You have to go don’t you? Chelsea is unmissable really. The whole week they show programmes on t.v. with tantalising glimpses of the gardens and an awful lot of talk, most of which I, for one, could do without.
I always enjoy the coach trip up, reflecting on the “marvels” of English Dress sense; mind you, wearing “sensible” shoes is an absolute must. This year the young people searching your bags and directing you to where you want to go were so polite and helpful.
Once inside you had better have a plan. You can choose the small stalls selling garden tools, sheds greenhouses, fountains, sculpture, seeds and so forth or you can make your way to the smaller show gardens which are full of ideas. Then again you can join the throng along the main avenue to get a look at the main show gardens and vote for the People’s Choice winner which is often Not the gold medallist. Or wander into the grand Pavilion where the specialist nurseries and the Flower of the year are.
I found it a little disappointing this year; most of the show gardens needed a long explanation of their meaning and although I don’t think all gardens should just be pretty flowers I don’t think you should need a tome to explain the garden’s theme.
The “letter from a million years past” by the Korean garden designer Jihae Hwang was fascinating ; built to recall “the mother mountain of Korea”(JIRISAN) home to some 1500 species of native plants that have medicinal value and some of which are facing extinction.
The Samaritans’ Listening Garden needed some explanation too. Dedicated to the 70 years the charity Samaritans has been listening to people who otherwise have no help it’s a kind of adevnture which is palpaple if you have the good fortune to walk through it and not just admire it from the edges .Built to be foreboding at the entrance( spiny dark plants, concrete panels ,recycled nails and cracked path), it opens up into a serene sanctuary where you could sit, look back and talk and be heard. Even the pool is quiet. I was lucky enough to be able to take that journey and I was deeply moved by the experience. The same garden is different from the entrance and the exit positions, the ugly concrete slabs are still ugly concrete but now the cracks have golden linings.
English that grows 