21 May - The RHS Chelsea Flower Show

I've been to the Seattle Flower and Garden Show. I've been to the Philadelphia Garden show which was, incidentally, fabulous and very big. The Chelsea Flower Show, sponsored by the Royal Horticulural Society, is on another scale entirely. It is held in the south grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, home of the iconic Chelsea Pensioners who are all retired soldiers of the British Army, and encompasses approximately 11 acres. Yes, really, 11 acres. When I was looking to book our tickets some six months ago, I saw that the first couple of days were for RHS members only. Our schedule of house sits was such that if we were going to go, we'd have to join the RHS. It turns out that it's quite a remarkable organization and the information I get from their members' magazine alone is worth the price of membership. There's a wealth of resources available for members and the organization does a lot of great work in communities around Britain. It's the Chelsea Flower Show, though, that gets the most attention, and deservedly so.

To design a garden for the show, designers must complete an application and a design proposal. It's an arduous process but, as a result, they get the best of the best designing for the show. One of the designers we spoke with said that the planning took him 18 months. Installation of the gardens takes place over three weeks. The gardens feature hardscaping, plants, mature trees and, often water features. I truly cannot describe the enormity of these gardens or of the effort involved in installing them.

At all the major gardens, many of the smaller gardens, and most of the vendors, brochures are handed out which include a QR code which takes you to their website where you can learn the story behind the garden or the product. Many sites allow you to explore the garden's key features, view a complete plant list, learn about who is behind the garden, ie. designers, constructors, and sponsors. It's remarkable. Where I can, I'll include the link to the RHS description so you can take a more in-depth look at them.

The show opens at 8:00 and we arrived just after that. The weather was overcast, but the forecast said there was only a 20% chance of rain, and that would be in the late afternoon. At the first junction after the entrance everyone seemed to be turning right, so we thought we'd go the less crowded route to the left. I'm actually glad I did because it took us to the Balcony and Container Gardens.

N.B.: I didn't photography all of the gardens, but here are a few that I did.

Sanctum (Gold medal):

mgr Changing Tides (Gold medal winner):

The Anywhere Courtyard (Silver Gilt Medal):

The Water Saving Garden (Bronze Medal):

The Ecotherapy Garden (Gold Medal, Best Balcony/Container Award):

My favorite was Hope After Humanity. For those who knew me in my UW days, this won't surprise you. For those who didn't know me then, I've been active in the sustainability movement for years and this spoke to me. It won a silver medal, but for some reason, it didn't make the listing of medal winners on the RHS site.

Upcycled Botanicals (Gold medal):

Next we moved on toward the Main Avenue.

Terrence Higgins Trust Bridge to 2030 (Silver Gilt Medal, Best Construction Winner):

This garden is "a narrative of resilience, community and love. It reflects on the lives of those who have been affected by HIV, from the fear of the 1980's to today, and our hopeful vision to end new cases of HIV in the UK by 2030."

Those mature trees you see were planted in the last 3 weeks and will be removed when the show is over. I find that mind boggling.

The Friendship Garden: This reminded me so much of the Chihuly glass museum and garden; the maker of the glass piece was also a vendor. According to the RHS site, "The garden creates a space where people can come together to appreciate the taste, scent, sounds and visual impact of the garden and make new connections at a ‘friendship bench’. The planting demonstrates the value of native and British-grown plants, with peat-free compost and minimal use of chemicals."

Interspersed between competitive gardens were vendors whose displays could easily be mistaken for show gardens.

I love these copper trees, and can just imagine the beautiful patina they would develop over time.

We then came upon one of the Show Gardens, Forest Bathing. This won a Gold Medal and ended up winning Best Show Garden for first time competitor Ula Maria. I was a bit puzzled at this choice, but the judging criteria is quite involved and complicated. Their brochure included a link to the Forest Bathing Institute.

Next we were off to 78 CE with A Roman Garden:

The design recalls the garden of its sponsor, The Newt in Somerset - a very posh and, I'm told, quite expensive, resort - and the unearthing of a Roman settlement on their estate.

One of the most ambitious gardens in terms of construction was St James’s Piccadilly: Imagine the World to be Different (Gold medal) The Wall containing the church window was enormous! The brochure included a message from the designer. "My design explores the importance of restorative green spaces in the city, celebrating the history, social impact and environmental commitments of St. James's."

At the close of the show, these walls will be dismantled, brick by brick and put into storage. As soon as they can raise sufficient funds, this garden will be "relocated to St James's Piccadilly to create a welcoming and inclusive space for the congregation, local population and visitors, where nature has its proper place in the city, with contemplative green space in the heart of everyday life."

One of the vendors, Blue Forest Treehouse Design, built a 2-story display that offered a great look out over the driftwood sculpture vendor next door and the crowd.

