“London, thou art is the flower of cities all!” – William Dunbar, Scottish poet

The Chelsea Flower Show

Time to wow, razzle-dazzle and overwhelm y’all with the endless beauty of flowers. After Amsterdam and the Keukenhof Tulips, it’s now time for London’s Chelsea Flower Show. They were the scheduled bookend features of our monthlong European sojourn; a perfect beginning and ending to our triumphal floral frenzy. Please enjoy the show!

I marvel and wonder what brings me to the world’s most famous and best floral garden show, since the closest I get to gardening and calling myself green thumbs is holding a dollar bill! Let me share with you my little secret – I’m a big sucker for flowers!

Every picture tells a story. There’s lots of them and I’ll try to keep the words to a minimum, but there’s stories to share behind these amazing creations.

The Chelsea Flower Show is one of the most prestigious horticultural events in the world that’s organized by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It takes place annually at the end of May on the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

The show’s a highlight of the British charitable and social calendar; attracting visitors from around the globe, including members of the British royal family. This year was King Charles III’s first visit as the reigning monarch.

The show’s been held since 1913, with a brief hiatus during World War II. It’s long been influencing gardening trends and also plays a role in promoting gardening as an art form; as they’re often designed to evoke emotions, tell stories, or address social and environmental issues. It’s total Nirvana for garden lovers.

We joined the RHS as members in order to purchase members-only tickets a day prior to it being open to the general public. It’s expected that more than 150,000 visitors most likely will cross the gates to visit the Flower Show over its five-day run.

A light drizzle greeted us upon the 9:00 opening, arriving early to beat the impending crowds (it was swamped by 11am). You get a sense of the highly enthusiastic, party-like atmosphere once surging through the gates. Many ladies and gents, too, really get into it with festive, floral-themed garments. Bright colors and long floral skirts were seemingly part of the day’s de rigueur outfit.

A map guide is provided since the actual space is a humongous 11-acres; spread out into many distinct areas… many make a day of it, since there’s plenty of food and libations available; live entertainment, too. After a while, it began to dawn on us that this event is more like a Flower Convention on steroids!

Surrounding the central Great Pavilion (top half of map) are innovative show gardens, which are designed by leading landscape architects and garden designers. These gardens often reflect current trends in garden design and horticulture; many make use of serene water features.

Being fans of Netflix’s “Bridgerton” show, it was an exciting surprise to come upon their Silver Medal winning sponsored garden. Of course it was a secretive, secluded, lush and romantic space with its opulent florals.

The creative use of space is limitless; the end results beg for one to want to sit within their gardens with a cup of tea, coffee, or cocktail and a book; all while contemplating your serene, lush surroundings; or meditate or perhaps simply just take a nap – but sadly, they’re all cordoned off and only for us looky-loos to dream and marvel at.

Tucked throughout are imaginative and decorative animal art pieces, garden ornaments and other natural sculptures and statues that one must have to fill-in their lavish estate grounds: horses, owls, puffins, bunny rabbits, and dragons if you’re a “GOT” superfan.

Of course, the Highland Coo would be my must-have. And who wouldn’t want to have a raining water fountain tree?! Luckily, the distance home discouraged any further thought of importation to our garden in México.

There’s a wide range and variety of shop booths featuring anything to do with gardening: tools, plants, seeds and outdoor furniture/indoor accessories; lighting, sprinklers, greenhouses – you name it, it’s available for purchase. All vendors are selected for being of fine quality, workmanship and design. A small, lightweight package of pretty, floral napkins was about all we could muster as a souvenir to schlep home.

The Great Pavilion is the centerpiece of the show; enter and be prepared to be dazzled beyond. Your eyes explode as you take in a kaleidoscopic, acid trip of colors. Mother Nature sure knows how to throw colors around in the most spectacular ways.

Here you’ll find breathtaking floral displays from nurseries, growers, and florists. The exhibits highlight a vast array of flowers, plants, and gardening techniques, all competing for prestigious awards; for the RHS Gold Medal is everybody’s Holy Grail. Let me tell you, I’d hate to be a judge because the competition is capital-letters, INSANELY INTENSE!

