Gardening · Travel

Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List Chelsea Flower Show Part II

As I mentioned in my previous post, my lovely stepsister, Erica, recently attended the world-famous Chelsea Flower Show in London. She is always jetting off to Paris for a shopping spree or going on Safari, so it’s fun to live vicariously through her. But because I am such a flower fan, I was particularly interested in her trip to the Chelsea Flower Show. Knowing this, she and my Master Gardener stepmother, Cathy, graciously agreed to share their gorgeous photos on my blog. I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to both Erica and Cathy. Through their pictures, they have made it possible for all of us to be armchair travelers to this spectacular event.

The Chelsea Flower Show

The Chelsea Flower Show has been going on in one form or other from the beginning of the 19th century to the present. It is the most famous and well-known horticultural event in the world. Initial versions of the flower show occurred during the 1820’s as an event for nurserymen and the head gardeners of grand British estates.  However, the first official Royal Horticulture Society Flower Show or the “Great Spring Show,” as it was called, took place in Kensington Garden in 1862. In 1913, the event was moved to the Royal Hospital grounds in Chelsea where it has been held every year since, except for a few times between World War I and II.

Royal Hospital Grounds prior to the Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Royal Hospital Grounds before the show (Photo Credit: Erica)
London Entrance Gate to The 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
The London entrance gate to the Chelsea Flower Show was decorated with an installation entitled “Tree Of Life” by floral designer, Kitten Grayson. The display was created in honor of the royal wedding and the plants and flowers that were included all have some significance to the prince and his bride. (Photo Credit: Erica)

The centerpiece of the Chelsea Flower Show is the Great Pavilion. Inside the massive space ( almost 3 acres in size), some one hundred exhibitors from all over the world displayed an astonishing array of flowers and plants.

The Great Pavilion

Floral pavement and flower market display in the Great Pavillion of the 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Floral pavement and flower market display (Photo Credit: Erica)
Aisles Of Alliums --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Aisles Of Alliums! (Photo Credit: Erica)
Dendrobium thyrsiflorum, an orchid native to the Himalayas that looks surprisingly like a bouquet of daffodils --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Dendrobium thyrsiflorum is an unusual orchid, native to the Himalayas, that looks surprisingly like a bunch of daffodils. (Photo Credit: Erica)
Peacock floral display in the Grand Pavilion of the 2018 Chelsea Flower Show -- Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Peacock floral display (Photo Credit: Cathy)
Pink Hawaiian Coral Peony, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Pink Hawaiian Coral Peony (Photo Credit: Cathy)
Moonrise Peony, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Moonrise Peony (Cathy)
Delicate pale peach peony, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
(Photo Credit: Erica)
Rose Arbor, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Rose Arbor (Photo Credit: Erica)
Roses galore! 2018 Chelsea Flower Show -- Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Roses galore! (Photo Credit: Cathy)
Emily Bronte Rose, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
These huge “Emily-Brontë’” roses are one of the many new roses launched at the Chelsea Flower Show. (Photo Credit: Erica)
Clematis, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Who knew there were so many different varieties of Clematis? (Cathy)
Clematis, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
(Photo Credit: Erica)
Clematis Temptation, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Clematis Temptation (Photo Credit: Erica)
Hillier and STIHL Inspiration garden, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Hillier and STIHL Inspiration garden (Photo Credit: Erica)
A Bonanza of Bonsais, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
A Bonanza of Bonsais (Cathy)
Chrysanthemum solar system, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
A Solar system of Chrysanthemum balls with a rotating Planet Earth. (Photo Credit: Cathy)
Empire Windrush --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
An Exhibit to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the occasion when the people of the Carribean heeded the call for help and in 1948 and came over on the Empire Windrush, passenger-ship bringing to rebuild England after WWII. This huge display won a gold medal. (Photo Credit: Cathy)
Tropical plants on display, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Tropical plants on display including, Birds Of Paradise, Ginger, and Anthurium to name a few (Photo Credit: Cathy)
alpinia Purpurata or Ginger "Eileen MacDonald" and Heliconia Chartacea "Sexy Pink" --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Alpinia Purpurata or Ginger “Eileen MacDonald” and Heliconia Chartacea “Sexy Pink” (Photo Credit: Cathy)
Nipple fruit, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Solanum mammosum, commonly known as” Nipple Fruit,” is an inedible Pan American tropical fruit. (Photo credit: Cathy)
Proteas, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Proteas (Photo Credit: Cathy)
Colorful collection of Lupines, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
A Colorful collection of Lupines including “Desert Sun,” “Beefeater, ” ” Gladiator.” (Photo Credit: Cathy)
Hellebores or "Lenten Rose" --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Hellebores or “Lenten Rose” (Photo Credit: Erica)
Tulips --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Fringed bi-color tulips (Photo Credit: Cathy)
Spring blooms --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
The yellow and white daisy-looking flowers are actually a type of Dahlia called Honka Fragile. (Photo credit: Cathy)
Lubega Power Tricolor Dahlias --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Dazzling Dahlia Lubega Power Tricolor (Photo Credit: Erica)

