Anyone else following RHS Chelsea?

[starlingdarling]

I am obsessed with the giant water feature from Sarah Eberle (see photo). Every year I'm amazed by how much they can do in the smaller gardens too. I wonder what their budget is?

Started it today on catch-up. I've just seen the first pre-launch program. Looking forward to the rest of the week for inspiration to "style" around a new patio.

Im not a gardener but I do watch this each year, amazes me how they manage this and get all the trees and plants to flower and be at their peak during planting, like theyve been there forever

I’m watching. I think they look a bit samey this year ie huge rusty metal or natural wood structure, river, lots of wild rustic planting.
I did fancy going up this year and there was still tickets available even this weekend. But the price! £85.00. £10 an hour. Too much with a train ticket on top.
My friend is showing there and I’d love to see her do her thing. Sadly I think it’s all got a bit corporate ( lots of people going because their company is paying) and I overpriced food and drink.

Love to hear from anyone who has been.

I looked up tickets and quickly changed my mind earlier this week. Agree that some are very samey. The year when someone did a canal themed garden was the best one I remember but it's nice to see more native plants and wildlife friendly gardens this year.

I'm still eyeing up a water feature. I found a large natural rock one but DH laughed a bit too enthusiastically when I mentioned the £500 price. I can't push it much as we're still deciding whether to move.

I went a few years ago, it is very busy and it's hard to see the gardens well. I think the BBC coverage is better tbh, you learn how the gardens are put together, you don't have to pay £3 for a cup of tea, you can sit down! The planting combinations are literally impossible to replicate as things that flower at totally different times are shown next to each other. I like that more are naturalistic and wildlife friendly though. Not a fan when they ship massive blocks of stone halfway across the world- that silliness seems to have been avoided this year and many gardens are going to be reconstructed in other worthy places.

The BBC can’t match that feeling as you enter the main marquee and see the tower stands of flowers and smell their mingling perfumes. But it’s 40years since I’ve been, and it was impossibly crowded even then

The coverage has been good but I'd still like to see the gardens in person. I think it's harder to get a sense of scale from the TV and yes, I'd like to be able to smell the flowers. I've never grown sweet peas before as they always seem like too much work but if I smell them I might change my mind

I have to have sweet peas even though they don’t work looks wise in my tiny garden.
I just buy them when the garden centre have done all the hard work. Tall pot, 3 sticks and lots of watering.
Second favourite smell after wall flowers.

I have been a few times in past - first time was in 2000

I haven't been for the last few years when it's been on as the tickets are so extraordinarily expensive now.

It is really crowded especially if it rains a lot and the marquee gets jammed. The floral marquee is my favourite - it's where I first saw David Austin roses and got hooked . The specialist nursery displays are fab (mostly), but it's impossible to go and not buy

When I first went I was amazed at the show gardens - not as large as I had expected. The drinks were £££ but each time I had an amazing day out.
I was surprised by the number of babies and small children when I went - not somewhere. Would have taken my DS when small.

They don't allow babies and small children in now, it would be a nightmare with a buggy or runners.
Very busy this year, some great gardens and displays. You do see more on BBC.
Adam Frost was even lovelier in real life than you'd expect and my expectations were high. He was talking about pests, diseases and invasive species on a stand about not bringing plants home from holidays abroad. He made time for everyone, chatting and taking pictures.
Still not many places to sit down and I took my own lunch.

It’s so noisy though, that waterfall feature isn’t it?

I agree re the controversy around the rewilding garden. It looks fantastic but it isn’t a ‘garden’. It’s a recreation of a natural landscape.

I find the show so inspiring though and love the BBC coverage every year. Though I have to say, I’m not a fan of Angelica Bell on it, she seems weirdly combative in the interviews, which is strange as she’s not like that on other things I’ve seen her on.

I'm going on Saturday, when it's probably all over bar the shouting, but really looking forward to it. I'm going to catch up on the BBC coverage before we're actually there, in case I don't get to see it all probably.

