Fans of the annual Chelsea Flower Show are warned to stay vigilant for ticket touts this year - as the event's popularity reaches pre-Covid levels after Sir David Beckham's involvement. 

The majority of the listed 150,000 tickets have sold out before the show for the first time since the pandemic, as the countdown begins to its opening on Tuesday May 19, running until May 23. 

Its popularity surge is believed to stem from a broader national appreciation for gardening, as well as the celebrity twist. 

The football star Sir David has partnered up with Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Ambassador and broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh and garden designer Frances Tophill to create what they have named a 'Curious Garden' on behalf of the RHS and the King's Foundation. 

King Charles, who has overseen the garden's design and is expected to attend the RHS event, invited Sir David, along with Alan Titchmarsh and Ms Tophill, to Gloucestershire this week to put the finishing touches to their work - as they gear up for the show later this month. 

With the heightened interest this brings, Clare Matterson, director general of the RHS, has warned fans to keep mindful of fraudulent tickets. 

She said: 'While a sell-out show is great news for everyone involved and good news for gardening, we encourage people not to buy tickets from touts or third parties.' 

Real tickets are sold for £122 to the public and £55 for RHS members. 

Ms Matterson told The Times: 'Often sold for inflated prices there is no guarantee these are authentic and people risk being turned away at the gate.'   

Sir David's 'Curious Garden' 'aims to spark curiosity and inspire a new generation of both gardeners...and to encourage people into careers working with plants'.

It will be centered on an oak-framed building, representing a 'museum of garden curiosities', and feature shade-loving plants and herbaceous flowers and shrubs. 

The newly named Sir David Beckham rose, in collaboration with the David Austin nursery, will also be included in the garden.

Ms Matterson added the RHS has seen 'people increasingly turn to gardening' this year, pushing sale numbers up. 

The event used to host 168,000 garden lovers, but the ticket cap was reduced to 150,000 after the pandemic in efforts to ease congestion on the Royal Hospital Chelsea site where the event is held. 

This year is the first time the show has been a sell-out before opening its doors since the reduction in numbers.

While the RHS experienced its biggest membership boom since the pandemic, when gardening saw a boom in popularity. 

Some 30,000 people have signed up since February 1, with 9,700 new members in the month of April. 

Gardening lovers this year will also face extra challenges, with a planned Tube strike during the week the event is being held. 

Following the royal meeting earlier this week, Sir David, 50, a King's Foundation Ambassador, said: 'Both The King's Foundation and the RHS do such great work in protecting and promoting green spaces across the UK.

'I want to help encourage a new generation to appreciate the benefits of nature and get involved in gardening.

'It's been fun to be a part of creating the Curious Garden and I'm excited for people to see it at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.'

Mr Titchmarsh, also a King's Foundation and RHS Ambassador, added: 'As a long-time supporter of both the RHS and The King's Foundation, I am delighted to lend my horticultural expertise to the Curious Garden.

Curiosity is really the beginning of any gardening journey – and certainly that's how I began my career – so I hope this work inspires a new generation of gardeners to explore their talents through the incredible training and work experience schemes available via the RHS and The King's Foundation.'