Chelsea garden show
Discussion
Show gardens are horticultural porn, promoting an unattainable fantasy that is never matched by real life experiences.
Whilst a show garden is spectacular in its own way it is designed for one purpose - to look good for the duration of the show. The art of good garden design is to have a succession of changes and emphasis on different plants/areas of the garden over a long period of time.
A simple example of this is snowdrops and roses: Over the years I have planted several thousand snowdrops in grass which look spectacular in drifts in February. The roses in February have no interest at all and add nothing to the overall design of the garden. Now in May the snowdrops look positively scruffy as they are dying down in the long grass, but the roses are coming out in bloom and will soon look their best. The emphasis has shifted from one area of the garden and type of plant to another, thus giving changing interest depending on the seasons.
I often look at a show garden and think: yes, that looks good, but how would it look in the autumn or winter for example. Generally the answer is: not very good. I'm not knocking the expertise in creating the show gardens as they have achieved their brief, but they do not transport very well to real life situations.
Whilst a show garden is spectacular in its own way it is designed for one purpose - to look good for the duration of the show. The art of good garden design is to have a succession of changes and emphasis on different plants/areas of the garden over a long period of time.
A simple example of this is snowdrops and roses: Over the years I have planted several thousand snowdrops in grass which look spectacular in drifts in February. The roses in February have no interest at all and add nothing to the overall design of the garden. Now in May the snowdrops look positively scruffy as they are dying down in the long grass, but the roses are coming out in bloom and will soon look their best. The emphasis has shifted from one area of the garden and type of plant to another, thus giving changing interest depending on the seasons.
I often look at a show garden and think: yes, that looks good, but how would it look in the autumn or winter for example. Generally the answer is: not very good. I'm not knocking the expertise in creating the show gardens as they have achieved their brief, but they do not transport very well to real life situations.
Most of the show gardens have a team of dozen or more building them over 18-20 days.
The sponsors such as Morgan Stanley etc put up thousands so it's not as if they are shopping around for a good deal they can get the best materials, builders
I believe the gardens are broken down and donated to community projects, hospices etc after the show has ended but how the hell are they doing to take the Visit Yorkshire Lock gate garden and rebuild it.
I'd like to see the show gardens them to the elements until next years show then see if they still look as inspirational
The sponsors such as Morgan Stanley etc put up thousands so it's not as if they are shopping around for a good deal they can get the best materials, builders
I believe the gardens are broken down and donated to community projects, hospices etc after the show has ended but how the hell are they doing to take the Visit Yorkshire Lock gate garden and rebuild it.
I'd like to see the show gardens them to the elements until next years show then see if they still look as inspirational
Edited by EarlofDrift on Thursday 23 May 03:13
Considering all the time/cost/labour/fuel/emissions spent in constructing the CFS each year, why have it open for 2 (or more) weeks ?
I'm sure those at the top of their game could keep those blooms going.
I believe that the city regeneration garden shows of the 80s/90s used to run for 6 months.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Garden...
I'm sure those at the top of their game could keep those blooms going.
I believe that the city regeneration garden shows of the 80s/90s used to run for 6 months.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Garden...
EarlofDrift said:
Most of the show gardens have a team of dozen or more building them over 18-20 days.
The sponsors such as Morgan Stanley etc put up thousands so it's not as if they are shopping around for a good deal they can get the best materials, builders
I believe the gardens are broken down and donated to community projects, hospices etc after the show has ended but how the hell are they doing to take the Visit Yorkshire Lock gate garden and rebuild it.
I'd like to see the show gardens them to the elements until next years show then see if they still look as inspirational
I've a long thin garden, lock gate would look fantastic at the top. Or (now in fantasy land) a railway children style tunnel, or the workshop but instead of the 3 wheeler a Dali esq style caddilac.The sponsors such as Morgan Stanley etc put up thousands so it's not as if they are shopping around for a good deal they can get the best materials, builders
I believe the gardens are broken down and donated to community projects, hospices etc after the show has ended but how the hell are they doing to take the Visit Yorkshire Lock gate garden and rebuild it.
I'd like to see the show gardens them to the elements until next years show then see if they still look as inspirational
Edited by EarlofDrift on Thursday 23 May 03:13
It's sold out this year but when I've been in the past I've found the evening-only tickets to offer good value and more than enough time to look around, especially if you're more interested in the amazing displays inside the marquee and the sales stalls, than spending hours on the 10-15 or so show gardens. Some of them can have lengthy queues although I'm quite tall so have always been happy to look over the heads of people from 3 or 4 back.
I used to work for an organisation that had a roof garden with a pavillion, and that had all come from one of the show gardens at Chelsea. So they do indeed sometimes get reused.
I used to work for an organisation that had a roof garden with a pavillion, and that had all come from one of the show gardens at Chelsea. So they do indeed sometimes get reused.
LeadFarmer said:
How do the show garden exhibiters get chosen? Do they have to have won some golds in other RHS shows?
Not sure if you mean the designers or the sponsors?Essentially, a sponsor has a designer produce a design, which then is submitted to the RHS for approval. If it gets the OK, then its on to building it - and the sponsor paying for it.
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