So as I said…..I was on my way to the Chelsea Flower Show…..where I thought the Seedilp Garden designed by Dr Catherine MacDonald, featuring ‘species from The Art of Distillation‘ in the Artisan section to be the most beguiling of all the show gardens this time around.  And not just because I’m fascinated with the idea of distillation (Georgina….I hope you’re making progress with that contraption!).  The presentation of the concept and array of delicate flowers and foliage ‘relevant to both modern and ancient herbal medicine’, so exquisitely placed to tumble around the installation of copper pipework was simply exquisite.

I’m sorry my images here just don’t do it justice….oh but it is so difficult to photograph anything with the crowds!  And so I’m not even going to show you my image of James Basson’s controversial winning garden, which to be honest I found rather fascinating, if soul-less (disappointing given how much I loved his Provencal garden a couple years ago). But my pics just aren’t worth showing you :(

The other beauty was Sarah Raven’s ‘Anneka Rice Colour Cutting Garden’ for the BBC Radio 2 Feel Good Gardens. But my pics are dreadful so I’m not going there either!

So I took myself off to look at all the lovely glasshouses (dream on!), planters of zinc and stone, gates of oak, sculptures of all kinds, mosaics and fabulous water features and all the fun of the Eastern Avenue, with stands of everything relating to the garden you can think of (and a lot more besides….eg. my fave British designers Moloh), before heading for the Grand Pavillion which contained everything you can imagine…..from displays of delphiniums to lilies, orchids to bromeliads, alliums to strawberries and pelargoniums to ferns. From succulents to……

Potatoes……!!!! 

and Begonias :)

OK, so I took a lot of photos of Begonias, but there were so many beauties!!

But can someone please get hold of this variety of Ensete Ventricosa for me here?  It’s two years since I first saw a specimen at the Journees des Plantes de Coursan and now here it is at Chelsea (and I saw half a dozen for sale at Longwood in the US too, so pleeeeeease.….can we get one here?).  

You see this is what Chelsea is really all about – presenting the best of all that is available and creating a massive eruption of ‘I want’ syndrome!!!Oh but it was fun…..even if I can’t have!