The head of the Royal Horticultural Society, which runs the Chelsea Flower Show, has resigned.

Inga Grimsey, the first woman director-general in the RHS's 200-year history, was dubbed the Grim Reaper by gardeners after announcing a possible 80 redundancies - more than 10 per cent of the workforce - in June.

The charity's income fell in the first six months of this year after a £3.1million surplus last year.

A slump in sponsorship saw the number of its Chelsea show-gardens fall from 22 in 2008 to 14 this year.

Membership of the RHS has fallen by 8,000 in the last year to 342,729.

By contrast, membership of the National Trust, another charity with gardens open to the public, has reached a record high of 3.6million.

Ms Grimsey said: "Having steered a course of change over the past three years, I feel I am ready for a change myself.

"I will leave the Society well placed to face the challenges of the next phase of its development."

Giles Coode-Adams, President of the RHS, said: "Inga has also greatly strengthened the management of the RHS, and instigated a change programme to improve further our ability to deliver our charitable mission and secure our long term sustainability. We are deeply grateful to Inga, and sorry to lose her.”

No replacement has yet been chosen.

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