One of London’s most incredible annual events is the Chelsea Flower Show, which is hosted within walking distance of our flat. Several hundred thousand people visit this incredible, indoor-outdoor show over five days. Outdoors, elite gardeners install elaborate bespoke gardens with flowers, greenery, water features, stone walls, furniture, and more… that showcase remarkable skill and creativity. Indoors, under a massive tent, gardeners and florists show off their most exquisite flowers and designs. Competition is fierce for the top awards.
This year’s Garden of the Year “aims to raise awareness of the fragility of rural landscapes, focusing on vulnerable spaces including ordinary fringe landscapes constantly under threat”, and was created in honor of the Campaign to Protect Rural England. (Many of the showcase exhibits were in support of a charity.) This garden includes an incredible larger-than-life carving, shown below: “a fallen tree sculpted into a guardian figure (Gaia or Mother Nature), whose hand touches water from a shallow pool while her willow hair flows to form the top of a dry-stone wall snaking through the naturalistic landscape.”
I snapped a few photos, shared in the photo gallery, though the show is truly a multi-sensory experience. If you ever have the chance, go!
David Kotz 