The joy and danger of a day at RHS Chelsea is sensory overload. There’s simply so much to see and experience. You can come away feeling overwhelmed by the design ideas, the gardens’ messages and the sheer colour.
The first day at Chelsea 2019 saw me so preoccupied with the gardens I barely made it into the Great Pavilion. I discovered gardens that told a story, others that transported you far from central London and many that just dazzled with the skill of their execution.
The overall impression is of a shift away from the rigidly formal with planting more free-flowing. There was a lot of frothy white and even the odd dandelion on Sarah Eberle’s garden.
In the face of such a mass of information, it’s often the small details that stick in the mind. Here are some of those that made an impression on me.
A look at the gardens
Cotswold designer Chris Beardshaw is exploring the idea of making gardens as sustainable as possible. UK-grown plants, bamboo flooring for his ‘relaxation pod’ and using the first electric digger during the build are just some of the eco-friendly elements.
There’s a rhythm to the planting with undulating mounds of herbaceous perennials.
The colours are a wonderful mix of smokey purples and greys shot through with flashes of brighter shades.
Something about Kate Gould’s Chelsea 2019 garden for Greenfingers kept drawing me back. Possibly the contrast of colours or the frothy style of planting set against some striking hard landscaping.
This was a great planting combination. I liked the colours and the contrasting shapes.
The Dubai Majlis Garden was strangely mesmerising. Perhaps it was the colour of the water.
These angelica were a striking feature on Jo Thompson’s Wedgwood Garden.
They also feature on Paul Hervey-Brookes’ Space to Grow garden where they could be glimpsed through the sculptures.
Another good combination of shapes and colours.
A simple log ‘wall’ fits well with the naturalistic feel of the garden.
The planting on The Donkey Sanctuary artisan garden was almost as popular with Chelsea 2019 press day visitors as the donkeys who made an appearance.
This wall and the plants growing out of it have an air of being decades old rather than the work of just a few weeks.
A lesson in how to use green from Andy Sturgeon in a garden that puts texture and form above flowers.
In The Walker’s Forgotten Quarry Garden nature is taking over a disused industrial site and the result is a stunning mix of soft planting against metal.
The flowers echo the rusty tones of the metal in the garden.
For a sheer explosion of colour there is little that can match The Montessori Centenary Children’s Colour. The mix shouldn’t work but strangely does. A touch of sheer joy at RHS Chelsea 2019.
You can read about what I found in among the nursery displays here.
RHS Chelsea 2019 runs until May 26.