It’s my favourite day of the year! The RHS Chelsea Flower Show Press Day.
It felt so wonderful to be back, in London and Chelsea, and I was very lucky to attend the press day for the world’s biggest and most exciting celebration of horticulture.
Press Day takes place just before the medals are announced. For me, this means playing the fun game of awarding medals in my head and seeing if I was right or wrong afterwards.
This year, I think I handed out more golds than ever before! Let’s begin the tour…
This is The Boodles Garden. It celebrates Historic Royal Palaces and is inspired by the features at its historic locations including the White Tower and Hampton Court Palace.
The deep red tones of the peonies (pictured above) are a creative reference to the Damask wallpaper found at both Hampton Court and Kensington Palace.
The Project Giving Back Garden is inspired by the ochre mines of Rousillon in Provence.
Dramatic and colourful, it’s a marvellous garden, bold and inventive.
The Parkinson’s Garden is one of my favourite gardens. So much thought has gone into the planting: the roses are scentless to symbolise one of the early symptoms of Parkinson’s – the loss of the sense of smell. Foxgloves are also featured in the garden, a remedy for those suffering from insomnia as a result of Parkinson’s disease.
Another favourite (yes, everyone will have more than one favourite at Chelsea!) is the Lady Garden Foundation ‘Silent No More’ Garden. This garden raises awareness of gynaecological cancers by providing a welcoming space for uninhibited discussion.
Another spectacular garden is The Eden Project: Bring Me Sunshine Garden. Inspiration for this garden is rooted in Morecambe Bay so the garden combines coastal planting, shell-based materials, and an outdoor learning space. It celebrates young adults gaining horticultural skills and offers a first glimpse of the Eden Project Morecambe, where plants, technology and people come together for a thriving future.
Kazuyuki Ishihara is a Chelsea Flower Show veteran garden designer, and his garden this year is an absolute delight.
Sanumaya no Niwa garden represents a nostalgic Japanese courtyard.
Harmony and connection are themes that resonate from the space. The garden reflects the designer’s childhood memories of the Sanumaya drapery shop.
The plants have been chosen to evoke this sense of time and place. Irises, moss, and fern planted together create an elegantly deep texture.
Utterly beautiful.
The Young Minds Garden is simply wonderful.
The garden’s message highlights the importance of creativity and community, of hope and potential.
I think that’s enough for one blog post…
Pop back for more tomorrow!
