The Chelsea Flower show and Floriography

Well, have you been enjoying the wonderful Chelsea flower show? I have! I look forward to this time every year, when we see the best in garden design and displays that can tempt and enthuse us to get into our gardens.

Unfortunately I am unable to go to the show this year, so I have been enjoying the coverage on the television. The BBC coverage is very useful, and  because the crowds are so large at this highly popular flower show, you can often miss the detail, so watching the BBC shows on BBC1 and BBC2 and their red button programmes, can help enormously. I love learning from the amazing Carol Klein whose plant knowledge is just amazing!

The colour schemes at this years show are so fresh and calming. With the weather that we have been having over the last week, the cool planting schemes of the M&G garden designed by Roger Platts and The Children’s Society Garden designed by Mark Gregory provides a restful scene.

I love the detail of The Victorian Aviary Garden designed by Phillipa Pearson and Jonathan Denby, with the wonderful Peacock mosaic path! (I want one of those LOL)

My favourite areas have always been the floral pavillion and the small courtyard gardens, and I always make a beeline for them when I go. I do admit that I spend most of my time admiring the stunning floral displays in the pavilion. So if you are going, please make sure you don’t miss these areas as you won’t be disappointed!

The key planting schemes that I have noticed this year, are the pretty aquilegia, the varied foxgloves, scented lavenders, the delicate grasses and of course beautiful roses.

Gardens with a message

In the Show Gardens category - The Stephen Hawking Garden for Motor Neurone Disease is a very thoughtful garden. I love the fact that not only can you design a wonderful garden for sight, smell and touch, but also by including a meaning into the design – it can be the best kind of advert there can be! I do hope that the visitors will take on the message behind this garden, understanding the wonderful work that the MND Association do.

In the Small Urban Gardens category there is the garden called Dyslexia – A Barrier to Education? Designed by Tim Fowler, which also seeks to provide a message in the design of the garden, looking at how the brain analyses various information.

In the Small Courtyard Gardens -  Green & Blacks Rainforest Garden designed by Jane Owen and Ann-Marie Powell, is thoughtlfully detailed to make us think about the Cameroon Rainforest and the people who live there.

Admiration

I have enormous admiration for the designers and growers who have had such a hard time this year getting their plants ready for the show, as the weather has really tested them. I am also amazed at how plants that have been brought over from various countries have survived the long journeys that they have travelled to be included in the designs, and with the ash cloud situation, it has been even more difficult for them this year.

I think that all the people who have been / are involved in the show should be awarded a medal, for their talent, patience, hard work etc… in bringing us an extraordinary, wonderful flower show for us to admire.

Language of flowers

Today the lunchtime show looked briefly at the interesting subject of Floriography – The Language of Flowers. The BBC website has further information on the significance of flowers, but if you would like to know more, please visit my website, where I look at the history of floriography and give examples of popular flowers. I have also used this as a basis to look at particular businesses by choosing flowers that best describe their business.

Going to Chelsea?

If you are going to the Chelsea Flower show this year, I hope you have a wonderful time. If you write a blog post about your visit, please share the link to your post in the comments section for others to read and enjoy!

Don’t Miss

The Real Flower Company who specialise in the most wonderful English rose bouquets, have just been awarded an RHS Certificate of Merit for outstanding presentation. We send our congratulations to them! You can find them at stand MW5. They are also running a very special competition to win 6 months of English scented roses more details can be found on their website.

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