But for those with less grand designs, Chelsea can also provide inspiration for quick and easy improvements. The Great Pavilion, in particular, has a wonderful array of plants to fill dull spots in your garden, and includes plenty of new introductions. This year’s debut plants included a new chive ‘Cha Cha’, Clematis ‘Chelsea’, Iris ‘Nelly Tardivier’ and Mahonia eurybracteata subsp. ganpinensis ‘Soft Caress’ which won the show’s ‘Plant of the Year’ award.

We’ve scoured the show for fresh ideas for your garden which you could do in one weekend (actually most of them will only take an hour or two). Here are our top seven:

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1. Make use of old building supply bulk bags by planting them up. They’re brilliant as raised beds for vegetables because they allow for a really deep soil level (particularly good for things like potatoes). If you don’t need the soil to be so deep then simply roll down the top of the bags to the level you want, or fill the base of the bag with polystyrene and top up with compost. Perfect for urban designs.
2. If you have a shallow pool or water feature then consider painting it black, or sticking a shiny black liner to the interior. Pop a few light-coloured plants around it and you’ll find that the black reflects the colours and shapes of the garden back at you.
3. Our first idea thanks to the Sparsholt College display is a handy way to use pleated paper lampshades to cheaply change houseplant pots which no longer match your colour scheme. Simply turn the shade upside down and put the pot into it.
4. Long chain ornaments are very popular at the moment, but this idea from the Interflora display adds a new dimension by incorporating real flowers in tiny vases. You can replicate the same look in your own garden. If you can’t find small vases then you can use test tubes for single stems or fluted shot/sherry glasses for mini arrangements. Attach them to your ornament using garden wire.
5. This year’s NSPCC (National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children) garden included large cobble stones with messages painted on to them. Why not create your own for your family sayings, names or wishes? It’s a great idea for kids. Use acrylic (oil based) or enamel paint so that your artwork doesn’t wash away. If your designs are going to be walked on (eg if they are on cobbles in a path) you can use a clear sealant/varnish over the top to protect them.
6. The second inspiration from Sparsholt College is this wonderful chair, where the seat padding has been replaced with herbs, though other plants such as sedums would be equally good for this. A base made from stout plastic should support the weight of the thin layer of compost the plants will grow in. You could even plant your seat with thyme or chamomile, which will survive being sat on – but if you intend to do this then ensure that the seat is reinforced, perhaps with a solid metal base (with drainage holds) or a strong metal grid.
7. Transform your autumn or spring prunings into handy – and free – plant labels. A grafting knife is perfect for taking a slice out of the wood to make these attractive plant markers. Sharpen the other end to stick into the soil, or drill a hole if you want to hang it from a tree or shrub.

The predominant theme this year has been naturalistic planting, with grasses in particular being given a higher profile than in recent years. Woodland themes have featured in many gardens and the focus seems to be on calm, soothing gardens – perhaps an antidote to the harsh economic times? This is echoed in the RHS’s choice of a foxglove, Digitalis ‘Illumination Pink’, as its plant of the year. If a plant doesn’t self seed freely then it appears that it simply isn’t ‘in vogue’!

Judging by this year’s gardens, geums, irises, alliums and grasses are likely to be popular purchases this year.

Of course there are always exceptions to the rule. More exotic planting schemes and architectural foliage could be seen in some gardens, often used to great effect. And many of the ‘Fresh’ gardens brought technology to Chelsea with vibrant ‘techno’ colours and the integration of technological devices such as ‘QR’ patterns.

Here are a few of my particular highlights from this year’s show:

Show Gardens

The Brewin Dolphin Garden

Designer: Cleve West
Award: Gold Medal, Best Show Garden

With his garden celebrating the 250th anniversary of Brewin Dolphin, Cleve West is celebrating another Chelsea Best Show Garden with this year’s triumph, which focuses on the our continuing love of topiary in all forms. The garden epitomises the use of topiary forms to provide structure and formality to a garden, restraining the flowing herbaceous planting within its borders. Stone paths and low walls provide a backbone to the garden, and draw the focus onto the stone sculpture against the far wall.

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Homebase Teenage Cancer Trust Garden

Designer: Jo Swift
Award: Gold Medal

The bold forms and urban theme of this garden brought a refreshingly vibrant air to an otherwise rather laid back, chilled out, Chelsea. Large ceder frames bestride Jo Swift’s garden, drawing the eye through the garden and create separate, yet joined up, spaces. The planting reflected the vibrant theme with a warm colour scheme of rusts and burgundies, while evergreen shrubs and trees provided structure and interest for the winter months. While not always a fan of the dramatic, I did love this garden for its strong themes and colours.

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The M&G Garden

Designer: Andy Sturgeon
Award: Gold Medal

This design by Andy Sturgeon, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, echoed the calming blues and violets seen elsewhere at Chelsea, but incorporating striking stonework and a dramatic copper sculpture flowing through the large water channel through the centre of the garden. A ‘floating’ oak bench at the far end of the garden provides the perfect spot to sit and enjoy the simple yet effective lines of this space.

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The Laurent-Perrier Bicentenary Garden

Designer: Arne Maynard
Award: Gold Medal

This year’s champagne-inspired garden combines elegance and structure with, rather ubiquitously this year, flowing herbaceous plantings. The mainstay of the structure is a pleached copper beech corridor running the length of the garden and forming a seating area at the far end. In addition, tall topiary structures punctuate the less formal planting scheme. The herbaceous borders are coloured in delicate mauves and pinks, which contracts perfectly with the deep red of the hedging.

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The Telegraph Garden

Designer: Sarah Price
Award: Gold Medal

Not quite equalling its ‘Best In Show’ title at the last three Chelseas, this year’s Telegraph Garden still managed a worthy gold medal thanks to a design evoking the beauty and romance of the British countryside. Natural stone is used throughout the garden, creating pools, boulder-seats, stepping stones and paths. Copper is also used, reflecting the mineral rich areas of North Wales and Dartmoor. The planting is meadow inspired, mixing wild flowers with cultivated herbaceous perennials and grasses. Height is provided by birch trees which frame the garden.

