2013 Euro Vacation

Chelsea Flower Show

Royal Hospital Chelsea (Home of the Chelsea Pensioners)

This was our first visit to the famous flower show, so we had prepared in advance, signing up as members of the Royal Horticultural Society and purchasing tickets before leaving Oz. We attended on a "members only" day, hoping that the crowds would be less than on a public day. However, there was a huge number of people there anyway - it must be impossible to move if any busier.

There was a mind boggling array of displays, ranging from flowers to furniture to garden tools and more. The prizes had been awarded the previous day, and the Australian entry (designed by Philip Johnson) had taken out the big prize for best garden, with his "sustainable billabong" garden, complete with waterfall.

There were a lot of other brilliant garden designs, including one sponsored by Prince Harry as a Remembrance Garden, which unfortunately suffered from not having its poppies flowering, due to the cool, cloudy weather over the past couple of weeks.

The flower displays and arrangements inside the main pavilion were stunning - too much to photograph and to absorb in one visit. A massive range of displays from nurseries and plant specialists, some national entries (Thai, Taiwanese) and a even a few universities highlighting horticultural research projects. There was a section for formal floral art arrangements, and outside a huge range of garden related products - rotating gazebos, conservatoria of various shapes and sizes, garden furniture and tools, and even a restored 40 year old John Deere lawn tractor.

In an adjacent area of the park there was even a band entertaining the (mostly grey haired) crowd, who all needed somewhere to sit and eat their lunch.

The photos below are just a small sample of what was there.