It also offered a viewpoint on my favorite show garden, the Water Aid Garden (Gold Medal):

Their brochure talked about how the garden focuses on the water crisis the world faces due to the climate crisis. It included suggestions of key plants for varying conditions, from very wet to very dry. The futuristic cones aren't just high altitude planters. The also collect water and funnel it to the garden below.

At that point, I was very cold; my hands were getting numb, so we made our way to one of the cafes that were dotted around the show. I wanted a hot coffee as much for the warmth of the cup as the beverage. It was also a good time to take a break from all the visual stimulus since I had a serious case of sensory overload. After waiting in the very long line then enjoying the lovely latte, it started to sprinkle so we headed to the pavilion, home of all the plantsmen and many of the vendors who also compete for awards. I was astonished at its size: 2.9 acres of the most beautiful, tempting flowers, plants, bulbs, seeds and accessories. I had to keep reminding myself that live plant material cannot be brought back to the US from Britain.

There was a floristry and floral design competition as well.

The Capital of May by Laura Mallows (Bronze medal):

Opera Splendour: A Floral Ode by Bonnie Chu (Silver medal):

Glazes by Rebekah Critchlow (Silver medal):

Nature's Spectrum by Allison Hood (Silver gilt medal):

Nature's Botanical Palette by Sarah Horne and team (Silver gilt medal):

Peach Perfect by Nicola Hill (Gold medal):

Inner Peace by Angela Turner (Gold medal):

Color and Transparency by Julie Pearson Design (Gold medal):

Burst by Laura Pannitt (Gold medal):

Spectrum of Fire by Lara Thorpe (Gold Medal & Florist of the Year):

There was another category called Creative Spaces which seemed to me to be floral design gone wild. According to the RHS website, "Creative Spaces have no rules, or themes, they are an opportunity for florists to have free rein over their own unique display. They are not judged for RHS medals, but are applicable for the Floristry Ambassador’s Choice Award."

Seed to Ceiling: As Above, So Below by Kitten Grayson (Floristry Ambassador’s Choice):

I really loved this entry by Moreton College called "Awakening" which narrates the passing of seasons, inspired by the one thing that which unites life on earth, DNA.

In the grower's category, one of my favorites was The No Name Nursery from Sandwich. Of course, I have a soft spot for elephants, so that helped.

There were a number of bonsai displays. I liked this one which featured bonsaied azaleas.

I certainly liked the plants better than the gentleman displaying them, as he refused to acknowledge my presence and addressed his answers to our questions exclusively to Bruce.

I loved this idea, but wondered how it could be done in a yard without the wood decaying.

This got my vote for best use of backdrop.

David Austin Roses was a feast for the eyes and the nose.

I neglected to note the name of the flower or the name of the exhibitor, but I found these spectacular. Could they be a type of begonia?

Pure Grenada won a gold medal - its 17th - and the President's Choice Award. It really took me back to when I visited Grenada 30+ years ago.

People certainly got into the spirit of things.

The day before the show, I googled what to wear to Chelsea. Most of the advice I found said that the best thing to wear is a midi-length flowered dress with, perhaps, a light shawl and that trainers (sneakers) and jeans are frowned upon. I did see several people dressed in the recommended style, but the majority flouted the rules and dressed comfortably and warmly - virtually everyone wore trainers.

More beautiful (and unnoted) displays:

Incredible alliums:

The rain had let up a bit by now so we ventured out again to the show gardens. Our next discovery was The Octavia Hill Garden by Blue Hill Farm and the National Trust. According to the National Trust website,

"One of the three founders of the National Trust, Octavia Hill was a pioneering thinker and social reformer. She worked tirelessly to improve urban housing and to protect green spaces and the impact of her life and work is still being felt. Her belief in the importance of access to nature for human wellbeing and the need to stop the destruction of the natural landscape are even more relevant today."

Their brief says "The garden is built as a series of open-air sitting rooms, where visitors can experience different views and atmospheres. Sloping level changes with wheelchair accessible paths, lead visitors to a planted shade canopy, observation platform, wildlife pond or walking stream, providing multiple opportunities to enjoy the garden wildlife, feasting on the pollinator-friendly planting."

It won a Silver gilt medal and was the RHS Children's Choice Award Winner.

One of the things I loved about all these gardens was that they were buzzing with bees. Since this space is usually grassed, all the pollen from the flowers must have been sending a powerful signal to the bees. They'll be disappointed next week.

I wish we had found the National Garden Scheme Garden a bit earlier in the day, because its subtle white design paled by comparison (pun intended) to most of the others. Its sponsor, the National Garden Scheme gives visitors unique access to over 3,500 exceptional private gardens in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands, and raises impressive amounts of money for nursing and health charities through admissions, teas and cake. This garden was designed by eight-times gold medal winner Tom Stuart-Smith and will be relocated to form part of the new garden at Addenbrook's Hospital in Cambridge.

