Chelsea Flower Show 2013

Rain, cold, wind. Not ideal weather conditions for an outdoor flower show.  But the Chelsea Glower show is so amazing that it impressed us nonetheless.

As many of you know I have been to the Philadelphia Flower Show and have always loved it. Well the Chelsea Show is easily twice, maybe three times the size. Much of the show is outdoors in the Ranelagh Gardens which makes stunning backdrop for the event. We were grateful for the canopy provided by the enormous trees!

My neighbor Debbie and I had tickets for the afternoon session. We took a bus from Charlton Kings to Victoria, had a light lunch at the Nightingale Cafe  in Victoria before boarding a shuttle to the show. It all went like clockwork, only  the showers continued to get heavier.

Crowds were certainly not going to let a little rain (frequent downpours) keep them from this annual spectacle.  Many exhibits were so crowded that we had to wait to get a good look. But when we did finally see the show gardens, we were handsomely rewarded and understood why it took so long to view them. So much to see,  hundreds of floral varieties, water features, and sculptures.
There were 4 categories of  gardens, all with a different theme. The Generation Gardens evoked the shows rich history. Fresh Gardens brought the latest creative innovations to Chelsea. Small space was the focus of the Artisan Gardens.  Show Gardens were designed by the top gardeners in the UK, a gold in this category is highly coveted!  Find a list of all the award winners here.

The flower of the centenary was this violet blue geranium.

Inside the the massive flower pavilion were displays organized by growers of a specific flower type (lilly's glads, hyacinths, tulips, roses, peonies) others were by organizations ( Alpine Flower Association). Many newly bred varieties were being shown off here. The fragrance was often overpowering!

After the show, we caught the shuttle back to Victoria and had a nice dinner and a well deserved glass of red wine before we climbed the bus for our trip home.

Here are some of the highlights.......Enjoy!

Windows Through Time embraces new and traditional garden features. There was modern sculpure and a wrought iron gate.

In the Artisan Garden category a Japanese Alcove Garden, one of my favorites.

Arthritus Research Garden-winner of the People Choice Award

East Village- based on the Olympic Village

East Village

Sewing the Seeds of Change-Designed as a family garden, this had flowers, vegetables and herbs.

Forget-me-not Garden Inspired by Prince Harry's charity in Sentabale in South Africa.

As Nature Intended Garden promotes the use of natural materials.

Mediation Garden was clever. It had mirrors that reflected meditation in the rear of a tunnel. Hard to see in the photo, but very cool close up.

WE LOVE BADGERS!

Granny's bonnet

Alpines in the pavilion

Gorgeous heucheras!

New lilies bred in the last year.

Alium display had flowers of all sizes.

Debbie among the aliums.

Thailand Tourist garden

Begonias and foxgloves of every shade .

Insect homes featured in many gardens.

More alpines.

Great garden sculptures were featured in many gardens.