Jenny Rose Carey in pink and on a pink chair at Chelsea Flower Show 2025.
My Favorite Garden – The Glasshouse – Jo Thompson – Gold Medal
The Glasshouse Garden by Jo Thompson – just admire the planting.
My favorite garden was the first exhibit along Main Avenue for The Glasshouse and designed by Jo Thompson. I met Jo earlier in May when she had spoken at the Andalusia Symposium here in Philadelphia. Somehow she managed transatlantic travel and a stunning Chelsea Flower Show garden for The Glasshouse. This is a not-for-profit that teaches horticulture to women coming out of prison to provide a chance at a new and productive life. Jo’s brief was to show strong beauty. She used a dynamic yet muted color palette of plums and apricots that somehow really worked.
‘Emma Bridgewater’ rose.
At the back of the garden there was a pavillion-glasshouse made of recycled acrylic. The doors could open and close to allow views out to the garden.
View from the glasshouse along the water-filled rill, natural wood bench and dome of purple-leaved beech.
Painterly planting by Jo Thompson.
Favorite Chelsea Flower Show Color – Crushed Mulberry
Crushed Mulberry was my favorite Chelsea Flower Show Color this year. Strongly represented in Jo’s exhibit but also popping up elsewhere.
Jenny Rose Carey camouflaged in Jo Thompson’s Glasshouse Garden.
Rosa ‘Wild Rover’.
Cirsium rivulare ‘Atropurpureum’.
Astrantia major.
Papaver orientale ‘Patty’s Plum’.
Other Gardens that Caught my Eye
The King’s Trust Garden: Seeding Success – Joe Perkins – Gold Medal
The King’s Trust Garden with panels representing seed dispersal.
The Hospitalfield Arts Garden- Nigel Dunnett – Silver Gilt Medal
Stylized seaside sand dunes and an art center in the back.
Down’s Syndrome Scotland Garden – Duncan Hall and Nick Burton – Silver-Gilt – People’s Choice Small Garden
This garden was designed to raise awareness of the ‘superpowers’ of people with Down’s syndrome.
Cha No Niwa – Japanese Tea Garden – Kazuyuki Isihara – Best Show Garden – Gold Medal – People’s Choice
Prize-winning, immaculate, Japanese tea garden by Kazuyuki Isihara.
In the Great Pavilion – Lots of Plants
My favorite display in the Great Pavilion was the Benton End Irises stand with specimens in front and botanical illustrations behind them. Such a treat to meet Sarah Cook – the Benton End Iris expert who holds the National Collection.
Jenny Rose Carey in front of the fabulous Benton End Iris display.
‘Benton Pearl’ Iris.
Other plants that I admired were the ‘Crystal Fountain’ clematis on the Raymond Evison display and the rose displays that drew me in with the fragrance and wow factor.
Clematis ‘Crystal Fountain’ on Raymond Evison’s stand.
Peter Beales’ fragrant rose display.
Rosa ‘Mermaid’ – a gorgeous single yellow rose from 1917.
RHS Plant of the Year 2025
Every year the Royal Horticultural Society decides on a Plant of the Year. I loved their choice this year which was a small mock orange in pink!
Philadelphus ‘Petite Perfume Pink’ exhibited by Sparsholt College.
Final Thoughts
The Chelsea Flower Show is a great chance to mingle with plant people and the plants that we love. It renews the soul and excites the brain. Thoughts of new garden ideas flow freely. There are too many gardens to describe them in detail – this is a personal summary of things that I liked. For a full overview go to the website of the Royal Horticultural Society who put on the show.
The gardens of Chelsea will continue to inspire people when they are re-located to their new permanent positions. I hope that you can find a new plant or design idea for your garden.
Jenny Rose Carey in the Great Pavilion.
Bye for now Gardening Friends. Enjoy your planting. Jenny Rose Carey
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