The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is one of those bastions of British tradition where, unexpectedly, old-fashioned restraint, reserve and understatement meets modern, gaudy and out-landish.
The show gardens were beautiful and the strong themes which emerge this year are the commemoration of WW1 and community gardening. The Hope on the Horizon in support of Help for Heroes garden was particularly moving with its strong message about a journey and looking positively to the future.
The avenue of Carpinus with granite blocks, mixed with blocks of Buxus either side of a path with a circle in the centre worked well, I thought. Also it stayed with me as I went on to my Monday gardening job at a psychiatric hospital, which was first started for shell shock victims. And the “hortus loci” of the Royal Hospital and its Chelsea Pensioners chimed with me too.
The Artisan section also featured a strong reference to WW1 with its Potter’s Garden, abandoned in 1914 and brought back to life in 2014. The design recalls lost agrarian ways and skills and celebrates the power of gardens to evolve and renew. The DialAFlight Potter’s Garden by Nature Redesigned – daisies grow out of In the Great Pavilion, the other WW1 references to catch my eye were a poster at Pennards and the flying machine made of plants.
One of the most charming of stands is the Peter Rabbit Herb Garden. This garden, of course, appeals to the child in me and also the potager and the edible gardener in me. I was told last week that our school allotment scare-crow was one of the scariest sights in Hammersmith! Seeing the simple blue jacket and shoes of Peter Rabbit hanging on Mr MacGregor’s scarecrow has made me re-think ours. The herb borders are linked to the vegetable garden and include Calendula and Valerian, among other natural planting, attracting bees and butterflies. The cottage garden style mixes Foxgloves with Thyme, Sage and flowering Nasturtiums. It has been beautifully planted by Hooks Green Herbs.It added to the nostalgia of traditional English cottage gardens and allotments and reminded me of our recent trip to the Lake District. Its small scale is an inspiration for my own allotment.
I was dazzled by Interflora stand with its garish and gaudy colours, designed around a pod. And I was truly impressed by the dresses made of flowers by entrants to the RHS
Chelsea Florist and RHS Young Florist of the Year. This year’s theme is “Crystal Ball” and the competitors have designed fantasy floral dresses. The green dress below was partly made of acorn cups.
So that’s my Chelsea Flower Show review for now. Much to mull over and much to inspire. And here is the Hope on the Horizon.
