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| Winning Display Gardens Photos | |
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There is something different, something quite wonderful about the Chelsea Flower Show. Despite the crush of visitors, and this year the rain, there is an atmosphere and a buzz about this very special flower show.
The outdoor display gardens were impressive (we feature winning gardens and more in our photo gallery) and there are so many ideas, innovative and traditional, to be gleaned from looking and considering the design, planting and structures employed. This year the use of black, grey and galvinised or steel for paving and structures was quite marked. And it must also have been the year of the mirror as so many gardens employed mirrors to expand the boundaries of their tiny Chelsea plot!
Planting was mostly in a restricted colour range- all whites, greens or deepest reds and magenta. There was the occasional diversion from this- bold colours in Arabella Lennox-Boyd's 'Garden for All Time' and the Le Notre inspired Garden History garden had 'flowery meads' with bright colours. | |
The Best Garden in Show award went to the Gardens Illustrated's 'Evolution' Garden which incorporated design styles from traditional paterres to modern, minimalist gardens. And it worked, brilliantly. There were 'clouds' of box edging the garden, and manicured squares each containing a stainless steel fountain were remininscent of a parterre. These drew the viewers eye to a central marble fountain, behind which was a vibrant red panel. Ribbons of deep red and magenta flowers, ran along each side of the garden. |
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Best Garden in Show- Garden's Illustrated's 'Evolution' | |
The garden was designed by Piet Oudorf, the Dutch nurseryman and designer, and Arne Maynard, a British designer. Neither had designed a show garden before.
Many of the gardens used water features, for their reflective qualities (which seem to enlarge what is a relatively small space) and for the calming effect of a sheet of still water in and otherwise cramped garden site and, perhaps also, a busy design. This trend continued a theme from 1999 where cooling, still sheets of water were widely used.
Chelsea gardens can be either very traditional, replicating a familiar theme, or innovative and thought-provoking. The former may be carried out with consummate skill by designers and garden-makers, draw gasps from the crowd for their lush and lovely planting, but still they do not stimulate or make us think about our gardens. |
A cool sheet of water linked
old and new in 'A City Space' |
The most successful Cheslea gardens, the most satisfying, are those with a simple theme and a strong central design. Enhanced by sympathetic planting using a limited palette of flowers and shrubs or trees, these gardens have a unity of design, a feeling of space despite the relatively small site, and encourage that feeling of 'must have' in the viewer.
Christopher Bradely-Hole's 'Living Sculpture Garden' used a deceptively simple theme: the way we relate to the natural world. Thus the garden used a combination of rough materials from the natural world and drew on modern materials and technology. These were skillfully knitted together in a calm and unified plan.
The wonderful look and feel of the massive, sculptural pieces of rock in still water contrasted with the clean lines of a limestone path curving around a bed of grasses and architecural plants. A ribbon of vibrant Iris ensata ran along the one side , contrasting with the green grasses and pale colours of the rocks and walls.
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Massive pieces of rock reflected in still water in 'The Living Scupture Garden' |
There is more to Chelsea than the display gardens, however lovely these are. Chelsea is an important social event with the Gala for royalty and celebrities the evening before the Show opens for RHS members only. For all visitors the incredible trade exhibits and displays of plants so perfect and so perfectly staged prove so irresistable that the orders books swell hourly. No wonder this is billed as the 'Greatest Flower Show in the World'! For pictures of this side of Chelsea... here
This year was also special because the RHS used its new marquee. It was, in fact, two; leaving open the lovely view of Wren's Royal Hospital and freeing a central area for display gardens and stands. Lighter, higher and with markedly better ventialtion, the new marquee was voted a huge success. Visitors missed the stuffy, old, familiar canvas affair whose colouring may have been a softer, more flattering backdrop for plants and flowers.
For those planning to visit Chelsea 2001, it is a wonderful, unique event. Go prepared, plan your time carefully, try to avoid the crowds and, above all be patient. At times a few rugby rucking skills might be considered to edge through the crowds around the most popular gardens and exhibits, but do try to wait and eventually your turn will come.
Crowds surround and obscure 'A Garden for All Time' |
While ticket numbers have been restricted to 170,000 since 1987 (when 247,000 visited the Show), it can still be crowded at peak times. To avoid the worst- go later in the day from say, 4.00pm until closing at 8.00pm. Whatever you do- don't miss it!
bestgardening.com's Events guide lists dates for Chelsea or visit the Royal Horticultural Society website at www.rhs.org.uk | |
Click here for more Display Gardens, and even more photos
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