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Land’s End: A Rural Muse

Designer: Adam Frost
Award: Gold Medal

This garden is inspired by the Helpston countryside, near Peterborough, which was home to the 19th century poet and green campaigner John Clare. Local stone underpins the design of the garden, including stepping stones, a fire pit and a dry stone wall with integrated wine bottle storage! Green oak is used to create a shelter at the far end of the garden with a clover-planted roof to attract birds and insects, which echoes John Clare’s love of nature in all forms. A field maple hedge surrounds the site while hornbeams provide shade for the woodland inspired planting below. In the background a deer sculpted from wire peaks out, giving the feel that there is a deeper woodland beyond.

The use of calming blues and violets against the creamy stone gives the garden a relaxing feel and draws you in to meander along its paths and stepping stones, perhaps perching on a boulder or helping yourself to a glass of wine under the shelter. I would certainly drink to the health of Adam Frost, who has created a garden which it’s hard not to enjoy.

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L’Occitane Immortelle Garden

Designer: Peter Dowle
Award: Gold Medal

Sponsored by the up-market cosmetics company, this garden brings to Chelsea a little of the Corsican countryside where L’Occitane grown the Immortelle flowers which provide oils for their skincare collection. These eponymous, bright yellow flowers are blended with other local species which thrive in the rocky landscape which extends up from a small, sandy pool. At the summit of this gently sloping garden sits a stone cabin with an outdoor seating area. This garden perfectly illustrates that a sloping site can be an asset as much as a issue for gardeners.

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Quiet Time: DMZ Forbidden Garden

Designer: Jihae Hwang
Award: Gold Medal

Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Korean War (1950 to 1953). The garden shows us an area of the demilitarised zone, strewn with the debris of war, including high barbed wire fences and a watch tower. The stream running through the site symbolises a defiance of this barrier between the two halves of Korea and the feelings of love and tension which designer Jihae Hwang believe still exist. The naturalistic planting shows the determination of nature to reclaim this area, including tall trees which partially obscure the watch tower and cheery orange geums, despite the destruction wrought by mankind.

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The Arthritis Research UK Garden

Designer: Thomas Hoblyn
Award: Silver Gilt Medal

Taking inspiration from the Renaissance gardens of Italy, the Arthritis Research UK garden this year marks the charity’s 75th anniversary and its own ‘rebirth’ as it plans for its future. The garden is dominated by three main features, a large cork oak (Quercus suber) at the front of the garden, a long yew and box hedge flanking the far side with ‘leaping’ water along the length of it, and five tall Cupressus sempervirens specimens punctuating the far end. In between these features a long, restful pool runs through the stone landscaping and raised beds contain evergreen mounds and a selection of Mediterranean-inspired herbaceous plants.

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The RBC Blue Water Garden

Designer: Prof. Nigel Dunnett and The Landscape Agency
Award: Silver Gilt Medal

One of a minority of gardens with a truly modern feel at this year’s show, the RBC Blue Water Garden provides an oasis of water management set in a garden inspired by the formal ‘paradise gardens’ such as at the Alhambra Palace in Spain. Water is conserved in bioswales (which capture and cleanse run off water) and reflective pools. The formal style, incoporating smoothly stylish paving and white walls, is offset by naturalistic planting in the borders which include dramatic highlights such as bright orange Turk’s Cap lilies. At the apex of the garden sits a stone pavillion which, unfortunately, rather reminded me of a house in a ‘Smurf’ village! But aside from that, the garden’s modern touches and bright colours were a refreshing antidote to the calm in many of the other Chelsea gardens.

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A Celebration of Caravanning

Designer: Jo Thompson
Award: Silver Gilt Medal

Gardens containing battered old caravans are usually a eyesore in the neighbourhood, but Jo Thompson uses ‘Doris’ (the aluminium caravan which is the centrepiece of this garden) to great effect. Relatively formal, straight paths of sandstone and timber lead to the caravan and around the other parts of the garden, which is divided into sections using timber screens. A shallow rill provides a water feature come wine cooler and the family dog has his own kennel, complete with a planted roof and downpipe-filled water bowl. The planting scheme billows out from the beds and borders in feminine pink and cream shades, including roses, hostas, grasses and this year’s ‘obligatory’ irises.

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The Westland Magical Garden

Designer: Diarmuid Gavin
Award: Silver Gilt Medal

Diarmuid Gavin continues to reach for the stars at this year’s Chelsea with his towering Magical Garden. Seemingly created from scaffolding poles (albeit posh ones!) this garden shows the potential for urban green sites where a small footprint can still provide plenty of planting opportunities. The shady spots provide a great opportunity for Gavin’s knack of combining plants such as evergreen shrubs, ferns and hostas to form their own curving landscape, dotting between them bright herbaceous perennials including allium lollipops. The height of the pyramid is also reflected in the height of the planting, with tall birches and bamboos shooting up through the levels and climbers twining around the structure. Magical touches add fun to the garden, including a swing and a helter skelter style tubular slide for a quick exit from the higher levels (there’s also an elevator for the less adventurous!)

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Trailfinders Australian Garden presented by Fleming’s

Designer: Jason Hodges
Award: Siler Gilt Medal

With a tradition of bringing a bit of Aus to Chelsea, this year’s Trailfinders garden is no exception. With a focus on outdoor living, this garden provides plenty of spaces for relaxing, playing and entertaining, both in the sun and shade. With a plunge pool, barbecue, pizza oven and bath, you have to wonder whether you’d really need a house if you had this garden! The planting is typically lush, with huge palms providing light shade to the mix of Australian and European inspired, mainly monocot borders. I particularly liked the lighting, which was provided by overhead beams stretching out from the garden walls and containing down-lighters. If you’re having a party, this is definitely the Chelsea garden to choose.

