We had sun and thunder storms but the day ended in sunshine which meant I could dry off. The gardens in general seem to continue the theme of previous years with soft and meadow style planting, lots of foxgloves, geums, iris, poppies, grasses and aquilegia. The colours over the last few years have also been primarily whites, blues and purples.
Chelsea Show website here.
We started with the Artisan Gardens, which I often prefer in their overall design to the larger show gardens.
The Dail a Flight Potters Garden also won a gold medal and was designed by Nature Redesigned. It recalls a potters garden left for the war in 1914 I really liked the planting, the old workshop and bottle kiln and went back to buy some plants at the sell off.
The Viking Cruises Viking Garden designed by Sadie May Stowel had a structure based on the prow of a Viking ship and stepping stones with runic style inscriptions. In common with a lot of gardens again this year, the planting was soft in whites, blues and purples.
Other gardens I photographed include the Homebase Garden Time to Reflect in association with the Alzheimer's society
The Topiarist Garden, designed by Marylyn Abbott had ribbons of white foxgloves in among a number of topiary bushes and a weathered brick building at the back.
The Cloudy Bay Garden designed by Wilson Mc William Studio used charred oak, limestone and coppiced Hazel and soft planting. I liked
The Laurent Perrier Garden, designed by Luciano Giubbilie won a gold medal and Best in Show
I always enjoy the concentrated atmosphere of Chelsea, the perfumes and the colours of many gardens and flowers in a small corner of London. The grounds themselves too seem better and better each year with shrubs and trees worthy of Chelsea gardens.
Bright green parakeets fly over the gardens squawking non stop which I still find a novelty. It did seem like the grounds were even busier than I remembered, but the crowds are friendly, which I attribute to the influence of the gardens.
