RHS Chelsea 2024- Feature Gardens

I'll make four posts for the visit to London: Feature Gardens, The Art, Chelsea in Bloom and The Pavilion. It took awhile to select photos for these posts. The Chelsea flower show offered the very best of garden design and art, if you can view it. We went to Member's Only Day. (No, we didn't see King Charles. He came earlier in the day.) Correction: 6 20- The King and Queen came late in the day on Press day. I must have misinterpreted a newstory that I saw while in the UK. The venue is crowded even at Member's Only Day. I enjoyed the vendor's artwork the most as the displays were easier to view. Too many people crowded around the show gardens. My assumption that you can enter each display garden was incorrect. You stand on the perimeter of each garden and hope for a good view between people. I will commend the crowd for extra good behavior. Not a rude thing was said. This is a very polite group of people. Another upside: I learned to use my cell phone camera. It was the more nimble option compared to my traditional camera.

I've selected a group of photos from four gardens at the show. If you want to see even more this is a good link:

https://www.housebeautiful.com/uk/garden/designs/g60816378/chelsea-flower-show-2024-gardens-winners/

Britannia- pre King Arthur

I'll start with the Roman or peristyle garden which was sponsored by The Newt in Somerset. This garden was designed for everyone to move in single file and get a wonderful view of this incredible garden. Clearly, The Newt wants us to visit their Roman Style garden in Somerset. They were a primary sponsor of Chelsea this year. This garden was filled with iris pallida, bay trees, perennial herbs, Romanesque statues, Romans and a Moon Goddess. Take note that they even used clay tiles on the roof pavilion. They also featured lupines in the garden. I'm not sure how lupines fit in, but they are beautiful. Speaking of Roman Brittania, our tour guide or docent at the Victoria and Albert Museum mentioned that she was sore from training for a hike. We later learned that she is going to hike along Hadrian's wall.

A very agreeable Roman or maybe he was a British servant allowed me to take his photo. :)

Fast forward to contemporary times. The National Autistic Society garden like many at the show has a tranquil naturalistic appeal. This also features many plants that appreciate a wetter environment. Designers, Sophie Parmenter and Dido Milne. This won silver-gilt.

Red twig dogwood

The yellow stemmed willows and candelabra primroses add just the right amount of color to the otherwise subtle plantings.

A great example of how to create interest with green foliage using different textures and shapes.

The first garden we viewed. It was just by the entrance near the Newt Hospitality area.

This garden is quintessentially English with foxgloves, delphiniums, alliums and daisies with a soft green lawn. Surprisingly, that's a dogwood in the upper left hand corner.

I like the use of the elderberry's purple foliage with the purple alliums. This was a private group in the garden. The public doesn't get to trample the garden. :) This is also fairly representative of attire. Smart casual with athletic shoes.

Denzil, Kizzy, Patricia and Cecil also celebrated sixty years of Britain in Bloom. They came all the way from Cornwall.

Another amazing feat of garden engineering. This garden is a forest. Muscular Dystrophy Uk, Forest Bathing Garden, Designed by Ula Maria. We got to hear the excitement when this garden won gold. We were nearby. This would have been a great immersive experience. I wanted to jump the rope. Duke Gardens has a wonderful woodland garden, so I really shouldn't complain.

Magical white foxgloves amongst gleaming birch trees.

Delicate blue brunnera blooms near the rope barrier

You might enjoy seeing the plant list for this garden.

July 6th, I realized that I have some good photos of the Stroke Association's Garden for Recovery, designed by Miria Harris. The RHS site has a more complete collection of photos: https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-chelsea-flower-show/Gardens/2024/stroke-associations-garden-for-recovery

The show takes place on the grounds of the Royal Chelsea Hospital. I took this photo near the pavilion. The hospital is a retirement home for British Army Pensioners. Use this link to see a great aerial view. The Chelsea Flower Show is between the Hospital and the Thames.

The Thames as seen from one of the food venues. The Chelsea grounds are amazing.

All in all it was a great experience even with a few showers. The Newt Hospitality area was the icing on the day with some prosecco and a break from the rain in their venue.

Pimm's with ginger ale and mint is a great summer drink. I would have loved to have a Pimm's. Temptation was all around, but the rain prevented me from walking with a drink. It probably saved me from an embarassing spillage moment given the crowded situations.

Til next time! I have a lot of beautiful art photos to sort through. It should be easier now that I've sorted through these.