Expecting it to be busy- still debating whether to pack a posh picnic or try eat there.

And would it be terribly uncouth of me to ask the folks who've been whether you can take your own booze refreshments??

An ex colleague has been today and sent me a couple of photos from the floral tent. Gardens were nice but the flowers were even more impressive apparently. The David Austin stand smelled delicious.

I’ve been a couple of times, last time was just before Covid. It was crowded as others have said, but a lot of the people were out on corporate jollies and standing around drinking and being loud!
hard to see the gardens. The BBC does access parts of the gardens that are almost impossible to see, as there’s no access into them.
the best bit is the floral marquee, the fragrance is devine
i prefer Hampton Court and Tatton Park. Much more focus on the gardening.

The Malvern show is beautiful too

I would love to go but at £85 per ticket I'd want the place to myself to wander and dream. I'd be prepared to go at 5am to have the place to myself! Do the pensioners get to go after hours?

I know someone who was involved in creating one of the large show gardens about 4 years ago - not much change out of £200k evidently........

Chelsea is the only RHS garden show I've never been to . My favourite is Tatton as it has plenty of space and lots to see. I've always seen Chelsea as a place that is on just so that people can say they've been . Heard it's very small as well.

I’ve looked at going near enough most years but for multiple reasons never made it, but this years tickets do seem extraordinarily expensive.
by the time you’ve bought a cup of coffee, and a plant you’ll have done a small fortune.
i was talking to dh and he said “you don’t have to buy a plant”

that made me laugh, he should know me better

Whilst I don’t disagree with you, it’s sort of the same as the canal one either last year or the year before (covid has sapped all my concept of time)

www.yorkshire.com/inspiration/chelsea/the-welcome-to-yorkshire-garden-2019

this one.
see no concept of time it was 2019.

My mum and I went every year for about 25 years until a few years ago now that my mum is in her 80s and doesn't walk so well. It was absolutely our favourite day out of the year. We always took our own picnic and ate it by the bandstand then bought the odd coffee through out the day with a Pimms to conclude. She got the tickets through the RHS so I think there was a slight reduction, but worth every penny . We used to see every exhibit varying our route each year to avoid the crowds. We used to find the large show gardens were less crowded later on for instance because everyone tends to make a beeline for them as soon as they come in. The new pavilion is much larger than the old marquee so is less crowded than it used to be. On a beautiful day it is heaven - you can smell the flowers and hear the bees buzzing and the water features trickling. Saying all that, I think the BBC coverage is superb and really gives a flavour of the show as well as highlighting lots of interesting stories which you wouldn't necessarily know just from visiting (I loved the woman last night who was exhibiting for the first time after working all her life as a fingerprint specialist with the police and the young designer who had been supplying plants from his nursery for years and this year has his own garden for the first time which will be going to a special school afterwards).

Yes. They look lovely but they don’t really work as gardens imo

I agree re the controversy around the rewilding garden. It looks fantastic but it isn’t a ‘garden’. It’s a recreation of a natural landscape. That could be said of a lot of gardening styles, Japanese, prairie style planting for example. I remember being in Greece in the early winter and finding that the barren landscape I knew from autumn visits had blossomed into a Beth Chatto style dry garden. Gardeners through the ages have tried to recreate nature, just better.

To a point yes. Wild flower gardens etc but putting a faux beaver dam or canal is several steps on from that (to be expected perhaps, in a showpiece).

I went about 10 years ago - lived in London at the time so travel and accommodation costs weren't an issue. As I recall, ticket prices were quite a bit lower then too: I bought 3 tickets as a gift, and think they were about £50 a ticket.

It was a long day, with no where to sit and queing for food. Despite that, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The marquee was something else. Just so many beautiful flowers.

Objectively, you don't get as good a view of the gardens but there is still something extra about seeing them in real life. My big take away was seeing Sicilian Honey Garlic for the first time, used in one of the gardens, and falling in love with it. It's growing and flowering all over my garden right now