BBC Gardening Patios DIY etc

• Last-minute panics

  Even as the final touches are added to the gardens, the assessors have begun their examination of each one, making notes which will be passed on to the RHS judges before they make their own inspection tomorrow.

• Countdown to showtime

  With 24 hours to go until judging day at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the pressure is reaching fever pitch. Designers, plant suppliers and contractors have been working around the clock, and time is starting to run out. About 157,000 people - including the Queen - will file through the gates from tomorrow morning, and gardens have to be picture-perfect from day one.

• Sizing up the global competition

  Show gardens this year are truly cosmopolitan, with designers from Sweden, Germany, Belgium, the US, Canada, Russia, Japan and Australia taking on the best of British.

• A learning curve for first-timers

  Chelsea is a nail biting affair even for seasoned designers who have done it all before: but for first-time exhibitors, unsure what to expect, it can be a rollercoaster ride. This year an unusually high number of the gardens are by people who have never built a garden at Chelsea before - seven of the 20 show gardens, and more than half the 26 small gardens.

• Early spring changes planting plans

  With just four days to go until judging day at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the showground is buzzing with activity as plants arrive for the show gardens. Everywhere you look there are trolleys laden with thousands upon thousands of flowers; pots teeter on just-laid hard landscaping and line up like soldiers, waiting for planting to begin.