Chelsea’s show gardens are what many visitors flock to. There’s anticipation – what will Designer A’s garden look like this year? There’s suspense – who will win gold? There’s trend spotting – what plants will be featured?
For me, I was curious to see if I could relate to the designs and plant choices – would I glean ideas translatable for our Canadian gardens? Chelsea doesn’t disappoint. Here are a few views of show gardens that resonated with me. Or simply blew me away!
Designed for a recently retired couple, this garden featured sunken areas filled with gold, maroon and silver plants. The sculpture comprised crushed, rusty tin cans (looks better in person.) Obviously, this imaginary couple has more discretionary time than most.An estimated 40,000 squares of slate were used for this walkway. Lesson learned: Bold hardscaping looks best surrounded by subtle plantings.Dan Pearson’s recreation of the trout stream at Chatsworth Garden was the crowd and judges’ favourite. It won gold and President’s Choice award.The M&G garden retreat lived up to its billing. Stunning plants, including Rosa glauca, and good use of vertical alliums and foxgloves for punctuation.Clumps of mature river birch provided the canopy at the Morgan Stanley garden. Unlike other garden shows I’ve visited, Chelsea focuses on the plants – generous displays, diverse choices, exceptionally well grown, artfully combined. Flowers truly are the stars at this show.
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