As well as the Big Show Gardens at Chelsea they do have some smaller ones, more like most peoples’ gardens. These are called The Artisan and Space to Grow Gardens and although they are smaller, they are still packed with plants and other features.
This is one of the Space to Grow Gardens called “The Harmonious Garden of Life” designed to explore different ways we can help regenerate our ecosystems.
The planting was very natural and quite wild.
Below is “The Manchester Garden” which was designed with plants in mind to fill in urban spaces and make green statements. All the plants were chosen for their resilience, adaptability and suitability for the climate and space in a city environment.
The gentleman in the tie (below) is Adam Frost, one of the presenters of BBC Gardener’s World and he was doing a segmant on the show about pathways and how they can be used in any size garden to great effect.
One of my most favourite plants is Rhododendrons and they do well in our soil and they are mainly evergreen so really do help during the winter months to provide some cover. There were many exhibits but this was our favourite in the Great Pavilion.
The one above has quite large bell like flowers.
The peach multi-coloured one was so pretty especially against the pale cream one.
A little model train was running around in amongst the plants.
I also love the Azalea being so much smaller but a lot of flowers for not a very big plant.
This picture does not do this plant justice really. Again bell like flowers and it is a miniature Rhododendron. I have ordered one to put in under the large Rhododendron we have in the border already. If it likes it I will take some cuttings and put them with our other Rhododendrons.
Along the same vein, I love Hydrangeas too, but again you have to have the correct soil and position for them to grow. I have put one in our garden to see how it gets on and at the moment it is growing but we shall have to see. This Hydrangea (above) was stunning as it is actually an arched flower spike so really tall as you can see from the second picture above right.
(https://growbeautifully.monrovia.com)
We have one area in our garden at the right hand side of our patio which is perfect for a small cottage garden area. Unfortunately the woman who owned our home previously thought she was a marvelous gardener but all she did was put hundreds of hardy geraniums in. This resulted, because our soil is so wet and does not drain easily, becoming home to every slug and snail in Derbyshire!!! The first time it rained after we moved in the whole of the patio was covered with slugs and snails!
We have frogs in the garden and they try their best to keep the slugs and snails down but they are so fat they can hardly hop about!!! Of course slugs and snails just love cottage garden plants, especially my favourites; Lupins and Delphiniums and I am so tired of buying plants just to feed the horrible things!!! However I do keep trying! The displays of these two plants were amazing.
The Lupin display was just stunning. My favourites are the lighter colours as below rather than the more vibrant, darker ones.
However I love all of the Delphinium colours and would have all of them in our garden if they horrid things didn’t eat them as soon as they are put anywhere near the soil!
If I had to pick a Delphinium colour it would be this blue.
I also love the fox glove and all the colours that comes in and the slugs and snails do leave these alone so I am trying to cultivate more of these!
I hope you have loved Day 2 of the show pictures. I still have more to show you. We are in for a busy weekend with jobs and things to do and hopefully the weather is going to stay nice tomorrow so DH and I can get things done in the garden. At the moment, as it is Bank Holiday, it is due to rain on Sunday and Monday but that is fine as we have plenty of things to do inside as well.
Have a great weekend, whatever you are up to.
Hugs, Susie xx
What a treat to see all of these gorgeous flowers! I love to pick a favorite but I’m having a hard time deciding which is my favorite! I do have to say that I love the lupins and the delphiniums and the rhododendrons are just stunning!
Such beautiful flowers!!! I’ve read that if you bury a tin in the garden (leaving 1/2″ of the top above the soil) and put beer in it, the slugs and snails will be attracted to it, climb in and drown. Because I have always lived in an arid environment, I have not had to deal with them. When Daughter #2 lived on the peninsula of Washington, it was much wetter there and she had slugs and snails…they left the most horrible slime trails on the walkways and porch!! I used to go out every night and salt them. I couldn’t bear to step on them and hear the crunch of the shell or the squish of their nasty bodies!! Of course, I then had to sweep the residue away every morning!! I don’t miss them, not one little bit!! I wonder if the lupin!! I wonder if they would grow at the farm…if the dry climate and hard freezes of the winter would not kill them???
I have enjoyed looking at the pictures of the Chelsea flower show. We seem to live in very similar climates as Rhododendrons and Azaleas grow well here. The University my kids attended had many huge Rhododendrons plus Azaleas and spring was one of the most beautiful times to visit the campus. I am also a fan of Hydrangeas and have one large and one small in my backyard. The large one has become the most beautiful purple and I just love when it blooms.