One of the highlights of the spring season in London is the Royal Horticultural Society's Chelsea Flower Show. The show is held on the ground of the Royal Chelsea Hospital and dates back to 1862. Each of the gardens on the 11-acre grounds is designed by a landscape architect or nursery, and sponsored by a charity or a corporation.
A radish topiary
Winner of the Urban Garden Award.
A Fens garden, another award winner.
Real life garden winner. (looks like it should be the one above!)
This won the prize for flower arrangements... I thought it was a hat for Ascot.
Chelsea Flower Show is sold out for 2009, but if you plan now, you can probably get a ticket for 2010.
Hampton Court is in July & tickets are still available. Problem with that is RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) have first dibs...but we Yanks can join too.
ReplyDeleteChelsea is a day when your jaw is in suspended "dropped" mode.
I would love to go one year!
ReplyDeleteThe best thing about the flower show is how all the shops on Sloane St, Sloane Square and the Pimlico Road decorate their windows and exteriors - it really is flower madness!
ReplyDeleteI love to see what's going on there. I saw a vid. of the "man eaters" that were stunning. G
ReplyDeleteI want one of those radish trees! I had a similar one with strawberries at my wedding--it was magical!
ReplyDeleteVicki... I remember being at King's College London when the show was on and having to negotiate all of the traffic on the way to and from Victoria Station. The shops are always so tricked out with amazing flowers!
ReplyDeleteOlga... did people eat the strawberries, or were they just decorative? it sounds fabulous.
ReplyDeleteWow, those Elizabethan gals look like they just walked off of Make Me a Supermodel. They always have their models wearing the most different sorts of things.
ReplyDeleteThat radish topiary ~ be still my heart.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I've always loved about the Chelsea Flower Show is that you actually see displays of flowers. Years ago, Washington had that, then it turned into a lot of booths of vendors and not much in the way of visual delights. Events like this inspire.
ReplyDeleteWC... they are "garden" shows nowadays, not flower shows. have you ever been to the big horticulture show in Philly? That's old-school.
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to attend though I hear it's a madhouse...
ReplyDeleteThe Brits can always be depended upon to be OTT
Merci
Carolg