The hidden team behind Wimbledon’s floral displays

Two gardeners from the West of England are keeping the flowers at the UK’s biggest tennis competition in top condition.

Will Bliss Carter, from Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, and Karen Dehalu, from Crewkerne in Somerset, have been horticulturalists at Wimbledon for five years.

The pair told the BBC they have been battling with the recent heatwaves, meaning extra watering for the team.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Carter said: “We make sure we’re on top of it and ahead of the game – we beat the weather.”

Mr Carter, who works seasonally at the site, started out as a horticulturalist after completing an apprenticeship in 2016.

He said: “[Wimbledon] is the best place to be a horticulturalist in London and I’d say probably the country.

“Everyone’s got their own part to play – we’ve got painters intricately painting with little tiny hand brushes, the gardeners fine tuning with dead-heading and planting on the courts.

“I liken it to Charlie and the chocolate factory, we’re all Oompa-Loompas in the Chocolate factory – hiding in secret but making it the best show in the world.”

The 20-person gardening team arrives at the site at 6:00 BST to make sure every flower is the best it can be for the tournament’s guests.

Ms Dehalu, who has worked year-round at the site since 2022, said the job is “very rewarding”.

She said: “We usually work a few hours in the morning – making some changes to the plants where they might have been sat on or crushed a little bit, zhuzh them up a little bit.

“Then we disappear off the grounds so the public can enjoy the site and the tournament.”

Ms Dehalu said Wimbledon houses around 27,000 extra plants for the tournament, making up the bedding, containers and the living walls.

She said: “We always have plants – it’s a seasonal grounds, so summertime will still have things in – but then these extra plants we put in as well.

“It just gives it that wow factor – makes it look like that English country garden.”

This year’s Wimbledon will run until 13 July and is available across BBC 1, BBC 2 and iPlayer.