It covers a massive 11 acres of land; features over 60 gardens and 150 floral exhibitions; and is held in the heart of Chelsea, miles from the coast. So what exactly does the greatest flower show on earth have to do with saving lives at sea? The Chelsea Flower Show has to be the world's most popular and renowned flower show and sees the best in garden design and horticulture brought together. This year's show, which ran from 20-23 May, was very special for the Lifeboats, as it was the official charity to benefit from the event. Not only that, but two well-known personalities gave their support to the Lifeboats and encouraged some 157,000 show visitors to do the same.

'Purple is very in this year - outside and in,' said Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen during the BBC's live coverage of this year's show. Visitors and viewers got the first opportunity to glimpse what was hot in garden fashion; and flamboyant designer Laurence is certainly no stranger to fashion.

Laurence was by no means the only famous creative to grace the event.

Green-fingered TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh was, to many, the face of the show and hosted much of the coverage.

Some may be forgiven for wondering why an interior designer and a gardener would be so eager to help the Lifeboats - Laurence and Alan explain: Laurence: Like most people, when I think of Britain, I have a rather idealised vision of one giant garden bordered by a tidal water feature.

Ask anyone not raised in this country and one of the first things they'll point out is just how green our landscape is and just how cultivated it feels. Defining our island's shape is the sea. We'd be zero without the sea. No history of global trading, no history of global imperialism (the jury's still out on that one - good or bad? I suggest you phone a friend) and, arguably, no comforting glow of selfcontained nationalism.

In fact, if there are two things the British love more than dogs, it's gardening and the sea. Saying that the Llewelyn- Bowens have a garden will surprise few, but saying we've got sea might seem an unusual statement. We have a ravishing house in North Cornwall with a series of teeny, tiny windows that frame views of the sea - perfectly creating jaw-dropping marine compositions: and yes, we do know how extremely lucky we are.One of the complete joys of our parallel Cornish existence (aside from our surroundings) is the boisterous joviality of the community that has magnanimously accepted us, despite me being 'that ponce from the telly with the furnishing fabric suits' and my daughter's ability to smear most of a pub lunch over the walls of the snug on a regular basis. It's through this eight-year association that we've seen, first hand, exactly what a lifeboat station in a busy Cornish fishing village has to go through.

One thing that constantly surprises me is just how modest and matter-of-fact the lifeboat crews are. Bear in mind that they're faced by some of the most grisly, upsetting scenes anyone could possibly be faced with. Most importantly, never forget that they, and their families, live with the daily reality that the next 'shout' could be their last. They're ordinary people who do a very unordinary job.

The thing that engenders the mostpassion in me and, indeed, the most embarrassment, is the uncomfortable fact that, these days, the vast majority of shouts are caused by you and me - holiday makers, casual visitors, hikers, surfers, yachtsmen and, most cringingly embarrassing of all, dogs. Our little windows - our little pictures of the sea, so seductively beautiful - can, like any picture gallery, show scenes of both great heroism and tragedy.

When I see visiting families poised precariously on floating lilos at high tide, sulky teenage 'Kevin's' jumping from higher and higher points on the cliffs, or overhear surfer's boasts about just how hubristically brave they intend to be on tomorrow's tide, I seethe. I want to rush up to them, grab them by the lapels {actually rather difficult if they're wearing a wetsuit) and rail relentlessly at them that their quest for an adrenalin high would be fine if it endangered only themselves - but the risk to those gallantly waiting to rescue them is inexcusable. But I'm no ancient mariner stalking the village crying 'woe, woe, beware the sea!' and nor should I be.

As I say, the lifeboat crew expects nothing for their life-endangering commitment to the community. No fuss, no breathless praise, no gushing hero worship (although none of them would ever dream of saying 'no' to a pint).

sought expert advice on the complicated issue of why the Lifeboats should benefit from Chelsea this year. It was the statement from a female member of our local lifeboat crew who, having looked around at her male colleagues, loudly and jovially dismissed them as a bunch of 'pansies1! It's a link of sorts I suppose.

Alan: People look at me rather strangely when I say that my hobby is boating, as if it were an odd choice for a gardener. It doesn't strike me as odd at all. There are so many things the two pursuits have in common.

For a start, they can both involve solitude and they both take your mind off the more mundane pressures of daily life. But more importantly, they are both elemental pastimes that rely heavily on the weather.

Gardeners and sailors both have a waryrespect for climate. It does us good to appreciate that we cannot control everything; that we need to work with nature, to listen to her voice and observe her moods if we are to survive. No-one knows this more than the lifeboat crews.

As an island race, I think we Brits grow up with a profound respect for these men and women. Anyone who has been at sea in anything more than a force 7 will appreciate their courage, determination and selflessness. Anyone who has been lifted off a capsized boat, or plucked from an angry sea, or simply towed home covered in embarrassment after engine failure, will spend the rest of their lives in debt to those who, often at great personal risk, put themselves out to save others.

The very reason that lifeboat crews are courageous is that they do feel fear. They know, more than most of us, just how powerful the sea is and how easily its moods can change from glassy calm to raging torrent. They have seen it crush boats against rocks and swallow up frail bodies with unquenchable power.I've spent a fair bit of time learning about the precise workings of lifeboats, the Coastguard and harbourmasters, even being winched up and down from a helicopter above a boat in the Solent as the two of them sped over the water at seemingly breathtaking speeds. I've visited the boatyard where the RNLI's up-to-theminute craft are built and talked with the men and women who handle everything from those chunky lifeboats to the speedy RIBs that skid across our inshore waters.

I've never been less than impressed by their good nature and their commitment.

The bottom line is that the RNLI provides its service every day of the year, in all weathers and at no cost to those who use the water for all purposes. They do their job graciously, with good humour and, let's be honest, amazing bravery. They won't thank you for telling them that. It's just what they do.

Boating and gardening offer us two of the greatest freedoms left on earth - to cultivate the soil and to plough the water.

The RNLI is always there to help those on the water, making them safe in the knowledge that help will be at hand should they get into difficulties. If you get into difficulty as a gardener, you have the Royal Horticultural Society and the local casualty department. It's a feeble analogy, but on this occasion you might forgive me that.

Calling all gardeners Why not spread a little happiness and open your garden for the Lifeboats? It is an excellent way of sharing the fruits of your labour with like-minded visitors and you will be supporting the valuable work of our volunteer lifeboat crews. Your garden could be opened as a one-off, or as part of a group of local gardens. You choose the dates and opening times but you will not be on your own as you will have the support of local fundraisers andthe resources of a national charity to back you up.

The RNLI has produced a Gardens for the Lifeboats pack that includes everything you will need for your event, including: a planning checklist, hints and tips, posters, ID badges, health and safety advice and a floral quiz for visitors.STOP PRESS Just as we were about to go to press with this issue of the Lifeboat we learned that the RNLI is to receive £106,000 from the show's proceeds. This will be used to buy a relief Atlantic lifeboat that is to be named next year. Thanks go to everybody involved, including the 50 RNLI volunteers who packed and sold gift bags. Thanks also go to Crabtree & Evelyn, who donated £40,000 worth of beauty products to be sold in the gift bags..