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Plant expeditions to the Himalaya, Alps and Andes have inspired a magnificent display of alpines by Edinburgh-based Kevock Garden Plants, who have never exhibited at RHS Chelsea before. Saxifrages arch out over the rocks and ledges of the mountainous scene, while crevices support androsaces and gentians. The gentle slopes below are covered with woodland plants, such as Meconopsis, Primula, Semiaquilegia and ferns, and lowland areas provide a home for damp loving Ourisia and Chiastophyllum. Grown by husband and wife team, Stella and David Rankin, many of the plants on display cannot be seen elsewhere in Britain, and will be new even to the most enthusiastic alpine expert.

Birmingham City Council has been inspired by the work and landscapes of American zoologist, Diane Fossey, who devoted her life to studying gorillas in the mountain forests of Rwanda, Central Africa. The feature will be a colourful and dramatic, floral display with water cascading down a rock face into a pool at the base of a mountain. The display will also feature a range of tree ferns, including Dicksonia antartica, as well as Euphorbia pulcherrima and Pandanus.

Dave Green is an amateur grower bringing the Flora of South America to Chelsea, inspired by trips to Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador and Peru. Fuchsia species, cultivated in a London garden, will be displayed amongst Amazonian plants such as bromeliads and Calathea, and even Brugmansia sanguinea subsp. vulcanicola, with its unusual slender pink trumpets, a native to Columbia which hasn't been seen in Europe for many years.

Closer to home, the Somerset countryside will be recreated by Kelways, which celebrates 160 years of growing peonies and irises in 2011. 'Peony Valley', at Kelways' Langport nursery in Somerset has been the display field for the nursery since the 1860s, and holds over 300 cultivars of peony. The nursery will recreate the spectacle with over 500 peonies at the show.

One hundred of the world's best growers and nurseries will be at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May, creating the spectacle that is the Great Pavilion.