The Boodles Garden was next which won a Silver gilt medal. I loved the silver frames running through the garden, tying everything together. The garden was a celebration of the 200th anniversary of the National Gallery. The RHS site adds, "With a theme of ‘art in nature’ the planting scheme, topiary, sculptural metal arches and water features are inspired or represent aspects of specific paintings and art movements, including Pointillism and Impressionism."

The RHS is nothing if not "on trend" so, of course, there was a Bridgerton Garden. (Silver medal)

The garden I found most moving was The Freedom from Torture Garden. The garden is inspired by the resilience and bravery of survivors. The woman working the side of the garden where I was standing said, "Please don't ask me about plants. I don't know anything about them. I'm a counselor for torture victims." She then started to point out features of the garden that she related to, like the fact that there were no straight edges in the garden, just curves. The woven willow "waves", the seating areas, even the oven are rounded. That was a purposeful choice. Torture victims are surrounded by walls, kept in rectangular cells and the sight of a wall or a square enclosed space reminds them of their time in captivity. I found myself really moved listening to her and started to tear up. She said, "Don't cry, because if you start, I'll start." The garden was wonderful but that woman and people like her who work to help victims of torture are the ones who truly deserve the medals.

Once again, it started to rain in earnest. We sought refuge at the Babylonstoren Mourvedre Rosé wine tent. They were sampling the "official rosé wine of the Chelsea Flower Show" and were pouring like they had a quota of bottles to empty. The wine was, ummmm, fine. We ran next door to the cider tent (or cyder tent, as it was spelled) to sample the cider and see promotional videos of The Newt in Somerset. It must be quite a place, but too rich for the likes of me, I fear. We gave up on the idea of the rain letting up, so made our way to the Potting Shed cafe. Beer and Pimms in hand, we looked for a covered area and found a picnic table with an umbrella with only two people sitting there. We asked if we could share, they said yes, and we spent an hour or so out of the rain with two really delightful folks, Ian and Rachel. They'd been sitting there for quite a long while, if the volume of empty Pimms glasses was any indication. Among the things we learned were

a. If you think it's crowded today, you should see it on days when it's open to the public.

b. Most people join the RHS simply to get tickets for Chelsea (guilty)

c. You'll never manage to see everything in one day.

d. It's usually sunny and warm at Chelsea, but you are in England, so you never know.

After an hour or so of bonhomie, they left to see some gardens. We returned to the Pavilion to see the bits we'd missed before.

I loved this exhibit of exotics.

Fuchsias:

Enormous delphinium:

Gloriosa lilies:

Clematis:

Peter Beales Roses' display honored the RNLI, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, a charity that saves lives at sea through lifeboat search and rescue, lifeguards, water safety education and flood rescue. It's primarily staffed by volunteers, which I find astonishing. The roses were pretty astonishing, too.

This display of plants from South Africa (Leon Kluge Garden Design) won both the New Design Award and the Best Exhibit in the Pavilion Award. I saw the exhibitor interviewed on the BBC afterwards and he said it was incredibly stressful setting up the exhibit. He built the clay walls on sight based on a prototype he made in South Africa. The clay walls are meant to be cracked, but because of the rainy weather that London had been experiencing, they were silky smooth. Finally the weather changed, the walls cracked, and all went to plan.

At this point, it was abundantly clear that the rain was not going to stop. Bruce went to find a beer at one of cafes, I set off with Bruce's umbrella to peruse the vendors on the main strip, Eastern Avenue. Along the way, I met one of the Chelsea Pensioners, who kindly allowed me to take a photograph.

His name was Cliff, and I asked him if he always came to the flower show. He said, "Yes, we can come as often as we like, so long as we wear the uniform." I asked if, after the show, the grounds went back to being lawn for the Pensioners' use and he told me that it would for a little while, but then there was a big antiques fair that happened at Chelsea and later in the year there was a show jumping event. I thanked him for his service and we bade each other farewell.

Eastern Avenue was crowded despite the weather

and I wondered if a lot of the crowd was shopping for umbrellas. At the RHS shop I asked if they sold them. They said, "Well, we did for the first hour."

Bruce and I met up and headed to the Champagne and Seafood Restaurant where I had booked us in for afternoon tea. Thinking the weather would be nice, I booked an outdoor table. Happily, it was under a tented roof so we didn't get rained on. The staff provided us with blankets to make us a bit more comfortable.

We were seated next to an interesting couple, he from Scotland, she from Germany, I think. He and Bruce talked golf as we enjoyed our treats not served on a three-tiered tray, but on a box of flowers.

There was still more to see of Chelsea but by now the rain was pouring down so we threw in the towel (at that point we could have used a towel, actually) and sloshed our way back to the flat.