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Rooftop Workplace Of Tomorrow

Designer: Patricia Fox
Award: Silver Medal

As someone who has spent many years in offices, this garden really appealed to me. The ethos behind the garden is that office roof space is often wasted and could easily be used to extend the working space outside. An appreciation of the vagaries of the British climate is shown, with shelter provided to provide an all-weather meeting space, and shading for the workstations so computer screens can be seen. Having said that, the majority of space would be for a dry day, so how much use the garden would get in the winter is questionable. The planting is low key and in this year’s ubiquitous calming blue colours, and more relaxing seating areas are provided alongside the working environments. Trees are incorporated in the design, planted in large layered containers.

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Fresh Gardens

Green With…

Designer: Tony Smith
Award: Gold Medal and Best Fresh Garden

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The Bradstone Panache Garden

Designer: Caroline E Butler
Award: Silver Medal

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Petra – Tranquility Set In Stone

Designer: Benjamin Wincott

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Glamourlands: A Techno-Folly

Designer: Tony Heywood and Alison Condie represented by Vigo Gallery

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The Great Pavilion

The plethora of horticultural delights in Chelsea’s Great Pavilion never fails to amaze. The perfection with which great swathes of plants are presented is awe inspiring, as are many of the more quirky displays. This year the presentations included floral chandeliers from the floristry competitors, a fairy tale castle bedecked with roses in the Peter Beales area, a Thai temple simply bursting with tropical flowers and fruits thanks to the Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden, a floral mini cooper (complete with racing stripes) courtesy of Birmingham City Council and much more besides.

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Planning your day

To get the most out of your garden show visit it’s useful to do a bit of planning ahead of time. How much you need to do really depends on the size of the show, however here are some things you might want to think about doing:

• Get a programme in advance and make a list of what you want to see; that way you can ensure that you don’t miss anything crucial.
• If you can find a map of the show ground plan a route which encompasses everything on your list with minimal walking – even garden shows over a relatively small area can be exhausting if you keep doubling back because you’ve missed something.
• If you’ve got a picnic to carry around with you, or are planning on making a few purchases, you’ll find a folding box trolley invaluable. These clever little carts fold up into a bag sized bundle but then unfold to provide storage space which can be easily wheeled around. Buy one in advance or wait until the day as most shows have a stall selling them.
• The main attractions (the ’show gardens’ at most events) will be very busy throughout most of the day, so try to plan to see them when they’re likely to be quieter. If you can get there when the show opens and make a beeline for them you should just beat the crowds to it, alternatively have a lie in and plan to see them at the end of the day when the crowds are thinning out. If it looks like rain then visit the main attractions during showers of rain when most people are cowering in the marquees – gardens are made to be seen in rain as well as sun after all!
• If you’re going with friends make sure that you either have mobile phones and/or that you arrange a meeting point in case you get separated. Remember that mobile phone reception may be limited in more ‘out of the way’ shows.

What to wear

• If there’s even the slightest hint of rain take waterproof clothing, even if just a waterproof hat stuffed into your pocket. Don’t take an umbrella, there just won’t be room for it in a crowd. I’ve had plenty of pokes in the eye from inconsiderate umbrella-bearing people, don’t be one of them!
• At most shows there is limited seating indoors, so stuff a couple of plastic carrier bags into your pockets to use them to cover wet seats or benches if it looks like rain.
• Wear comfortable footwear. Trainers are ideal if the weather’s dry, walking boots if it’s wet (as you won’t be limited to walking on the hard standing paths with the crowds). TV pictures of the first day of Chelsea may suggest everyone goes there glammed up, but remember that the first day is a press event with people tottering around a couple of gardens drinking champagne, not ‘normal’ visitors who will have quite a walk ahead of them to see all the exhibits!

Food for thought

• The food stalls at garden shows are very aware that they have a captive audience and often take advantage of this by charging exorbitant prices. At least ensure that you take a bottle of water and a snack with you, even if you still intend to buy your lunch there.
• If you’re going to take a picnic (which is great fun as you’ll by no means be the only ones picnicking) you can always check it in at the cloakroom (if there is one) to save carrying it around all day. Just be warned that cloakrooms have limited capacities, so make it your first visit when you arrive to ensure they still have space for your bag.
• Some of the larger shows will have on-site sit-down restaurants. You almost always need to book these in advance, and well in advance if you are a large party or want to dine at a popular time (eg anytime around lunchtime!). They’re a pricey luxury, but can be the icing on the cake of a special day out.

Grab a bargain

• These days a lot of stalls will accept credit cards, but there will still be a proportion which accept cash or cheques only, so don’t forget to take some if you’re going on a spending spree.
• Remember that you’re often talking to the business owner when you’re buying from stalls at shows, so it’s a great opportunity to hone your haggling skills, particularly if it’s been rainy and the show’s had fewer visitors than normal, or if it’s the last day when they may want to get rid of the remains of their stock.
• If you’re looking for bargain plants then you’re best planning your visit for the last day of the show. You’ll often find show garden designers, and sometimes stallholders, selling off plants very cheaply to get rid of their stock so they don’t have to transport it home. Ask around to find out what time the sell off begins as you usually have to get in early for the best bargains.
• It’s not all about shopping. At some shows you’ll find people handing out bags of marketing information. The product they’re advertising might not appeal to you, but often as not they’ll have put a packet of seeds in with the literature, so it’s always worth taking one to see what you’re getting for free.

It’s good to talk

• Often visitors to garden shows feel they can’t bother exhibitors by asking questions, but on the whole this is nonsense! Exhibitors will have spent months preparing for this show and toiled endlessly to produce designs and plants which will delight judges and visitors alike – so someone showing an interest in all that hard work is generally much appreciated. And you can to take the opportunity to get some tips and ideas from real experts.

