RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2014 Part 1 -The Show Gardens and Best in Show WInner

I went to the Flower show this afternoon.

The last twenty years I have walked by Sloane Square during the show, I have never known the show not to be sold out.

I have tried my best to take pictures for you to get a gist of the mood and angles that aren't always the most photogenic.

But for those of you who are hard core gardening enthusiasts, please click onto the official RHS Chelsea Flower show website for more picture and more in depth information on planting.

There are three main sections to the show so I shall start with the show gardens.  

The first one was the M&G Garden ( more and much better pics on the link) designed by the now legend Cleve West.  

He has won best in show twice recently!

This year he won a gold medal to add to his awards.

Interestingly this garden epitomized the trend seen elsewhere where it was rather wild and loose with a lot of long grass planting.

Sorry if I have offended gardeners with my very raw, basic and inarticulate description.

The next garden of note was the BrandAlley show garden ( please click for more information on the garden) that won a bronze.  I quite liked it but the designer was interviewed by Monty Don and expressed his disappointment which is rare because garden designers rarely admit things like that!

It was nice as you can see but the judges apparently thought the landscaping was a bit crude and elementary.

( Their words not mine.)

Plus my friend immediately noted he didn't like the color and we didn't spend time lingering like we did for others so perhaps there wasn't enough interest to keep us there.

Another gold medal winner was the RBC Waterscape garden.

Canadians should be proud because the sponsor was the Royal Bank of Canada.

I love a water feature anywhere and if I had a garden the only thing of which I am certain is that the garden would have some water running through it.

I remember liking last year's Telegraph garden and this year was no different. I can barely keep up with my hair cuts so don't know how feasible the upkeep of trees like this is for myself.

I liked the clean lines and edges softened by the rounded hedges.

I like the predominant green with a few spots of color punctuated with the yellow in the lemon trees.

I like gardens that give a different feel depending on the angle you view it such as this one.

Please take this comment for what it is and I am sure you won't agree but I didn't really understand and couldn't properly appreciate the Brewin Dolphin garden.

 It was nice...But messy and there was no point of view ( literally ).

 I couldn't see the wood from the trees.

 My eyes couldn't concentrate on anything and I remember feeling quite frustrated that I couldn't pinpoint a focal space.


There is always filming in the show and the BBC was filming at the special garden to commemorate WW1 called No Man's Land.

 

 Cloudy Bay which happens to be one of my favorite white wines sponsored this sensory garden and won a silver gilt.

 Another silver gilt winner and one garden that I could envision enjoying on a domestic scale was the St George's garden.

 It has a distinct path, varied heights, and a water feature.

 The Best Fresh Garden was called Mind's Eye.

 It was modern and traditional with smart landscaping.

 Plus they had some of the cutest gardeners.

 I also liked how different the garden looked at from various corners.

Now for best in show...

 It was the Laurent-Perrier Garden.

 It also happened to be my and my friend's favorite garden.
So much so we went back to the garden to see it a second time.

 This garden had no bad angle. 
You could stand anywhere and it looked fabulous.

 It was a good garden because even two people like us who don't garden looked at it and discussed aspects of it.

 We both agreed that this garden could suit almost every climate and country.

 It wouldn't look out of place in London, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Melbourne.

 The garden was so calming.

 The only thing I would do is make the pool bigger so
I could do proper laps.

 But if I could this is the garden that I will be using as a blue print for any future possible garden.

As there is so much to cover, I will be posting a few more posts on the show for those who weren't able to attend.  Also please remember that due to my lack of camera skills, the crowds, and the weather I wasn't able to take great photos so please remember to go onto the official flower show website for more pics and info.