The Chelsea Flower Show 2011 (Part 1)

Going to Chelsea on the last day of the show is not for the faint hearted! A lot of the plants are on sale at 5:30 pm, when the show closes. So it is a free for all as people want to buy a certain plant or to say they have a plant from Chelsea. For me just trying to get the pictures, without getting jostled all the time, is bad enough. Trying to get pictures that everyone will like, or are interested in, is almost impossible due to the number of different plants there. Due to the vast number I did take, please be patient as your favourite plants may come up in one of the next articles. Below is the Royal Hospital at Chelsea. Every year the Chelsea Pensioners who are all ex-military give up their grounds so the Chelsea Flower Show can take place there.

SOME OF THE PICTURES WERE TAKEN WITH A WIDE ANGLE LENS. PLEASE ENLARGE THEM TO SEE THEM FULL SIZE.

I thought we could go round some of the show gardens first. Here is the M&G Show Garden; it is part kitchen garden, a relaxation area and some nice colorful plants.

I quite liked the M&G Show Garden, although I cannot show it properly here.

This is the Homebase Show Garden. It has been naturally planted and is a water garden.

This Show Garden came from Monaco. In the right hand side picture there is even an orange tree.

The Daily Telegraph Show Garden won a Gold Medal and Best in Show. The plants are mostly perrenials, so if left alone they will drift over the garden.

More of the Daily Telegraph Garden and the water coming out of the pipes in the wall.

There is always a lot of water gardens and water at Chelsea, but it is not often you get a water mill! Leeds City Council and Hesco, the sponsors, built this in a month just for the Chelsea week. Now they have to take it all down! The planting was lovely too. Congratulations to Leeds City Council, you brought a smile to many people's faces.

A lovely mill pond and the superb planting.

Due to the weather not looking too good, I decided to go in the Great Pavilion and come back to the show gardens later. This amazing Thai Palace is made from everlasting flowers and took three months to build. It is amazing.

This might give you some idea as to the massive size of this this Palace. Plus there are lots of domes and other animals as well.

The island of Grenada always intrigues me. Not only do they normally win a Gold, but also their spices and floral displays are stunning. Grenada's Gold Medal and a Musa coccinea.

More amazement from Grenada.

This is a very clever stand from South Africa! One side is almost dry desert, and the other side is the bottom of Table Top Mountain.

A bit closer to home the Lupin stand. I love this, and always come here.

The Delphinium and double flowered Begonia stand always draws a lot of attention. This is a bit of it, both ways.

Gladioli are always popular, and look fantastic in a bunched mass.

Heucheras are the plant to have this year. These are new plants for Chelsea and lots of other Heucheras everywhere. Chelsea is not organized into all Heucheras here etc., it has stands of things everywhere. So there was a lot to see this year.

A Gold Medal for this Heuchera stand, and I am not surprised.

A lot of people ask why Daffodils at the end of May, when ours finished a long time ago? Everything is grown for the Chelsea week. Heated up or cooled down, they must be perfect for Chelsea. That is why you will see things in bloom that should not be in flower at this time of year.

Even the Hyacinths are lovely. They also add an amazing scent to the Pavillion.

Everyone loves the Chrysanthemum balls, what a sight!

For maple lovers, there was no shortage of every sort at Chelsea.

The Rose stands are probably the most visited at Chelsea. The Austin family had two as did some other nurseries.

Some Roses on the Harkness stand.

The scent of these Sweet Peas was incredible, and what a display.

A bit of the Allium and Hippeastrum stand.

The Lilies stopped everyone in their tracks, so stunning were they!

The Irises were not as many as usually seen at Chelsea, however there were some.

The Clematis tunnels for people to walk through and the plants were of the Chelsea standard, of course.

This stand was called "PLIGHT OF THE GORILLA." A conservation stand to highlight the real trouble Gorillas are in. A lovely sight and very well done. At the rear are more plants as you can see.

I do hope you have enjoyed this little bit of Chelsea, but there is a lot more to come me the wait will be worth it, especially for Cottage Gardeners!. Believe For there is: Orchids, insectivorous\carnivorous plants, more show gardens, Hostas, Lavender, herbs, fountains, sculptures and all the bits that Chelsea is famous for. In fact there is lots to put on the second article. Chelsea is not laid out, so to sort through untold photos from different stands all over the place, takes a lot of time and work.

So get your Boots ready, and hopefully we will meet again in Part 2.

Regards.

Neil.

Links.

Part 2.

Part 3.

Part 4.

R.H.S. This includes videos and comments from the show.

Transport For London.

I will add more links on further Articles.

For Nancy.