• Olympic Park garden co-designer Sarah Price will be designing the Daily Telegraph show garden this year. This will be her first full-size Chelsea show garden, having won silver medals in the past for small gardens. The garden will portray a romantic view of British landscapes with flowing meadows, limestone pools, a glade of birches and copper detailing to evoke the mineral rich streams of north Wales and Dartmoor. And the pressure’s definitely on for Sarah as the Daily Telegraph garden has won best show garden for the last three years!

Part of the 2011 Daily Telegraph garden designed by
Cleve West which won Best Show Garden.

• The BBC’s Joe Swift will be designing Homebase’s show garden at Chelsea this year. The company will also be promoting its new ‘Chelsea Garden Collection’ of plants which will include Cosmos ‘Choca Mocha’ and Festuca glauca ‘Festina’.
• If you’re worried about drought, Chelsea could be a good bet for some cunning garden ideas. Nick Dexter will be designing the Southern Water garden for the new ‘Fresh Garden’ category at this year’s show. Water for the garden will be provided by a pool which releases water via a sluice gate. Planting will include Achillea, Allium, Aster, Calamintha and Euphorbia varieties, and will focus on plants which are easily sourced in the UK.
• The Hillier Nursery display at Chelsea this year will deal with the topic of fencing…but not the garden kind! They have taken their inspiration from the Olympic event and the Queen’s patronage of the British Fencing Association to create a design and planting scheme to suggest the various aspects of this elegant sport.
• The Caravan Club will be sponsoring their own garden this year, designed by Jo Thompson. The display will include a caravan brought over from the Isle of Wight alongside irises, roses, Betula albosinensis ‘Fascination’ and Anthriscus Slyvestris ‘Ravenswing’.
• Investment Management company Brewin Dolphin are celebrating their 250th anniversary with a Chelsea garden designed by Cleve West. The garden will combine contemporary design with British gardening traditions to create a ‘formal and timeless’ garden using tightly clipped yew topiary and beech hedging alongside shrubs, perennials and annuals. The colours will include whites, lime greens and yellows.
• Andy Sturgeon will be designing the M&G garden at this year’s show and has been inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s to create a garden with a strong asymmetric quality. This will be created using paths and terraces combined with a mirrored water channel and a ‘floating’ oak bench. The simplistic style of the garden will feature natural materials such as aged copper, English oak and Purbeck stone alongside a striking ‘energy wave’ sculpture hewn from copper rings.
• Furzey Gardens, Hampshire, are working with designer Chris Beardshaw to create a garden with a team from the Minstead Training Project, a training centre for adults with learning disabilities. The garden, on a sloping site at the show, will include an imposing ‘lantern’ structure incorporating glass leaves made by the students.
• Plankbridge Hutmaker’s garden will be displaying the first ever shepherd’s hut to feature at Chelsea. The Artisan Garden’s design will reflect the scenery of Dorset, where the firm are based.
• Alongside the show preparations, the RHS are also reviewing the panels used in judging show gardens. They are considering introducing non-horticulturalist judges to give more breadth to the assessment of gardens as well as making the process less secretive. This could include architects, furniture designers or even ‘wildcard’ judges such as clothes designers or actors. While not affecting this year’s Chelsea, the review panel is due to report in March.
• And if you’re not going to Chelsea itself you can still get into the mood with the ‘Chelsea Fringe Festival’. This new event will take place in sites around London from late May to early June and will include floral boats cruising the Thames, secret gardens in lorries parked on street corners and guerrilla pavement gardening. It will also showcase community garden projects and public gardens.

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On the hunt for roses, and enjoying a glorious summer day, I trooped off to visit Borde Hill in West Sussex, UK. The gardens surround Borde Hill House, a private residence (not open to the public) which was originally built in 1598. The gardens were established in the early 1900s and are ensconced in 200 acres of woodland where visitors can add to their day with a selection of countryside strolls. The walks take in natural and ‘man made’ woodlands, the latter including a coniferous wood and a broad leaf area which includes elms, hickories and walnuts.

The gardens sprawl to the east and west of the house, separated by the wide expanse of the ‘South Lawn’, which is part of the private residence. The overall feel of the garden is slightly higgledy piggledy, but delightfully so. It’s a garden which invites you to amble around, losing your way while exploring narrow paths and inviting steps, and with plenty of seating so you can pause and take in your new discovery. There are lovely views over the surrounding woodland and farmland, particularly as you walk along Paradise Walk at the base of the South Lawn between the east and west gardens.

From a practical point of view, the main paths offer good access for wheelchairs and buggies and there is a large childrens’ playground (away from the gardens) so the little ones can burn off some energy. There is a cafe and a more upmarket restaurant on site, as well as a small shop. However, the food did seem rather on the pricey side to me, so I passed on lunch. There is some labelling in the garden, probably about half the plants which I wanted to know the names of had a label, so not great but not awful.

Here are a few of the highlights of the garden:

Rose garden

This was the main purpose of my visit, to find a well stocked rose garden to photograph and add to to our plants information. I wasn’t disappointed. Created in 1995 by Chelsea Flower Show gold medallist Robin Williams, the Rose Garden is based upon photographs of the original design from the early 1900s. Framed in box, lavender and catmint, the garden is ablaze with colour and beautifully scented. There is a wonderful selection of roses, from the ubiquitous shrub roses to hanging swags of ramblers and patterns of closely grouped miniature roses. The neat, paved paths make it easy to meander between the displays and get ‘up close and personal’ with 400+ roses in the garden.

Italian garden

Converted from a tennis court in 1982, this very formal garden has a distinctly classical design. The rectangular paving area is centred with a rectangular pond. This is fed by a rill of water leading down a series of steps, emanating from the mouth of a lion. Huge, Italian terracotta pots surround the pool sprout standard bushes and colourful Mediterranean bedding. The garden is surrounded with geometric beds edged in box and planted for summer colour.

Round Dell

While not one of the “main” features of the gardens, the Round Dell, created in an old quarrying site, was my favourite spot. If I’d had a good book with me I could have happily whiled away a hour or so there.

