Wordless Wednesday: Electric Chelsea

A Fond Farewell to the Australians

Having the Australians in the shape of Flemings at Chelsea has always been a highlight for me because my visits to Oz have been some of the happiest times of my life. The team's professional yet friendly attitude at Chelsea is impressive, especially yesterday when the head of build still managed to chat to me whilst juggling the last minute frustrations of lack of frogs and trying to get his mother into the showground.

This year's move to the embankment site from their usual one has worked well by allowing them to build high rather than the usual digging down towards their homeland. I also loved their decision to favour Australia's native flora above their usual approach of showing off their enviable lifestyle. It reminded me of NAH's and my last trip to Oz ten years ago when we chanced upon similar vistas (though without the building in the shape of a Waratah) on our travels.

So Flemings depart on a high having scooped gold and best show garden in this morning's medals result. I for one am sad to see them go and wish them well for the future.

It's Chelsea Showtime :)

Heucheraholics' Sean and Jules demonstrate their cunning plan to beat the showtime weather this year at Malvern  Spring Show recently. For some reason my camera was so shocked, it decided to overexpose Jules' shot ;)

It's off to Chelsea Flower Show I go today for the excitement that is Press Day. I have so much to do and see for this year's centenary show, that I'm not sure how I'm going to fit it in before we get chucked out at 3pm when the Queen arrives. However, leaving early means there's time to check out Chelsea in Bloom on the way back to the Tube. Every cloud, as they say.

I'm equally uncertain how I'm going to fit it all into this blog this week, but it's going to be a pleasure to try.

For those of you in London for a bit longer, there's also the fab Chelsea Fringe to take in. I'm really pleased they've put a week by week schedule up on their website (here's the first week) as it makes it much easier to find an event to suit both day and location. Arabella Sock went to the press launch on Friday if you'd like to see a taster of what's going on. I'm hoping to go to the Fringe events in Bristol later - yes it's grown outside of its London home already - hurrah! Blogging buddy-wise there's Naomi serving up a second slice of cake in Finsbury Park and Sarah Salway is hosting an idiosyncratic virtual literary garden tour over on her blog. The latter event means we can say the Fringe is a worldwide event in its second year :)

You may also find the following Apps useful:

• RHS Chelsea Flower Show (iPhone only)
• Chelsea Fringe (Apple product users only)

Which gardening events or show(s) are you planning to visit this year?

Chelsea Sneak Preview: A Centenary Celebration

Amongst all the discussion of Chelsea's centenary show this year, I'm pleased the opportunity's been taken to produce a suitably celebratory book.

Brent Elliott is the author and as he's historian to the RHS, this is the best possible choice. I've heard him speak on a couple of occasions and really appreciate how his dry sense of humour brings his subject to life, particularly when detailing with relish the stormy arguments and mass resignations of the committee during the RHS's early years. Happily his humour (and details of arguments!) shine through in this account.

I found it best to tackle this volume twice. Once for all the plentiful pictures and good captioning, then reading the detailed text at my second sitting. Both are excellent, but trying to read both together was a bit much for me.

Chelsea has changed immensely over the years, except for one thing: the picture of 1932's Sundries Avenue on page 42 looks almost exactly the same today (apart from the clothes worn by the exhibitors). We have the alpine societies to thank for today's show gardens. It was they who pioneered taking their 'table top' displays outside the show tent and showcasing their plants in large rock gardens built especially for the RHS' pre-Chelsea Spring shows. That tradition continued into the new Chelsea venue and part of the show garden area today is still called the Rock Garden Embankment even though they've long gone. I wonder what the alpine societies make of their legacy today?

The show has seen other huge changes - the shift from a society event and the start of the 'season', through to a more celebrity-led occasion today. Then there's the rise of the show garden above that of the plantsman (helped enormously by TV coverage, though the two are in better balance when visiting the show). In the early years, an enthusiastic, but knowledgeable amateur could hold his own (it was almost invariably a he) with all the professionals. Today it's all big business and corporate sponsorship, with very little room for the amateur (though you can find them if you look hard enough, particularly if they're a national collection holder or from a school).

All this and more is documented meticulously in words and pictures and is very readable. I also loved the inclusion of the 'My Chelsea' features scattered throughout the book. Here many of Chelsea's great 'personalities' - many of them from behind the scenes - say why the show is so special to them. I particularly enjoyed Jerry Harpur recalling how few photographers were in attendance when he first started. Now there's over 60 of them, all competing in a diminishing market for their pictures. It's just as well for them that Chelsea is one of the few times when gardening becomes mainstream media.

You've probably guessed I've enjoyed this book immensely, but might be wondering where it fits in my Chelsea sneak preview series, seeing it reflects very much on the past. That's because some of the photographs from the RHS's archive have been made into poster-sized exhibits for display throughout the showground. I'm very much looking forward to seeing them on Monday and hope my favourite one (see pages 32-33) is there.

If you like the look of this book, you can possibly get your hands on a copy as Karen is kindly giving hers away. She may not appreciate I've told you this as she's rather hoping she can keep it for herself ;)

Disclosure: I was given a copy of this book for review purposes.

Previous Sneak Previews for Chelsea 2013:

• Plant of the Centenary
• Gnomes