Despite having been interested in plants and the like for a number of years - and being the offspring of a qualified instructor of flower-arranging, who was also a member of more flower and gardening associations than I can name - it's always seemed slightly odd to me that I never quite got round to going to Chelsea Flower Show.
So this year we decided to change that, and took advantage of the fact that for the first time ever, it was open on a Saturday. Of course, it entailed a ride into London on the train at 9.00 (and we could've gone earlier, but thought "the hell with it, it's Saturday") and then with the joys of London Transport being twunts, the closure of the two tube stations closest to the Show, but with a free bus from Victoria it still wasn't too painful. Already there were lots of people, but the organisation behind it meant that the queue for the bus flowed well, and the same was true at the other end, where there was a steady flow of people into the Show, rather than a huge queue waiting to get in. On that score I have to say that the entire thing was truly well organised.
Once we'd got in to the show (and just what IS the point of security checks where they basically look into your bag, and do sod-all else?) it was time to wander around. Never having been before probably put us at a bit of a disadvantage, as we didn't really have a firm plan on what to see, or how to get there. We first found the small gardens, which were lovely - but really, really small. And when there's lots of people between you and the garden, it kind of detracts a bit. In fact, I would have to say that the only thing that - for me - really left the show with a less than perfect feel in my mind was the people. Too many fucking rude and arrogant people all in one place, and all with "me, me, me" in mind. Truly annoying - particularly when you've paid £40 per ticket!
Wandering on, we found the NAFAS flower-arranging tent, which was definitely worth a look. I'd been requested by Mother to take as many shots as possible of the arrangements there, and did OK with about 30 photos in all. There were some spectacular pieces in there, but all in all I really have to say I'm not one for a lot of the more "architectural" methods of flower-arranging. Guess that comes from my upbringing...
Once we'd made our escape, there were more demonstration gardens and commercial stands (including the particularly groovy Lead A-Stray, who do designs in lead which I thought were ace), we slowly headed towards some of the main show gardens. Of course, we wanted to see the "Chelsea Pensioner" garden which had been awarded best-in-show, but I also wanted to see the Conran-designed "Peace" garden. Personally, I think that the Peace garden was far more deserving of "best in show", but well, that's a personal viewpoint. A lot of people seemed to prefer the Chelsea Pensioner, and that's fine. People are entitled to their views, even if they're wrong. *grin*
The great pavillion was a real eye-opener. Twleve thousand square meters in size, it's bloody enormous. I think we ended up covering about two-thirds of it in the end, but still managed to see the things we'd really wanted to - including the wonderful bonsai stand with trees up to two hundred years old on it. We also got to see the main display of auriculas, which I think are utterly wonderful - no idea why, they just appeal to something within me. Definitely something to look at adding to the garden for next year, I think. Other than those, we also saw whole displays of orchids, which are always stunning, as well as stands of lillies, foxgloves, clematis, and many others.
Back outside there were some spectacular stands for fountains and water-features, which are always a joy. I love seeing some of them - in particular the ones where the water flows down metal or glass blocks, simply rippling down instead of plishy-ploshing all the time. There are some water features that really do appeal to me, and they tend to be either these blocks, or the one I've seen a couple of times now, the copper trees where water drips off every leaf. They're just utterly fantastic - and at a "mere" £2,000, I'll have one any day now. Honest.
Lots more photos than the ones here got taken - about 120 in all - so I'll be sticking those on my Flickr photo-stream when I get a chance. In the meantime though, I'd say that Chelsea was a fantastic thing to see. Next time we go, I think we'll try for doing it on a week-day when (in theory at least) there won't be quite so many people there. Yeah, right. If you're at all interested in gardening, garden design, or plants and flowers in general, I'd say that you should go to Chelsea at least once. If you're not, then don't bother, it's not for you at all.
Would I go again? Yes. Would I go every year? Probably not - although I can easily understand why some people do so.