The garden is within a little hollow, at the bottom of which is a pond. The planting is lush and tropical, with Chusan palms (Trachycarpus fortunei) framing the area and gunneras, cannas, gingers and skunk cabbages as part of the sunken display. However, there are no garishly bright colours that one often finds in tropical schemes, which gives the garden a natural feel. At the edge of the pond stands a fabulous bronze statue (“Welcome the new year” by Eve Meynell) of a woman with her arms joyfully thrown up, adding an air of pleasure to the garden.

Old Potting Sheds

Only a small part of the gardens, and tucked away at the far west side, the Old Potting Sheds have been planted up to make a charming feature of the run down buildings. Only the walls and the odd doorway remain of the original sheds, giving the gardeners an opportunity to plant inside as well as outside the structures. This gives it the feel of a secret, overgrown place, but is contrived enough to make it pleasing on the eye. A couple of benches provide give you a chance to rest a while inside the ruins and enjoy the solitude.

Garden of Allah

This part of the garden, cultivated from the parkland in the 1920s, was named the Garden of Allah because of the peace and tranquility found within it. Within the garden small ponds sit under the dappled shade of well established trees, creating a contemplative mood. The calming greenness of the area, soothing water and cool shade of this garden make its name well earned.

The area is a little overgrown but, while the more pernickety gardeners might take exception to this, it does lend a rather relaxing, laisez faire attitude to the garden. After all, if we want to go there for some peace and quiet, it seems a little unfair not to let the plants relax too!

As I visited in the summer I didn’t see the splendour of the Camellia Ring and Azalea Ring to the far east of the garden, and the Old Rhododendron Garden was just green and leafy, but I’m sure these will be worth a return visit in the spring. I’ll pick a sunny day so I can have a morning potter around the garden then take advantage of the woodland walks, perhaps with a picnic to avoid that costly café!

This year there are 32 gardens to entice and inspire, over 100 growers and nurseries and almost 250 stands where you can buy an almost unimaginable array of tools, ornaments, furniture and other gardening accessories.

This is my third year visiting Chelsea and I was greeted by many familiar things; the carnival atmosphere around the bandstand, gaggles of onlookers hanging around the BBC film crews, the almost overpoweringly sweet smell on approaching the strawberry display in the Great Pavilion and the occasional boom of aircraft passing overhead.

However there were plenty of new trends and ideas on display this year. Much focus was made on informal, almost wild planting schemes and re-use of materials in gardens. Many gardens displayed mixed, multicoloured, cottage style planting; sometimes contained within more formal structures such as raised beds and topiary constraints, sometimes seeming to run free through the plot. Natural and re-claimed materials were also featured in many gardens, for example in the use of re-claimed wood to create structures or the placement of moss to soften the edges of paths.

The planting used was quite varied between the gardens, although the use of Cornus kousa was common to several gardens and, as often as not, it was this plant that I heard people asking the garden designers about. The colours were softer than last year, with a lot of focus on pastels of blues and pinks.

The positioning of structures such as sheds, offices and seating areas seemed more fluid in many show gardens this year. Several designers chose to almost hide the seating area behind a mass of planting, giving the garden a sense of privacy and enticing you to wind your way through the garden to take your seat.

Below is a quick overview of each of the gardens at the show and some of my favourite highlights from the Great Pavilion.

Show Gardens

The B&Q Garden

Designer: Laurie Chetwood and Patrick Collins
Award: Gold Medal

Claiming its place as the tallest ever garden at the Chelsea Flower Show, this self-sufficient garden aims to address the idea of creating sustainable food growing spaces in urban areas. A nine metre high tower is the keystone to the garden, which incorporates rainwater harvesting/storage, a thermal chimney and the capability to harness wind and solar energy. Plants are also included in the tower, with one side of it dedicated to growing produce.

At ground level raised beds of crops line up alongside rills storing rainwater, in beautifully neat, weed free rows (which may be alien to most gardeners!). Pleached limes gave height to this lower section of the garden, although I couldn’t help but wonder whether, given the overall theme, the elegance of pleached limes should have been replaced by more practical fruit bearing trees.

Overall a very effective and innovative look at ‘grow your own’.

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British Heart Foundation Garden

Designer: Anne-Marie Powells
Award: Silver Medal

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the British Heart Foundation, this garden quite literally took this as its theme. Blood red tubes (the veins and arteries) wound around the garden, creating corridors and arching over the seating area. At ground level, large, rounded, red stepping stones (the blood cells) provided passageway across the central pool. On the more subtle side, heart shaped planting was used, including Tilia cordata, and a nod was given to the treatment of heart disease in the form of Salix caprea, which was fundamental to the development of aspirin.

While the red structures were a little brash for my liking, the surrounding planting was very effective. They restrained themselves to a mainly green palette (with some hints of red) which worked well against the very man-made backdrop.

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The Cancer Research UK Garden

Designer: Robert Myers
Award: Silver Gilt Medal

A wonderfully calming garden, this year’s contribution from Cancer Research UK represents the process of surviving cancer through a garden which starts low and takes you on a steady climb, both up the subtle terracing and also to taller, lusher, plantings, until you reach the summit seating area. The seating area is covered by a, what is for Chelsea almost ubiquitous, green roof.  The plants have been chosen to reflect a couple who have previously lived near the sea and love coastal landscapes, which is also referred to in the gentle use of water in the garden.

The result isn’t the most spectacular or glamorous garden at Chelsea this year, but it is one which I felt I could quite happily, and peacefully, live with.

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Trailfinders Australian Garden

Designer: Ian Barker
Award: Silver Gilt Medal

This garden is inspired by the voyage of Captain James Cook and Joseph Banks (the renowned botanist and joint founder of the RHS) to Australia in the 18th century. A nod to their journey is found in the sail-like white covering of the seating area. The hard landscaping in the garden is subtly curvaceous, with pools of water and meandering paths. The whiteness of the stone and cobbles sets of the predominantly green and white planting which has splashes of red and blue to brighten it up. Plants have been chosen to reflect those ‘discovered’ during the voyage, many of which are now common garden plants throughout Europe.

