Chelsea Flower Show 2017

This was the Maltese Quarry Garden that won both gold medal and best in show this year at Chelsea.

You can look further and explore the garden digitally on the RHS website.

It was the first garden one saw as one entered but then it went downhill from there.

Like wine, 

I think Chelsea has vintage years 

and those that don't fare so well.

All those stones on the lake beach will be taken back to the Yorkshire beach it came from.

It was a bit worrying when trade stands were inspiring me more than the actual show gardens.

Plus, I was extra anxious as I took my reluctant husband for the first time so I wanted him to enjoy it and see why I went every year.

It wasn't so much the quality of the gardens as frankly most of us would be lucky to have any one of the gardens and trade stands they have at the flower show.

It was the lack of the show gardens this year on the main avenue.

What should have been a show garden was a driftwood sculpture show stand.

Brexit was to blame apparently.

Applications closed just after the Brexit result 

and many of the big spenders and corporations were so shocked by the result they had put non essential projects on hold 

so there weren't as many applications.

This was a Chinese inspired garden.

Or so they tell me as I found nothing Chinese about it.

Monty Don found this garden jarring and I agree.

I was hoping it would look better in real life and it didn't.

One of the highlights of the show was a paper menu at one of the venues in the show that could be planted afterwards just to cover with soil and water.

You can see the black seeds in the paper.

This is my star plant of the show and will plant next year.

Meconopsis is her name.

Gladioli were a star in the Great Pavilion.

Peter Beale always has a great stone backdrop for the roses.

There was a show attraction of a traditional carriage belonging to the Queen.

I like these and my husband said I should plant these.

Old strain potatoes are still popular this year.

On my way out of the pavilion, 

this was one of the spaces that should have been a show garden...

Luckily the weather has been forecast for sun all week so visitors will have more places to drink but I would have preferred a garden.

This is a garden vignette of the master Japanese artisan gardener 

that won yet another gold medal this year. 

Please click on link for better pictures.

People at Chelsea call him moss man.

This is a horse made from horseshoes.

This was one of the nicer artisan gardens.

As was this one.

But this poetry lovers garden only won silver.

But this boat won gold.

I don't know what this disused mine won.

But one of my least favourite gardens I have seen in the past several years I have been below won gold.

I am not talking about taste and preference, 

I was confused to why technically this won gold?

Was I disappointed?

Yes, but mostly because 

I wish my husband would have seen the show in a better "vintage" year because I doubt he will come again.

I wish there were more show and artisan gardens but then again I did enjoy the nurseries showing in the Great Pavilion a lot more.

But either way, 

I still intend to attend next year so I won't let one quiet year sway me.