When the RHS puts on it's yearly event The Chelsea Flower Show, it is a sight to behold. The Royal Hospital Grounds are transformed into a beautiful display of gardens, sculptures, flower beds and even a treehouse with a slide! Strolling down the Kings Road from Sloane Square, it’s hard not to get swept up in the floral frenzy. The shops all have wonderful flower designs which encapture the spirit of the flower show as everyone participates in Chelsea in Bloom.
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show has been held in the grounds of the Chelsea Hospital every year since 1913, apart from gaps during the two World Wars. It used to be Britain’s largest flower show (it has now been overtaken by Hampton Court) but is still the most prestigious. From the beginning, it has contained both nursery exhibits and model gardens. Every year there have been exhibits from foreign countries as well as from Britain. It is the flower show most associated with the Royal family, who attend the opening day every year.
This year some of the stars included;
The LG Eco-City Garden- The garden imagines the future of inner-city garden living, through a design that could be replicated within a high-rise building. It is filled with LG’s innovative technologies and is fully sustainable, the plants and technologies work together to tackle air pollution, as it is now the top concern for people living in cities. The free-flowing garden and apartment space hold similar colour themes, from the bright yellow lupin flowers to the green of the Acer trees, which are the most efficient trees at removing pollutants from the air. The LG Eco-City Garden was awarded the prestigious Silver-gilt medal for its design at Chelsea Flower Show 2018.
Matt Keightley's Feel Good Garden which has been designed as a therapeutic space in which to relax, but visitors can also get great ideas for own gardens as well.
The Trailfinders South African Wine Estate, of which the Winelands Western Cape are instantly recognisable and strikingly beautiful. This garden is a snapshot of a traditional South African wine estate. A charming Cape Dutch homestead with a terracotta-tiled terrace leads down steps into a formal, romantic garden, then through a gate to a vineyard. Beyond the vineyard is a representation of the wild and beautiful fynbos landscape.
Wuhan Water Garden, China. Designed to be walked around and viewed from all sides, the Wuhan Water Garden conveys a journey through the contrasting natural landscape of Hubei Province, including the UNESCO World Heritage Centre of Hubei’s Shennongjia Foresty District, and the hi-tech, urban environment of the city. The garden is inspired by the historic ability of Wuhan – China’s ‘City of 100 Lakes’ – to manage and control the flood waters of the Yangtze River.
There were also other wonderful stands and stalls which featured Beatrix Potter sculptures, a vast rose garden, a daffodil display showing every kind you could imagine and a sculpture decorated with 4000 exotic flowers.