In many ways the garden appears typically English, which makes the story of its origins even more intriguing – you start to wonder how many of your familiar garden plants are in face Aussie immigrants from that journey of discovery?!

Click images to enlarge.

The Homebase Cornish Memories Garden

Designer: Thomas Hoblyn
Award: Silver Gilt Medal

Inspired by the designer’s childhood holidays in Cornwall, the planting scheme in this garden should be familiar to anyone who has visited the Southwest. Ferns jostle for position with rhododendron, pines tower above and an assortment of seaside perennials in pinks and blues complete this Cornish look. Shrubs were selected to mimic the dome shaped boulders of Bodmin Moor and the coast is represented by trickles of water winding down from the seating area (like rivulets of water running through sand back to the sea) through the granite hard landscaping to trickle into the large, oval pool.

The seating area is covered with a simple pergola with three striking red-streaked screens behind it and a small ’shadow’ pool underneath to reflect the surrounding foliage. The overall effect is of calm, relaxation and the distant memory of summer holidays by the sea. All it was lacking was the flag of St Piran flying above it!

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The Green Poem

Designer: Kazuyuki Ishihara
Award: Silver Medal

This is inspired by the mountains of Nagasaki in Japan and aims to “heal visitors’ hearts and recall nostalgic feelings sleeping within.” A simple stone path leads you through a garden of trickling water, attractive mounds of moss (yes, moss can be a good thing!) and Japanese-themed plants including acers, Cornus kousa and Iris sibirica. The planting is very naturalistic and the terracing of the garden gives the impression of layers and layers of plants on a mountainside.

At the pinnacle of the garden is a white carved stone shelter which, while beautiful in its own right, is a rather uncomfortable juxtaposition to the otherwise natural feel of the garden. However it does make a lovely spot to rest a while and appreciate the garden cascading down beneath you.

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The Laurent Perrier Garden

Designer: Luciano Giubbilei
Award: Gold Medal

This garden combines a modern, minimalistic, restful area with three large boulder-like sculptures (commissioned from British sculptor Peter Randell-Page) and a bamboo pavilion (by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma) with an informal garden area consisting of two long borders either side of a rectangular pool. The borders are filled with frothy plants in pinks and creams, reflecting the colour of Laurent Perrier’s rosé champagne. Along the length of the borders, and continuing past the pavilion, Parrotia persica have been planted, pruned to show their bare, twisting stems, and they (along with the pool of water which extends under part of the pavilion) provide a level of unity between the whimsical planting and elegant seating area.

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The HESCO Garden

Designer: Leeds City Council, Parks And Countryside
Award: Gold Medal

This year’s display by Leeds City Council highlights the importance of water-power in the city’s industrial past – and this isn’t done subtly…the centrepiece of the garden is a 6 metre high mill house, fully equipped with a spinning water wheel! To give the building a feeling of permanence, Thuja plicata trees tower over it at a majestic 9 metres high, though this would have been further enhanced had the stonework and mortar of the building been aged a little, as it did look a little too new for the age of the accompanying trees.

The planting around the mill is very natural in feel, with cultivated plants near the building (to show that the building is still ‘in use’) and native species nearer the boundary of the garden, giving the appearance of the mill gradually merging with the natural surroundings. A pastel colour palette gives a calming effect and adds to the naturalistic feel of the garden.

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The M&G Garden

Designer: Bunny Guinness
Award: Silver Gilt Medal

Taking a modern view of a kitchen garden, the M&G Garden cleverly combines produce and pretty within a maze of raised beds built from willow and topped with cedar coping. The aim of the garden is to show that separate vegetable plots aren’t necessary – you can grow to eat and have an attractive garden in even the smallest space. As well as the raised beds, large terracotta pots contain trees including lemons and medlars. Clematis trip over lettuces nudging up against marrows in this busy, cluttered, stuffed to bursting, wonderful garden! I can understand why the judges marked Bunny Guinness’ design down for the over-crowding of plants into each of the raised beds, but equally I can see that this is a garden everyone aspires too; full to bursting with fun and colour.

At the end of the garden, barely noticeable beyond the cornucopia of plants, is a very smart seating area. An open fire warms a snug seating area while, above it, a glass platform provides an open air dining area with views down onto the garden. A great design, I would just worry about wearing a skirt if I were walking over that glass floor and people were sitting below!

Click images to enlarge.

The Monaco Garden

Designer: Sarah Eberle
Award: Gold Medal

Inspired by the architecture and landscape of Monaco, this garden brings a very clean, modern design to Chelsea. The classic, tiled pool at the front of the garden represents the Monaco harbour, and gradual terracing of the garden from the pool to the rear reflects the topography of the Principality. A long strip of smooth wooden decking reaches back from the pool, with stylish recliners and a vibrant planting scheme either side to create an almost-symmetrical view. At the pinnacle of the garden a partly glazed structure sits underneath a wood-clad, lavender lined roof garden. I can just see myself enjoying a glass of champagne up there before an evening at the casino or a trip on my yacht…in my dreams I can anyway!

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The Australian Garden

Designer: Jim Fogarty
Award: Gold Medal

Contrasting wonderfully with the subtle pinks and blues which have filled many Chelsea gardens this year, the Australian Garden stands out by combining the vibrant red sand of the outback with with tough plants which have grown to survive these arid conditions. The wavy-lined walls represent the sand dunes of the outback with a water cascade providing vital water as do the inland water gorges. A pebble path running through the garden symbolising a dry river bed and a large boomerang-shaped pool provides a blue coloured oasis; the colour of a cloudless Australian sky.

Plants include eucalypts, Kangaroo Paws (Anigozanthos hybrids) and Grevillea ‘Forinda’. At the summit of the garden sits a large pavilion and a green lawn, representing the populated areas of Australia, containing immense, stone-like seats.

