in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, a retirement home for British soldiers ...
These are the Chelsea Pensioners, in dashing scarlet coats and tricorne hats ...
... some, like the old gent below, impressively bemedalled ...
On Friday I joined a crowd of thousands thronging their way down these tree-lined avenues ...
all suitably dressed for a typical British early summer's day!
The show gets a limited capacity of (advance-booking-only) 157 000 people every year. On Friday I wondered if they'd all somehow been booked for the same day. Talk about crowds - it was elbows-out and umbrellas en-garde ...
Some came dressed with a due sense of occasion ...
These bags were a sort of uniform, for show guides and purchases ...
The Great Pavilion is the main destination, where exhibitors vie for medals. Here there were massed displays of single flowers ...
exotic orchid water-gardens
succulents ...
Themed displays ...
Waitrose and the NFU's (the British farmers' union) stand, 'Championing British', mixed plants and produce
Country exhibits ...
Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens (South Africa) wins gold medals with regular monotony for their amazing displays against giant photographic backdrops, above and below.
Hello, is that King Kong skulking behind the agapanthus? -
Even Helen Mirren was there!
The country display that really blew me away was 'Fantastic Thailand' ...
It was impossible to do justice with my camera to the size of this massive display because of the crowds jostling around it ... these are just some details, above and below. Everything is constructed from millions of tiny flowers, banana leaf and bamboo. A smiling Thai lady told me it took 60 people 3 months to put together before it was transported in pieces to London ...
There was even floral fashion - Charlotte Murrant used exotic flowers to create a range of wonderful jackets ...
In the vast open-air space around the Great Pavilion were more exhibits and landscaped gardens than you could hope to cover in one day, and garden accessories to suit every imaginable taste. You could go whimsical with an Alice in Wonderland theme ...
maybe teamed with these fantastical garden tool sculptures I really fancied ...
though if you happen to own a stately home, a life-size stag or a shield-bearing gryphon could be just the ticket ...
perhaps a giant escargot or a tree-height bandaged running man? ...
No, I think my favourite is this mad dinosaur-riding top-hatted naked lady ...
No-one does elegant conservatories and garden gazebos quite as well as the English ...
though I also love their country cottage garden look - ramshackle huts, untamed flowers and the quintessentially English potting shed ...
In similar vein, and in the spirit of the royal wedding, was this vintage Morris Minor with retro accessories and a copy of the Aston Martin licence plate made by Prince Harry for the newly-weds ...
A highlight of this year's show was Diarmuid Gavin's Irish Sky Garden. Suspended from this giant crane ...
you could be lifted up above the trees in a hanging sky garden for an aerial view of the show and London ...
No, I did not join the long queue for a swing in the sky ... I was all flowered out by now. Time to leave, and although rickshaws were doing brisk business between the show and the tube station, I joined the legions of those on foot, many carrying their purchases ...
some carrying only the accessories of a well-heeled Chelsea gent - rolled-up newspaper, trilby and umbrella ...
maybe pausing for a pit-stop at a pub ...?
on the way back to Sloane Square, all leafy green ...
where the shop windows were fully into the spirit of the flower show and I spotted this cute little grass-covered Smart car ...
Now I know just what to wear for next year, and how to arrive in style ...
All I've got is, "Thank you." It would take a short story to tell you how much I enjoyed this.
ReplyDeleteStupendous I think is the word here! Could you possibly get more colour in one post Karen? Could you get more people in one place?!! Looks like a fantastic day out and you captured it beautifully - selection and combination of images - superb! Your photographs always look so crisp - and in focus! Would it be impolite to ask which camera you use?
ReplyDeleteKaren, let me also say a huge Thank You! I've been lucky to have had one visit to the Chelsea show, and loved it so much...years and years later, my memories are still rich.
ReplyDeleteYes, the crowds are pretty awesome, but not enough to keep fans from seeing all the beauty that has been collected.
Maybe next year....
xo
Oh Karen - again such a fantastic post! Your photos are so good - you really catch with your camera the moments and atmosphere, BRAVO !!!
ReplyDeleteI would love to visit the Chelsea flower show and I became 'homesick' for London seeing people sitting in the pub near Sloane Square!
Many greetings from the Périgord,
karin
Thank you all for your kind comments!
ReplyDeleteTracy, glad you enjoyed a trip to this part of the world!
Bella, thanks. I use a Canon EOS 500D digital SLR. It's bulky, heavy and therefore often a pain to carry around, but I am so used to it I don't like to use anything else.
Frances, I seriously think you should plan a trip to London soon! And btw, how lucky you were to have been at the concert for Bangladesh - I must have listened to the album thousands of times.
Karin, I know, sitting outside at pubs like that is one of the real pleasures of summer in London (though hard to compare with the Périgord!)
Oh, what heavenly delights, I am out of breath.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful walk on the wild, er, flowery side of Britain, thank you! :-)