Trade Stands

Driftwood horse sculptures --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
A Pair of 20-foot high horses sculpted out of driftwood by Artist Heather Jansch.
Fairy tale treehouse --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
A Two-story Fairy Tale Treehouse which is equipped with a super fun slide, designed by Blue Forest Bespoke Treehouses,

Show Gardens

The Show Gardens are the largest and most prestigious installations, designed to showcase the best in garden design.

South African Wine Estate, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Trailfinders: A South African Wine Estate, designed by Jonathan Snow features a Dutch Cape homestead surrounded by a lovely cottage garden filled with Foxgloves, Alliums, Roses. (Photo Credit: Erica)
West African fynbos, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Beyond the cottage garden of the Wine Estate, the designer, Snow created a fynbos which is an evergreen, hard-leaved Mediterranean type shrubland that occurs in nutrient-poor soils of the West African Cape. (Photo Credit: Cathy)
Rhododendron Fantastica, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
A bicolored Rhododendron Fantastica beautifully blooms in the peaceful Morgan Stanley Garden designed by Chris Beardshaw. The garden won a  Gold Medal and Best In Show. (Photo Credit: Erica)
The Morgan Stanley Garden, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
The Morgan Stanley Garden was created to bring awareness to the NSPCC, the UK’s largest children’s charity. The Pavillion provides a tranquil space to view the woodland garden. (Photo Credit)

Space To Grow Gardens

"Skin Deep" garden, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
“Skin Deep” is a conceptual garden designed by Robert Barker
The New West End Garden, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
The New West End Garden designed by Kate Gould is a communal garden filled with plants chosen for their beauty as well as their ability to absorb pollutants. (Photo Credit: Erica)
The Urban Flow Garden, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
The Urban Flow Garden, designed by Tony Woods received a gold medal and Best In Show for the Room To Grow Gardens. Euphorbia, Lupins, Salvia and Iris provide a colorful contrast to the metal arches.
The Pearl Fisher Garden, 2018 Chelsea Flower Show ----Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
The Pearl Fisher Garden celebrates the largest garden under the world’s oceans. The design strives to bring attention to the problem of plastic pollution.
Pearl Fisher Garden --Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List
Sculpture of a pearl fisher diving into a sea of plastic bottles on top of the Pearl Fisher Garden.

You wouldn’t believe it from the number of fabulous shots they got but, due to inclement weather and massive crowds, Erica and Cathy were limited in their ability to photograph all of the 10 show gardens, seven artisan gardens and eight “space to grow” gardens. Their advice to others like me who have the Chelsea Flower Show on their bucket list is to arrive early when the gates open at 8:00 am. It might even be worth it to purchase a Royal Horticulture Society membership so that you have access to their exclusive members-only days. Also, keep in mind that it’s England, so be prepared for rain and bring a rain poncho. If you would like to see the other designer gardens from this year’s show, you can check them out on the R.H.S. website.

Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List, #ChelseaFlowerShow2018, #Gardens, #Gardening, #Flowers, # Flowershow

If you enjoyed this post, you may be interested in:

Chelsea In Bloom: 2018 Chelsea Flower Show Part 1

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21 thoughts on “Why The Chelsea Flower Show Should Be On Your Bucket List Chelsea Flower Show Part II

  1. Wow– how spectacular! I love the flowers but I think the driftwood horses might be my favorite. Thanks so much to you and your stepsister for sharing!

    1. Thanks so much for commenting. I like the driftwood horses too. Apparently, they had other driftwood animals as well.

  2. What a dream to attend the Chelsea Flower Show! As a simple gardener, the displays are beyond amazing! Thank you for sharing armchair flower therapy at Gardens Galore!

    1. I think that the Chelsea Flower Show is a wonder because it shows that it is possible to create any environment we can imagine. Those garden designers take an empty plot and transform it into a homestead on the African veldt or a glen in the Scottish Highlands. It definitely makes me want to push the envelope in my own simple garden.

    1. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, Carol. I am so glad you enjoyed the pics of Chelsea Flower Show.

  3. Oh how fabulous! What a treat for your family to be able to see this in person!
    And how gracious they were to share it here on your blog! Thank you to them…

    and…
    THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing it with all of us!
    ~Nancy

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