Wednesday saw my first proper foray to the mythical Chelsea
Flower Show where in return for a 3 hour shift helping out on the NGS stand I
got a free ticket. Many great things come from volunteering......
I had been once before as a naive teenager where I helped
out on the Carnivorous Plant Society stand, however had been rooted to the spot
and not wandered much. I also remember feeling that it was small, there were
far too many people and general frustration at not being able to buy plants.
This year the crowds were still the same, armies of people
with razor sharp elbows trying to push their way to the front of the stands
however you weren’t constantly tripping over wheely trollys full of plants
which was a definite bonus over Hampton Court.
There were also less show gardens than I had thought, and
they were harder to see into as there are hoards of people pressing up against
the barriers, and you can of course not
actually go into the gardens. In this respect TV has worked a lot of magic, and
you do get a better picture of what they are like from the comfort of your own
home.
My favorite was the Help for Heroes one...good naturalistic and accessible planting |
However I loved the marquee and this was probably my
favourite bit...I did spend a long time as the sky had turned black and we had
the loudest and heaviest thunderstorm I had heard in a long time which caused
almost the whole show to squeeze into the marquee. The sky went dark, queues
ground to a halt, old people looked grumpy and sat on hitherto out of limits
dry stone walls surrounding stands, not moving when asked, and excitable people with umbrellas ran out to see
the show gardens alone.
Volunteering on the NGS stand was a treat and made for good
people watching. There were lots of interested people who had been to NGS
gardens and wanted to go to more. There were also lots of people that looked
terrified when I asked if they had considered opening their own garden...that
vision of scary NGS inspections looking for perfect horticulture still reigns
supreme!
I also got access to the exhibitor’s restaurant, and it was funny
to see how haggard and tired exhibitors looked when out of the ‘smiley smiley’
public gaze. There were even a couple of people snoring on some giant pillows!
What amused me most was how about 5-6pm the clientele
changed a bit and it was more City than out of town with lots of sharp dressed
people emerging from the hospitality areas clutching Pimms/Champagne. I had
wondered if they had been there all day and were emerging from hospitality as
they realised how they should look at some of the plants before going out for
the evening....
Anyway, an amusing day...I think overall I still prefer
Hampton Court as it has the luxury of space and plants however Chelsea was a
great treat.
Anyone ever fancied a giant T-Rex made of shells?
Lots of people..
Now I know what to do with all my wire coat hangers
Moss a go go
The wool gorilla modeled on Boris Johnson
Army of metal frogs?
There were loads of Arisaemas which was bliss to see so many different species together
I love a bit of Thai magic... however not the best time to be promoting tourism..
all absolutely bonkers!
Need I say more?
Loads of hardy orchids *swoon*
More Arisaemas...
Tree ferns to die for....
Everyone needs a robot....
Ahh if only they sell plants at Chelsea...
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