Welcome to the most famous flower show in the world, held in the grounds of the Royal Hospital of Chelsea.
The Chelsea Flower Show is incredibly popular and entices people from all over the world to visit, tickets always sell out well in advance and huge excitement surrounds the area in the build up to the exhibition.
On the opening day the Queen visited the show accompanied by Prince Harry for a tour of the gardens. The event has been held every year since 1913 (except during the World Wars.)
Luckily for us we visited on the sunniest day of the show, we arrived to blue skies, live music and people happily strolling with champagne and Pimms in hand. We slowly meandered through the exhibition ooohing and ahhhing at the incredible flowers on display.
To kick things off we treated ourselves to a glass of Pimms – the first one this summer. Get ready for a blooming long post, as you scroll through my highlights.
Firstly we passed this adorable thatched hut, which would create the cosiest little hide out in any garden.
Nestled amongst the crowds we spotted a beautifully woven willow nest. The Haven is a charity that supports those affected by breast cancer, the nest symbolised a welcoming peaceful space for those in need of support. The carefully crafted nest was so inviting you could easily imagine lying contently in this space.
We strolled through the tranquil gardens with gushing waters and passed beautiful bright poppies along the way.
One of the most unusual gardens was the oak branched space; the design was inspired by natural sculptured elements that created a structured branch canopy.
This modern water feature with the contrast of copper against the greenery was seriously striking. I love the combination of materials in this garden with the soft grey stones, timbers and warm coppers that balance perfectly with the wild greenery.
The concept was inspired by Brewers Yard that recently was refurbished from it’s historical shed and now mixed the modern process.
Next up was the formal symmetrical garden that resembled the medieval period.
As you can see there were so many amazing gardens to see, that the list of favourites was long and extended, and the Trugmaker’s Garden was definitely one of those favourites. The garden was a celebration of the traditional trugmakers skills and created a very natural space where you can imagine them working.
Onto the most adorable tree house I’ve every laid eyes on. I had to hold myself back from climbing the two-storey oak framed house and nosing inside.
The garden created a retreat with a natural swimming pond decorated with lovely flowers and is a spot I’d love to be escaping to after a busy working week. The garden won silver gilt and was designed by Sussex based Jo Thompson and sponsored by M&G Gardens.
L’Occitane presented a wild overgrown space that reflected the perfume industries plantations that have become unkempt.
Harrods displayed The Fragrance Garden by presenting the process involved when creating scents.
The garden had gigantic test tubes and beakers with flowers blooming out.
As we walked through to the other side of the garden the flowers reappeared as huge paper pieces.
This multicoloured seating created the perfect lounge spot with a pretty reasonable price tag too.
Childhood memories popped up when we spotted colourful slinky toys draped across the garden with lights traveling through across to the water.
A powerful piece was the sparkling feminine sculpture by Ricky Kirby that symbolised the courage of those fighting Breakthrough Breast Cancer. The garden was designed by Ruth Wilmott and won two awards.
The swans reminded us of the waddling trio in Aristocats.
The floating steps were suspended on platforms created with 40,000 hand-cut pieces of slate. The garden had an underground stream that was seen through the openings.
This wild rocky garden was the winner with a combined effort from Lauren Perrier and Chatsworth, a breathtaking show garden.
A designer that I keep falling further and further in love with is Rebecca Louise Law; her stunning pieces seem to keep appearing in places I visit.
The incredible installation filled the entire ceiling walkway joining the gardens with its spectacular suspended flowers.
This tropical garden featured flora from Singapore, but the most striking element in my eyes was the three metre high waterfall with varied levels on the backdrop of a green structure.
The Beauty of Islam was designed to be a sanctuary for relaxation with different elements reflecting Islamic art, water flowed through the garden and the wide variety of flowers added to the calming space.
Architect Marcel Breuer was the inspiration behind this modern garden, using Portland cement, steel and cedar to display the urban landscape.
Onto the magical display by Interflora that marked the 150th anniversary of Alice in Wonderland, they suspended a teapot pouring orchids that was surrounded with blooming teacups and British planting.
Entwined within the Alice In Wonderland themed pieces I spotted a top motto of mine.
The madhatters tea party was incredible with a mismatch of teasets sprawled with flowers bursting out and hanging off the trees.
Gardens bloomed with roses in every colour imaginable.
A quirky display of ice cream scoops stood proud in a variety of tasty flavours.
As the sun began to set we left the grounds feeling inspired by the incredible garden designs. I left dreaming of luxurious gardens and hibernating in the tree house retreat with a book and ice-cold beverage.
