight in SW3: A police officer is assisted as he performs last-minute security checks at the Chelsea Flower Show on

Press day invites the nation's celebrities, royals and snappers to see some of the world's most beautiful garden displays

Pike said: 'This new rose is fragile, hopeful and looking for an enduring place in the world, much like many of the children Barnardo's helps. I wish the Harkness 'Sweet Syrie' rose the best possible start in life.

'For 150 years, Barnardo's has been there to support the UK's most vulnerable children and help them thrive.

'Sara 'Syrie' Barnardo played a vital role in making sure its work reached girls as well as boys.'

Barnardo's chief executive Javed Khan said: 'Syrie and Thomas' philanthropic work sowed seeds that grew into the charity Barnardo's is today.  

Knock on wood: Designer Juliet Sargeant poses in her 'Modern Slavery Garden' which uses front doors and fences amongst the flowers

Last minute preparations: A gardener tends to a pond in 'The Harrods British Eccentrics Garden' Right, a close-up of one of the yellow flowers featuring in the display

Ethereal beauty: A visitor takes a photograph at the Garden for Yorkshire stand which is designed by Matthew Wilson

Mere mortals can do this one! A colourful display of small allotment sheds offers a more realistic approach to gardening

From Amsterdam...a colourful orange and red display of tulips

A bright orange umbrella-inspired sculpture has already caught plenty of show-goers' attention

Hard work! Chelsea Pensioner Dewi Treharne pushes a lawnmower on one of the lawns of the World Vision Garden

Scaling new heights: An athletic-looking figure stands atop a rock in one of the garden's exhibits

A nod to Rio? This exhibit features a botanically inspired Usain Bolt performing his trademark pose

A fine crop...but not so easy on the eye! This potato display shows the different crop varieties of the humble spud

Baroness Floella Benjamin is announced as the new RHS Ambassador in the RHS Garden

A perfect meadow recreated in central London: Varieties of wild flowers on display at 'The Harrods British Eccentrics Garden'

Great British Bake Off hostess and Royal Horticultural Society ambassador Mary Berry, 81, is having a pale yellow rose named after her and arrived looking suitably regal in a pale turquoise jacket and navy dress. 

The Mary Berry rose comes from the TV cook's favourite grower, Harkness Roses in Hertfordshire. 

She said: 'It is very exciting. I have always liked Harkness roses and the idea that every rose they grow is British. 'The Mary Berry rose has very green foliage and the most beautiful scent. That is very important for me in a good cut flower.'

Other celebrities attending Chelsea's gala opening to unveil new roses include actress Rosamund Pike and TV gardener Rachel de Thame and also expected to wander amongst the roses are Imelda Staunton, Michael Caine, Vivienne Westwood, Geri Halliwell and Piers Morgan. 

Very floral, Mr Motivator! Mary Berry clearly approves of the fitness icon (aka Derrick Evans) and his colourful work-out gear

Stylish in linen: Dame Judi Dench arrives at the Chelsea Flower Show earlier today looking chic in her light-coloured ensemble

Model customer: Twiggy poses at the M&S Garden in cerise trousers and a floral jacket

Stars galore: Plenty of famous faces flocked to the opening day of the Chelsea Flower Show including Richard E Grant and David Walliams, who took his mum, Kathleen, along

Monty Don, who will once again take the presenting helm for the BBC this year, looked happy and relaxed ahead of a very busy four days. Monty's wingman, Joe Swift, also opted for traditional Chelsea headwear

Golden couple Jerry Hall and a panama-wearing Rupert Murdoch arrived on press day at Royal Hospital Road, with Jerry paying tribute to the poppy garden which is one of the show-stealers at this year's event with her pretty red and white dress 

Smiling in the sunshine: The couple, who married in London earlier this year, looked very happy in each other's company

Co-ordinating couples! Alan Titchmarsh and wife Alice opted for lime green and stripes as they attend the famous horticultural show while Mary Portas and wife Melanie Rickey looked fresh out of Woodstock in their bright floral designs

A definite hippy vibe seemed to be influencing the SW3 crowd on press day with Mary Portas opting for Wonka-style sunglasses and Kirsty Allsop donning a navy, orange and cream frock

See and be seen: Amongst the show gardens on press day were plenty of stars including dancing Brendan Cole and his wife Zoe and, left, a casually-dressed Ben Fogle and wife Marina

Sarah Harding, left, poses next to a flower-strewn basket while Katie Piper, right, admires a colourful display at the show

Pretty in pink: Violin star Linzi Stoppard arrives with her husband Will at the high society event

No flowers for Kelly! Designer Kelly Hoppen eschewed the chance to dress in floral-inspired clothes, opting for leopard print instead. Meanwhile, Jenny Bond did get the memo and plumped for a pretty blue dress with vintage flower detail and a frilled hem

Striking: BBC news anchor Sophie Raworth reported on the annual horticultural extravaganza in an ankle-length coral sleeveless dress

Stepping back in time: These show-goers turned heads in full period costumes

Hats off to another year: Some show-goers including Sue Holderness, left, and visitor Michael Conway, right, let their headwear do the talking

The Winton Beauty of Mathematics Garden adds some clever thinking to its green-fingered display

A very regal bloom: Chelsea West London PC Hayley Gower, from Fulham, with The Princess Charlotte Chrysanthemum

Actress Rosamund Pike, wearing a floral dress with cross-over detail at the neck, at the Morgan Stanley Garden for Great Ormond Street Hospital

Bond girl Naomie Harris was visually in sync with the blooms at the Bunchoose Nurseries this morning as she posed wearing a tailored white suit with shorts

Poignant: Designer Phillip Johnson's breathtaking exhibit, the 5000 Poppies Project, offers a more solemn take on the traditional creativity

A new English shrub rose, Roald Dahl, marking 100 years since the author's birth, is being launched by his widow Felicity Dahl. And Dad's Army actor Ian Lavender, who played Private Pike, is, appropriately, having a lavender named after him. 

The Roald Dahl rose from Wolverhampton's David Austin Roses is peach in a nod to the author's best-selling children's book James and the Giant Peach, published in 1961.

Felicity Dahl, 77, declared herself 'thrilled' as she inhaled the rose's tea scent, saying: 'I could eat it.' She said her husband would have loved the tribute, saying: 'He was humble. I can hear him saying 'Don't be silly Liccy, of course they're not going to name a rose after me. And then "Do you think they will?'''

David Austin Jnr said: 'To name an English rose for one of the most eminent literary figures of our time is a great privilege. This, combined with Roald Dahl's love of gardening, makes a perfect fit'.

Downderry Nursery in Tonbridge, Kent, is celebrating its 25th anniversary by launching a lavender named after Ian Lavender.

Owner Simon Charlesworth said: 'We are applying for the trade mark 'Ian Lavender'. There could not be a celebrity with a more appropriate name for us.'