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The SKYshades ‘Wild Office’

Designer: Marney Hall
Award: Silver Medal

This garden-office design epitomises the naturalistic look which has been common at this year’s flower show. A wood and glass constructed office sits in the corner of the garden, which is informally planted to be reminiscent of a English hedgerow and meadow. The garden is designed to encourage wildlife and solar power for the office continues this environmentally friendly theme. In the centre of the garden two hare statues are jumping and, behind them, a small path winds off into the distance, hinting at the countryside beyond.

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The Daily Telegraph Garden

Designer: Cleve West
Awards: Gold Medal, Best Show Garden

This sunken (albeit shallowly) garden was inspired by the designer visiting the Roman ruins at Ptolemais, Libya. The Roman influence is most clearly seen in the pillar sculptures around the garden, one of which lies on its side to symbolise the age of the structures this design is based on. The planting is constrained by the paving, created from reclaimed Cotswold stone, but within these constraints is very naturalistic, many plants being self-seeders/colonisers which would allow the plants to move and change over time.

Tall Sophora japonica trees help to balance out the artificiality of the columns in this ‘best in show’ garden. The overall effect is strangely private, as if stumbling across a hidden garden in a faraway mediterranean country.

The backdrop to the planting is a mustard-yellow wall with water trickling smoothly from thick metal pipes into a sunken trough. While I adore the planting of this garden and the statuque pillars I have to confess that the colour of this wall really ruins the garden for me. I’m sure I just don’t appreciate the reasoning behind this choice (after all the RHS judges don’t seem to be put off by it at all), but from a layman’s point of view I’m afraid I just don’t like it!

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The RBC New Wild Garden

Designer: Dr Nigel Dunnett
Award: Silver Gilt Medal

This garden includes a very clever piece of re-use – it’s centrepiece is an office constructed from an old shipping container. Part of the side has been removed and replaced with glazing and the roof has been planted with a green roof and this, along with the striking blue paint, makes it a very inviting place to work. Outside the room, dark reflecting pools capture rainwater for use in the garden and reflect the planting scheme.

Beyond the office is a small seating area (perfect to escape your desk for a few minutes on a sunny day!) surrounded by crab apples and ‘wild garden’ planting made up of mainly herbaceous plants, mixing wild flowers and grasses with cultivated garden plants. Cutting across the beds are dry stone walls with insect retreats built in a sedums planted along the tops.

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Times Eureka Garden

Designer: Marcus Barnett
Award: Silver Medal

Created in association with the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, this garden aims to demonstrate the importance of plants. The structure of the garden mirrors the structure of plants, with paving symbolising capillaries leading out from a cellular-formed pavilion. The planting is chosen to show that plants are both beautiful and useful. Specimens include foxgloves and geraniums (used in medicine) and roses (used in cosmetics and drinks manufacturing).

The beds reflect the wilder theme of many of the gardens at the year’s Chelsea, with a riot of plants vying for position. The cell-like pavilion structure was a little too literal for my liking, and I heard quite a few similar comments, seeming to be better suited to a biology lecture; perhaps a more abstract interpretation of a plant cell would have better suited a garden site?

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The Tourism Malaysia Garden

Designer: David Cubero and James Wong
Award: Gold Medal

This design takes a Malaysian jungle stream and wraps it neatly around a simple sunken seating area with smooth, clean lines which are almost Conran-esque in design. The use of water and lush planting which is found in this scheme harps back to the modern design used in many homes in Kuala Lumpar, where it acts as ‘natural air-conditioning’. The tropical, green plants crowd over the water, the surface of which is virtually covered by waterlilies. The crowding of the foliage gives this very open garden a strangely intimate feeling.

The simplicity of the stonework used for the seating area and to contain the borders, combined with the almost entirely green planting scheme, at first makes this garden seem a little dull. But the more you look at it and image sitting in the centre enjoying the cool of the water and serenity of the foliage, the more you realise that this is actually a very detailed and clever garden.

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Irish Sky Garden

Designer: Diarmuid Gavin
Award: Gold Medal

When you hear that Diarmuid Gavin is doing a Chelsea garden one thing’s for certain – you’ll be treated to something controversial, extravagant and wonderfully fun. And he hasn’t failed to deliver!

His inspirations for the Irish Sky Garden are varied, to say the least. They range from the film Avatar, to the work of Capability Brown, to the concept of the Restaurant in the Sky. The centrepiece to the garden is a huge, eye shaped, magenta seating area which is lifted by crane to provide a view down onto the garden and out to the distant horizon. The seating area is planted both inside and out, with grass actually growing out of the bottom of it.

While a great crowd pleaser and, literally, the highlight of the garden, for me the real gem is the planting at ground level. Pines and grasses reach up to the skies and lessen the impact of the crane and below mounds of yew and box planted at differing heights roll across the garden, mimicking a Capability Brown landscape. Between the greenery 25 round pools of water reflect the overhead craft and throughout the garden a simple path winds, rather like Dorothy’s yellow brick road, making you desperate to walk down it and discover if there really is a wizard hiding behind the next conifer…or perhaps a little Irish leprechaun?!

