So what do you think about this yearās RHS Chelsea Flower Show? I think Iāve seen better but nevertheless there are some lovely displays and there is much to inspire.
I try to push aside the woke/ celebs/ illnesses/ etc etc aspects. Iām afraid that gardening, for me, is an escape and the last thing I want to be reminded of is my illnessā¦or any illness. I find it rather tedious that you canāt look at a garden and just say, āWhat beautiful planting..thatās stunningāā¦ I hate that you have to ā go on a journeyā! Going āon a journeyā seems to be the flavour! I prefer to sit quietly and take it all in, simply rejoicing in the efforts of the designers, the construction workers and plantsmen and plantswomen.
And as for the celebs...I wonder, how many get down on their hands and knees and really get stuck in? They always seem to feature the same old celebsā¦why? I wish they replace them with plantsā¦such as new plants, planting ideas, colour combinations etc!
This year, so far, Iāve loved seeing how certain plants are being used to full effect. Take the beautiful Geum, for example. The range of colours have improved enormously and for me they are a garden must.
I also watched, avidly, whilst a lovely man from Peter Beale Roses, showed us how they do the grafting on to rootstock; I thought that their new rose, āWith Courageā was beautiful.
It was good to see the young, Lithuanian designer, Ula Maria, winning gold with her āForest Bathing Gardenāā¦
I quite liked the mgr āChanging Tidesā coastal garden, belowā¦
I liked the planting in The Octavia Hill Garden by Blue Diamond with The National Trust..as seen here, belowā¦
But I have to say that I do miss my two, favourite garden designers, Chris Beardshaw and Andy Sturgeon!
I also cast my mind back to the late 1970s / early 1980s, when I visited the RHS Chelsea Flower Show a number of times. Teaching in Surrey at the time, I could hop on the train, after school, and spend the evening at Chelsea! I remember one delightful evening, sitting and listening to the band that was playing music in the bandstand. It was lovely. I also remember the tube trains being jam packed with people and their purchasesā¦plants everywhere!
I will never forget my first visit to RHS Chelsea and walking into the Great Marqueeā¦the colours hit me!A real WOW! moment!
Yet, back in those days, everything was far more simple! I have some old programmes from those daysā¦my treasures! They have some very interesting adverts in them!
It will be interesting to see the result of, āThe People's Choiceā garden!
This morning, I popped to Plant World, my favourite little nursery. The main reason was to have coffee and a natter with my son and my daughter. We donāt often have the chance to get together and I treasure these moments more than anything!
The cafe overlooks the River Teign; itās a lovely spot to sit and chat. As we did that, the skies became darker and darker and then came to rain. So we didnāt get the chance to walk around the plants for sale.
I did however, take photos on my way into the cafe. They really do this so wellā¦
And finally!
Early this morning, just after 8am, Nich sent me this, saying, āA Poppy has popped! ā
Iām rather excited for him as he has always had the gardening bug and he and his wife are now planning their new gardenā¦isnāt this lovely?
It doesn't seem that a year has passed since the last show. It's lovely to see beautiful displays, though some of the recent 'gardens' have been quite strange.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! Great fun looking back at the programmes too. I haven't been to Chelsea flower show but did go to see the Chelsea shops this year as they decorate them with flowers while the Show us on, blogpost coming eventually! I seem to have missed most of the programmes on TV this year but haven't seen anything that has really caught my eye, no doubt they are much better at the Show. Last year I lived the Sarah Price garden with all the glorious irises, wonderful colours.
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