After all, The Chelsea Flower Show is a competition and it shows how every participant came with their game-on! Professional florists outdid one another with unbelievable, grandiose bouquets that wowed.

We slowly walked the aisles and saw what seemed to be every imaginable flowering plant on earth, in its absolute best representation; repeatedly gaping and OMG’ng nonstop as we came upon each display. Just when you thought you saw THE MOST (fill-in the flower), then what came next was even MORE!  

The fun, and funny fungi display featured creative showstoppers incorporating jeans, jars, burlap bags and boots! They seem able to thrive on anything and anywhere.

A highlight was the Japanese koi pond garden that quickly transported us back to Japan. Do you know how expensive a decent sized koi cost?!

Proteas, anyone? South Africa’s Leon Kluge Garden Design won the Gold Medal for Best Exhibit with a wildly expansive display of this unusual flowering plant that comes in many shapes and colors. It’s named after the Greek god, Proteus, who could change shape at will, since proteas have many different shapes.

Then there’s the Gold Medal winner and “… world of living art” from the Danish design company, Baugaarden Living Art. Natural works of art made of living willow branches bent and shaped into “living art pieces.” I was blown away and stood gawking at the dapper Mr. Heinrich Braun, designer, as he strolled about his imaginative and remarkable creations: www.baugaarden.com

Another ingenious and awe-inspiring, standout display and Gold-Medal winning booth was from rootfull:

https://www.rootfull.com/news/chelsea-flower-show

It’s Zena Holloway’s innovative development in which she guides plant roots to weave textiles! As we approached, a rack of clothes and hanging light fixtures intrigued – inquiring minds wanted to know – what are clothes and lighting fixtures doing at a horticultural event?

As Zena states on her website: “What if we could grow our clothes from seed?”

For the past six years, she’s planted wheatgrass seeds; they sprout and grow down onto templates to create a textile that’s woven entirely by nature. An astounding process of sustainability and creativity.

Sounds intriguing, huh? Please see and read more at: www.rootfull.com and be simply amazed and blown away by her insightful innovation! Also, google Zena Holloway for her fascinating bio as an underwater photographer!

It doesn’t matter if you’re a gardening enthusiast, a professional horticulturist, or simply someone who appreciates beautiful outdoor spaces, The Chelsea Flower Show offers an inspiring, colorful and unforgettable experience. It enables anybody the opportunity to see the latest in garden design, meet top horticultural experts, and enjoy the beauty of meticulously crafted gardens and floral displays.

The saying, “…and with a cherry on top” is used when something extra makes an already good situation or experience even better; an unexpected bonus. This show had extra cherries, chocolate sprinkles, salted caramel, candied walnuts, crumbled Oreo’s, chewy brownie bites, and extra whipped cream …  all your favorite toppings, all heaped together in one gigantic and spectacular floral extravaganza!

Belgravia in Bloom

We weren’t quite done with flowers yet, as a few, short blocks away is the elegant, upscale Belgravia District, which holds its own flower display concurrently, known as “Belgravia in Bloom.” To get there, another wonderful surprise awaited us – a Chihuly glass garden display.

Each year, a theme for Belgravia in Bloom is chosen, this year’s “Games.” Many local participating businesses, shops, restaurants, and hotels throughout the area create elaborate floral installations that reflect this theme.

We walked around busy, buzzy Elizabeth and Motcomb Streets, and Pimlico Road, all while admiring the floral extravaganzas adorning storefronts. It’s ground zero for hardcore Instagramers.

Competitions are held for the best floral displays, with awards given to businesses and participants who create the most impressive or creative installations.

If your wallet allows, you can shop in Belgravia to your heart’s content, as the streets are lined with luxurious boutiques and restaurants. Some of the participating merchants offered themed products and special menus.

We luxuriated with divine sandwiches from Poilâne, the Parisian artisanal bakery/bread maker. This outpost is their only London outlet.

Color-blinded, flushed with flowers, we’d retire tonight to dream in wild technicolor before heading back home tomorrow.

Finally, I leave you with a little garden humor and a Roz Chast cartoon (she of The New Yorker magazine)