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Small Gardens – Urban Gardens

The Chilstone Garden

Designer: Heather Appleton
Award: Silver Medal

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Doncaster Deaf Trust Garden

Designer: Graham Bodle
Award: Silver Gilt Medal

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Winds Of Change

Designer: Jamie Dunstan
Awards: Gold Medal, Best Urban Garden

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The Bradstone Fusion Garden

Designer: Maria Luisa and Chris Beardshaw
Award: Silver Gilt Medal

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The Magistrate’s Garden

Designer: Kate Gould
Award: Silver Gilt Medal

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The Power Of Nature

Designer: Olivia Kirk
Award: Gold Medal

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Across The Pond

Designer: Adam Frost
Award: Gold Medal

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The RNIB Garden

Designer: Paul Hervey-Brookes
Award: Silver Gilt Medal

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Small Gardens – Artisan Gardens

The Basildon Bond Garden

Designer: William Quarmby
Award: Bronze Medal

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Fever Tree House Garden

Designer: Stephen Hall
Award: Silver Medal

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A Child’s Garden In Wales

Designer: Anthea Guthrie
Award: Silver Medal

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A Postcard From Wales

Designer: Kati Crome and Maggie Hughes
Award: Gold Medal

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A Literary Garden

Designer: Martin Cook and Bonnie Davies
Award: Silver Gilt Medal

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Hae-Woo-So (Emptying One’s Mind: Traditional Korean Toilet)

Designer: Jihae Hwang
Awards: Gold Medal, Best Artisan Garden

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The Art Of Yorkshire

Designer: Gillespies LLP (Kate Dundas, Tom Walker and Esther Kilner)
Award: Silver Medal

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The Great Pavilion

In many ways, I think the large marquee area within Chelsea (often bypassed by many visitors) contains more ideas which are easily accessible to the average gardener than the show gardens do. While the show gardens provide a dramatic ‘make over’ for your humble yard, the harsh reality for most gardens with restricted budgets and/or gardening ability is that the show gardens just aren’t achievable. This doesn’t mean that elements of them can’t be extracted and re-used, but you have to look carefully to seek out the ideas. Within the Great Pavilion, however, there are numerous smaller displays and stalls that either provide ideas for particular cultivars to grow (without prescribing any specific arrangement) or exhibit small scale arrangements of plants which are clearly labelled, giving the average gardener a ready made ‘design’ to follow.

A few of my favourite displays from the Great Pavilion this year include:

• The ‘Fantastic Thailand’ exhibit, inspired by symbols of that country, which included a huge pagoda, elephants, fish, lanterns, dragons and more – all created with thousands of tiny flowers pressed into the statutory.
• Dibley’s wonderfully colourful display of streptocarpus and begonia plants.
• The South African ‘Botanical Landscapes’ planting scheme with a huge, panoramic shot of Table Mountain in the background.
• The Sparsholt College stand celebrating the arts, with petite gardens each representing a different artist or poet, cleverly using photographic backgrounds to extend the perceived size of the exhibit. One poppy-filled section was dedicated to ‘In Flanders Field’, a World War I poem by John McCrae.
• A mountainous (literally!) exhibit highlighting the plight of gorillas, which included two gorillas, a waterfall and a host of bright crimson and pink tropical plants.
• The annual RHS Chelsea Florist Of The Year competition; this year taking a ‘horse racing’ theme with each entry being a floral jockey’s jacket.

Here are a few images from within the Great Pavilion:

Click images to enlarge.

And that’s exactly what I did today. A brilliantly blue Cornish spring sky greeted me, along with a brisk breeze to ensure I didn’t overheat. On arrival I ignored the other pleasures of Trevarno (the boathouse on the lake and secret shaded paths, though I do wish they’d sort out the sorry old greenhouses in the walled garden) and made my way straight to the back field. Puffing my way up the slight incline to the daffodil field I suddenly caught sight of a streak of yellow. Not quite as dramatic the tapestry of yellow fields throughout the county at this time of year, but thrilling in its own right. Row upon row of daffodils greeted me. I didn’t count, but there must have been at least 25 rows, each with a minimum 15 varieties.

They were sorted broadly into alphabetical order, so you had the pleasure of discovering the different forms right from the start. Starry little clusters of white flowers greeted me on Tazetta daffs such as Narcissus ‘Avalanche’, while the blousy yellow of the more traditional Trumpet style flowers erupted with cultivars like N. ‘Spellbinder’. It was like a sweet shop with so many jars you hardly knew where to start looking, let alone what to choose!

I spent a most enjoyable couple of hours walking among the daffodils, photographing those who would stay still for a moment (darn that cooling breeze!) and just enjoying the rest. A steady stream of fellow visitors joined me to wonder at the variety and style of this ubiquitous spring bulb. For a flower so easily taken for granted as it peaks out from roadsides year on year, it really does have a much wider range, in form and scent, than I ever realised. It’s a reliable and sophisticated show off and I love it!

And I wasn’t disappointed by the hellebores. As ever, their dainty, bowed heads nodded gently in the breeze as they showed off their petals in varying shades of pink, purple and cream. I was particularly impressed to find an almost pure white form, with a wonderfully dark centre showing off its whiteness. I was a little disappointed that the labelling of the different cultivars wasn’t better – so you couldn’t find something you like in the gardens then buy it in the on-site garden centre.

But it wasn’t just the hellebores which were clamouring for my attention at Broadview. Walking down the long borders upon entering the garden I was greeted by what looked like bed sheets covering them. In fact they were masses of snowdrops out in full glory. Here the labelling was better and I spotted varieties including Desdemona, Atkinsii, Sam Arnott and Robin Hood, to name but a few.

Away from the formality of the long borders, another impressive display was being given by the cornus and salix beds. Sheets of fire seemed to edge the landscape, in places brilliantly enhanced by the backdrop of dark yew hedging. I have to admit to going a little green with envy as this is the type of display I can only dream of having the space to pull off in my own garden.

Taking a wider look around the garden there seems to be plenty of changes afoot. Work is ongoing to improve the Japanese garden, which is currently closed to the public, and an unexplained destruction seems to have been wrought to the hard landscaping in some of the smaller gardens, presumably more improvements are due. Add to this the significant amount of mud underfoot and sometimes it did seem a little more like a worksite than a garden…which actually made me feel quite at home, as that’s often the way in my own modest patch!

All in all it was a good day out with plenty of interest even at this time of the year and a nice warm teashop for a cuppa and homemade cake afterwards. And, an even bigger plus, there is no charge for entry to the gardens – so I can hardly complain about a few little piles of rubble when I’ve had all those glorious hellebores for free!