RHS Chelsea Flower Show

That's all folks!

2009-08-03T11:43:00Z

Three Quilted Velvet show gardens in one summer! It did seem like a tall order back in the autumn of 2008 and believe me it has been extremely hard work. I have only had two days off since March and it’s starting to show!

However, despite the stress it’s been a fantastic experience made all the better by having in Quilted Velvet, probably the best sponsor in the history of flower shows. Thanks also goes to my Hortus infinitus team who have built and planted all the gardens to such a high standard and tolerated, mostly with a smile, my eccentricities.

What a week

2009-07-16T11:46:00Z

We received our Gold medal for the Quilted Velvet Garden at Hampton Court Palace last Monday evening and started building the third Quilted Velvet Garden at Tatton Park at 8am the next morning! No time to bask in the glory and enjoy the garden. This was the strangest feeling of the whole campaign - never before have I left a show garden as soon as it was finished.

Tatton Park has been a revelation; it is so relaxed and friendly. It may be because our first week’s work (ground work) went so well. Indeed so well that I was able to get home on Sunday to see the family, drop in to Hampton Court Palace to say goodbye to the second Quilted Velvet Garden, and catch up with friends.

A Broadsheet Dilemma

2009-07-02T16:15:00Z

Visitors to this year’s Hampton Court Show are going to be afforded the delight of receiving a complimentary Daily Telegraph. Now we are used to having newspapers at Hampton Court Show but the weekend version of the Daily Telegraph causes us some logistical problems. The paper has all those glorious supplements, including of course the very important gardening sections. So, the papers are thicker and heavier and we need more storage. We also have a brand new facility which is the Daily Telegraph Gardening Theatre, so if you have a newspaper without the supplement, just a little tip, come to the Talks Theatre and we hope to make sure we have spare supplements there together with real life contributors from the garden pages!

Warming Up

2009-07-02T09:43:00Z

The last two and a half weeks at Hampton Court have been spent erecting green oak structures and planting thousands of oak seedlings, as well as over a thousand purple heather plants. All of this and more in order to create the second Quilted Velvet garden of the summer. This garden is much easier to put together than our Chelsea design, but it’s still hard work, seven days a week starting at 7am and finishing at nine in the evening. The extreme heat has affected both us and the plants, with the danger of grass turning brown and oaks shrivelling in the scorching sun. We have had to devote a lot of time to watering, and this has slowed the rate of progress.

We are, however, nearly there with just the final tweaks to attend to, as well as the watering of course. Having the garden all but finished should allow for a certain amount of relaxation, but this is not how it works out. I am finding smaller and smaller imperfections to correct and also worrying as to whether the heather will be in full enough flower for the opening of the show. The heather, a variety called Pink Star usually flowers around mid-summer and is slowly but surely turning a lovely Quilted Velvet shade of purple so should be just about perfect. Fingers and everything else crossed!

Garden built and Baby born....DONE!

2009-06-07T16:36:00Z

Hello everyone,

just to announce that our baby has been born safe and well. He is called Milo and weighed in at 7Ib 9oz. Ally managed to hang on a few days after the show finished although a "false alarm" prevented her from seeing the garden on the last Saturday.

The Pain and the Glory

2009-05-28T08:42:00Z

Well, rather a lot of the former and a small glimmer of the latter.

Just after posting my last blog, rashly entitled Turning the Corner, my neck and shoulder seized up; a consequence of a minor cordyline-induced injury and a considerable amount of tension. Can’t think what came over me, after all it is only a flower show.

A matter of balance?

2009-05-26T14:16:00Z

With this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show now packed away for another year, is it time to take stock of the highlights and lowlights of this world famous show?

What will be your overriding memory of Chelsea 2009. Will it be the People's Favourite - The Cancer Research Garden promoting the work of a charity that helps people from all walks of life and a disease that has probably blighted every family the world over? Or will it be the other People's Favourite - the 'abominable' 'Paradise in Plasticine'? Plasticine has also touched the lives and probably the hearts of the masses and this Urban Garden has generated masses of publicity for the show.

Celebrating 250 years of Thomas Andrew Knight

2009-05-26T13:20:00Z

It seems to me that a few things slipped under the radar at this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

One exhibit was celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of one of the very first Presidents of the London Horticultural Society. This is the very same Society that was given the Royal warrant by the Prince Consort in 1864 and became the Royal Horticultural Society.

Trees for bees

2009-05-26T12:15:00Z

As gardeners we are all aware of the vital role that bees play in nature.

We are also very well placed to do alot to support the ailing bee population. The jury is still officially out on what is the real problem affecting our honey bees, but it is clear that bee disease and pollution are playing their part.

New ideas with roses

2009-05-26T10:57:00Z

Chelsea flower show was awash with ideas and inspiration across the showground. But most of the creativity was in the show gardens.

In the Great Pavilion were plenty of other creative ideas if you took a little time to search them out.

Three cheers for the Chelsea Organisers Office

2009-05-22T18:08:00Z

Can you imagine what a huge job it must be actually organising, orchestrating and co-ordinating the world's best flower show?? In the current economic climate I'm sure that the organisers really didn't know who was really exhibiting until they actually arrived at the show ground.

David Bellamy on butterflies and bees

2009-05-22T17:14:00Z

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is the launch pad for many things over the week. This year one major lawnmower company and exhibitor (Countax) invited environmentalist David Bellamy to the show to publicise their sponsorship of a new Butterfly conservation project; Butterfly World.

Bumble bees on amphetamines?

2009-05-22T16:28:00Z

You never quite know what opinions you'll get on the gardens and exhibits at Chelsea flower show. It can be a daunting experience, especially when talking to flambouyant characters such as presenter and garden designer James Alexander-Sinclair. I stopped him on main avenue at Chelsea with garden designer Alice Bowe.

Golden Grasses

2009-05-22T15:10:00Z

Three different personality threads were drawn together at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Botanist and environmentalist Sir David Bellamy, garden designer Cleve West and Neil Lucas from Knoll Gardens have joined forces to promote the importance of natural planting and biodiversity.

Ecological, Economic and an Eco Wonder @ Chelsea

2009-05-22T14:59:00Z

One thing that's clear from this years RHS Chelsea Flower Show is that visitors are gleaning much more than information on plants that inspire them. It's a tough year for everyone and the garden designers have been working with reduced budgets to very tight briefs. There are a variety of ideas for everyone to take away, but one garden simply wowed the judges with its design and ethos.