I am lucky enough to be able to go to the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) Chelsea Flower Show in London every year. I like to distill my thoughts when I return home to see if there were any trends or popular plants. The importance of using water responsibly in gardens was a recurring theme this year. Color was back in some gardens – I was delighted to see some inspirational flower combinations – and lots of pink!. Here are some of my favorite gardens. There was so much to see that it is impossible to feature them all.
It was wet but still cheerful with all of the pink flowers that I found at the Chelsea Flower Show 2024.
The Show Gardens are the centerpiece of the Chelsea Flower Show. They vary in size from the large Main Show Gardens, through to the middle-sized Sanctuary Gardens and down to the smallest Balcony and Container Gardens. The gardens are designed for display at the show and after the show the structures and some of the plants will be used elsewhere. The sponsoring organization is often a charity.
The delightful Octavia Hill Garden by Blue Diamond with the National Trust was designed by Ann-Marie Powell. The garden commemorates the life of an incredible social reformer called Octavia Hill. She was co-founder of the National Trust. Octavia Hill wanted people to have access to the ‘healthy gift of air and the joy of plants and flowers’. This garden won the prestigious people’s Choice award. The benches are made from an oak that fell down in a storm. Note the intimate gathering spot in this section of the garden.
Color is back at The Chelsea Flower Show. Ann-Marie Powell has such a wonderful way of using color in the garden. In this section she combined purply foxgloves, irises, and alliums.
Deep purple poppies were a popular plant at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show.
A lovely water feature in the National Trust – Octavia Hill Garden by Ann-Marie Powell. I would love this in my own garden!
A fabulous way to provide a home for wildlife in your garden from the Octavia Hill Garden.
The Best in Show Main Show Garden – Muscular Dystrophy UK – Forest Bathing by Ula Maria. The birch grove creates a sanctuary for people who suffer from this muscle wasting disease. Forest bathing is popular in Japan and is spreading to other areas of the world.
A view through a grove of birches to the central water feature in Ula Maria’s Forest Bathing Garden.
A close up of the gently dripping water feature in the Forest Bathing Garden.
The Water Aid Garden was designed by Tom Massey with the architect Je Ahn. The innovative metal forms hold 10 tons of soil and collects water after a rain. This garden highlights the need for responsible water use in our gardens.
An unexpected ‘water feature’ caused by heavy rain and a blocked drain caused some difficulties in getting around the show.
View through a round window into one of the Main Show Gardens – St James’s, Piccadilly that celebrates the power of green spaces to help people. Designed by Robert Myers.
The woven wooden slatted Cabin for Counseling was designed by Ivan Morison. It will be placed on the site at St James’s, Piccadilly.
Interior view of the stunning cabin on the St James’s garden. The site is a welcoming space.
The National Autistic Society Garden by Sophie Parmenter and Dido Milne consists of distinct spaces. The brightly colored flowers at the front include these water-loving Japanese Primroses that represent the cheerful external appearance that masks interior feelings.
Camassias are another water tolerant plant in the back section of the National Autistic Society Garden.
I really loved this Sanctuary Garden called Flood Re: The Flood Resilient Garden by Naomi Slade amd Ed Barsley. If features ways of capturing water from the roof in galvanized containers that can hold 100 bath tubs worth of water. The lower swale keeps water in the garden until it can infiltrate back into the soil. I do a similar thing here at Northview.
My favorite garden in Container Garden Category shows how to make a drought-tolerant garden inspired by the pebbly beaches found in England. This garden was designed by Lucy Mitchell – Check out her website at http://www.lalalandscapes.co.uk to see more images and a plant list.
Jenny Rose Carey with Gold Medal winning garden designer of the ‘Changing Tides Garden’, Lucy Mitchell
Bye for now Gardening Friends. If you want to hear more thoughts about gardens and gardening sign up for my once a month email newsletter at my other website – jennyrosecarey.com. Cheers, Jenny Rose
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