The RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2019: The Highlights
Held in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea since 1913, RHS Chelsea is the world’s most prestigious flower show inspiring millions and leading the way in innovative garden design.
One of the biggest attractions at RHS Chelsea are the spectacular gardens. Unrivalled in their ability to create the extraordinary, the Show Gardens display the largest and most outstanding designs, acting as perfect examples of horticultural excellence and innovative landscape design.
Returning for the second year, the Space to Grow Gardens offer original ideas, trends and take home messages to inspire visitors to transform their outdoor spaces and feel the benefits that growing can bring. And continuing into their extended location on the plateau in Ranelagh Gardens, the popular Artisans aim to revitalise traditional materials and methods with new design approaches.
At the heart of the Show lies the Great Pavilion, which not only plays host to almost 100 nurseries, new and old, but also houses the Discovery Zone, an area dedicated to highlighting the very cutting edge of technology in the world of horiculture.
Now, our favourites:
The Trailfinders ‘Undiscovered Latin America’ Garden — Show Garden 3
The garden is inspired by the temperate rainforests of Chile which are little known in the UK but are home to a surprising number of well-known UK garden plants.The verdant garden will be built on a steep slope, covered in lush temperate rainforest planting that enjoys high rainfall, cool temperatures, and wet conditions underfoot. Dramatic waterfalls will cascade into a pool, and a striking red walkway will wind its way through the garden, around the waterfalls and among the planting. Thank you for the lovely Chilean wines at the opening: Viña Maquis and Garces Silva.
Among the planting are Araucaria araucana, Northofagus antarctica, Fuchsia magellanica, Gunneratinctoria, Blechnum chilenseand Alstroemeriasp.
IKEA and Tom Dixon: Gardening Will Save The World — Show Garden 203
IKEA and Tom Dixon explore how we can make a positive impact on what we put on our plates throughurban growing. The garden will use democratic design principles to develop sustainable food growth and consumption within our homes and urban communities. The structure is elevated, which allows visitors to physically engage with the installation by climbing to the top to enjoy it from multiple aspects. Discovering thedichotomy of the hyper-natural and hyper-tech to encourage an independent approach to gardening, the ground level is a horticultural laboratorywhere hydroponic and aeroponic technology grows edibles and plants. The second level is an oasis of greenery, with a naturalistic aesthetic. The elevated garden encourages visitors to immerse themselves in a canopy-like ecosystem. Upon first impression, the garden looks like a natural hillside landscape. On closer inspection, the viewer can see a subterranean, and futuristic high-tech garden is at play.
The Welcome to Yorkshire Garden — Show Garden 324
The garden is inspired by the rich heritage and history of infrastructure in West Yorkshire, reminiscent of the urban regeneration of the likes of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, now a major tourist attraction.Itconsists of a towpath running next to a perennial meadow that borders a pair of narrow canal lock gates and a Lock Keeper’s lodge with private garden and vegetable patch. This slice of West Yorkshire focuses on the beauty of the natural and the cultivated, whilecelebratingthearea’s industrial roots and rich diversity of native flora alongside cultivated varieties, striking a balance between theindustrial and the beautiful, showcasing howa working lock can also be a place of tranquillity and charm.
Warner’s Distillery Garden — Show Garden 326
Central to the design is an impressive sheltered courtyard, referencing the pastoral setting of Falls Farm, the heart of Warner Gin Distillery in rural Northamptonshirewhere all their gin is hand-crafted with nature. The central column with elements of copper and water is inspired by ‘Curiosity’, the Warner’s DistilleryGin still.
Rainfall and water from rooftops is a playful element, on display rather than hidden behind drainpipes, slowing the passage of rainfall and highlighting how it might be used.Regionally-sourced quarried natural stone and materials will anchor the design.
Green Switch — Artisan Garden 563
Urban city life is incredibly stressful. This garden distinguishes between ON and OFF in life. OFF is the collection of what one likes; it is essential to have time for nature. This activates a “green switch” allowing you to spend your free life within a natural green space. Intended as a city garden, the open-style Azumaya (garden house) creates a garden atmosphere even when indoors.It is a two-storied structure with an upper tea room and a lower parking space. The structures have glass walls while aglass shower room enables you to be at one with nature whilst taking a shower.
For more information and how to buy tickets, please visit their website on https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-chelsea-flower-show
