Actually, my first impression of Chelsea this year, was that it did not live up to 2005, but after having spent the full allotted 12 hours dodging the showers and even more time reviewing hundreds of pictures (aren’t digital cameras great) and articles I have to say that once again, it lived up to the hype. It is no wonder that the depth of coverage given by the BBC rivals any sporting event. By the way, did you see their trailer promoting it? The lady with the pink gloves and apron having finished off her gardener? Accessories supplied by Nottingham’s finest garden décor shop naturally. Given that it’s the BBC we can’t make much of it, of course, but at least it’s good to get some licence fee back!
With so much wall to wall coverage, interactive television and websites, Sunday supplements and so on, I’ve tried to concentrate here on some different themes, so please view this as complementary rather than a complete Chelsea review.
Whilst the show gardens obviously get a lot of the limelight, the Chelsea Flower Show is of course, a show of flowers. The specialists deliver new delights year after year and 2006 was no exception. What completely shocked me though, was losing my husband’s heart to a simple flower! But even I had to admit that the colours and shape of the Ballerina Tulip from Avon Bulbs was breathtaking. We tried really hard to make sure the digital image was close to reality and I only hope the limitations of the printing press will do it justice when this article is published.
Alliums featured strongly as usual and whilst the stunning Purple Sensation was everywhere, the new variety Ice Queen particularly caught my eye, as did the great mix of Aquilegia colours from Three Counties Nurseries. Very patriotic. Overseas species seemed to be a special feature this year and the South African display was particularly exotic.
Of the show gardens, whilst much has been written about Tom Stuart-Smith’s ‘best in show’ garden, the design and planting was indeed truly superb. It clearly demonstrated how solid rusty shapes are capable of perfectly setting off floaty grasses and contrasting purple, green and white flowers. The man has a painter’s eye. Of the other main show gardens, the Saga garden is worth highlighting for its focus on hardy and half-hardy herbs that can be grown in the U.K. I found the sculpture striking, although it would not be to everyone’s taste. The Bradstone and New Zealand gardens were disappointing and I saw very little in the Barnsley House Spa Garden that could be said to be inspired by Rosemary Verey. Whilst she would not be exactly turning in her grave, I think they missed a great opportunity, as promoting a commercial venture seems to have got in the way. Nonetheless, the cone-shaped planters were very dramatic. Elsewhere the stunning living sculpture by Peter and Sue Hill in the 4head Garden of Dreams was magnificent and the rest of the garden lived up to it, although took more time to appreciate.
One garden that really captured the trend of bringing the indoors outdoors was the Australian Garden. Although their water feature dining table did not look practical, the fully functional living and outdoor kitchen areas certainly did. Outdoor living in the U.K becomes ever more a reality as our climate changes, and this idea is certainly something we are spending more time on, in our own planning at The Worm that Turned.
A sobering contrast to this was the GardenAfrica garden that sought to support a wide range of garden related projects carried out across Southern Africa and aimed at overcoming poverty and malnutrition. If nothing else, it served to remind us that gardening is so much more than pretty flowers and water is more than just a ‘feature’.
My favourite garden was Chris Beardshaw’s homage to the work done by Mawson and Jekyll at Boveridge House. Because of its small frontage, it was a bit of a bunfight to get close to it early on Tuesday and by the middle of the day, crowd control barriers had been erected. Nonetheless, it was worth the struggle to see what turned out to be ‘The People’s Choice” Garden. This is classic English garden school at its very best, combining all the things we like in our gardens.
Of the smaller gardens, ‘Daisy Daisy’ created by Berkshire College of Agriculture beautifully recreated a corner of a typical old English country churchyard, whilst the Lebanese Courtyard was colourful and evocative with lots of Mediterranean herbs. Nature in the Sky by Warwickshire College offered some great ideas for the rooftop gardener and on the whole was very well put together, although the carved seat rather let it down.
If you want to see the gardens in more detail and see who won the medals then go to the RHS website www.rhs.org.uk/chelsea/2006/ and get further inspired. Finally, remember to book your tickets early for next year and consider joining the RHS if you are not already a member – getting into Chelsea before the rest of the crowds is a real treat.
© Heather Isbister May 2006