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CHELSEA 2023

GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
It has arrived again, rewilding and sustainability are going to be big it would seem.
Are you looking forward to seeing these types of gardens, or do you crave the impossible budget busting gardens of years gone by? 

I used to hate seeing plants at Chelsea that don't grow naturally together for whatever reason, something that happens less these days 

What will be the top plant this year a buttercup maybe? Or do you crave the huge Delphiniums from Blackmore and Langdon?

The weather will be beautiful for the show. Then we could be facing another dry summer, if weeds grow well maybe it is time to embrace them.  Maybe a garden with drifts of dandelions and ground elder are the future for Chelsea. 


I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
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  • gjautosgjautos Posts: 429
    I doubt ground elder will ever feature. But I do like some rewilding, there's a place in most people's gardens for native plants. I have ox eye daisy, thrift, cow parsley, violets and a few others happily growing in my beds with other, non natives. The last couple of summers I've definitely seen an increase in insect numbers, and bird numbers who come to eat the insects. Its win-win for me. 
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @gjautos I think you may be right about the ground elder, although I beleve it is edible but very bitter.
    Will there be box plants featured  or will the show gardens look at alternatives only.

    In the future bamboo may also disappear from the shows too due to climate issues. 
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited May 2023
    I have always hated the show gardens - so unrealistic.  This year I will hate them for different reasons (perhaps).  At Chelsea-même you have to fight for the slightest peep, and then have to fight again for the next one. On TV you get the hype and the woke.

    The flower tents are better.  You had to dodge people with cameras, now everyone has one.  On TV you get Carol Klein, over made-over, and all that giggle-talk. But you can see something to interest you and Carols scipt is usually good.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • LG_LG_ Posts: 4,360
    I had no intention of going, as I enjoy Hampton Court and Chelsea is SO expensive. But a friend really wanted to go so I thought "why not?". It's been at least 20 years and I have to admit I'm hugely - unexpectedly - excited. I'm looking forward to Sarah Price's and Chris Beardshaw's gardens the most. And with any luck there won't be torrential, non-stop rain for the entire day as there was last time I was there.
    'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
    - Cicero
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I'm looking forward to Chris Beardshaw's garden too. I hope it is full of garden flowers, not a wild garden. I think there is too much emphasis on wild gardens now. A proper garden with lovely flowers has room for wildlife too and bees and pollinators like garden flowers too. Lawns have worms and other grubs for birds. Trees like crab apples and amalanchiers have food for birds too. There is a fashion nowadays for despising traditional gardens. 
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • gjautosgjautos Posts: 429
    I'm looking forward to Chris Beardshaw's garden too. I hope it is full of garden flowers, not a wild garden. I think there is too much emphasis on wild gardens now. A proper garden with lovely flowers has room for wildlife too and bees and pollinators like garden flowers too. Lawns have worms and other grubs for birds. Trees like crab apples and amalanchiers have food for birds too. There is a fashion nowadays for despising traditional gardens. 
    I guess it depends what you mean by traditional? I think my garden is fairly traditional. I have roses, dahlias and geum, they all grow amongst natives and shrubs. Traditions change, my grandparents had Bedding plants around a square lawn, traditional? But their grandparents had native plants and herbs growing amongst exotics (!) Like dahlias and roses. Neither is right or wrong, though I know which i prefer. Gardening is always changing, probably more so these days as we become more aware of the environment and also with seasons changing and temperatures going up. 
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    Unfortunately it would seem that to some people 'rewilding' actually means doing nothing to the garden and allowing brambles etc to take over their own garden and spread to all adjoining gardens.  You may wish to replace 'brambles' with any fast growing and invasive weed.  I have absolutely no problem with people developing bug and beastie friendly gardens but they still need to be managed.
  • gjautosgjautos Posts: 429
    KT53 said:
    Unfortunately it would seem that to some people 'rewilding' actually means doing nothing to the garden and allowing brambles etc to take over their own garden and spread to all adjoining gardens.  You may wish to replace 'brambles' with any fast growing and invasive weed.  I have absolutely no problem with people developing bug and beastie friendly gardens but they still need to be managed.
    Thankfully I'm yet to see that. Agree completely though about managing. Actually a native garden probably needs more work to stop the plants taking over. 
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    edited May 2023
    When it comes to planting Chris Beardshaw's gardens are sublime. If I am watching on TV I can freeze the picture and just take in his incredible skill.
    I visited Chelsea many years ago when Dan Pearson won best in show with a roof garden. It was a very wet friday and amazingly you could see everything, even if it was muddy. It helps to be tall too.
    I think we should praise the nurseries that exibit too exhausting work.

    Yep surely another Gold for Chris Beardshaw stunning planting and very clever design I love it.

    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    Love Chelsea and would go again like a shot, if I was fit enough.
    People forget that it is a SHOW, it is theatre, it is not supposed to be real.

    I also disagree that it is hard to see the Show Gardens, people move along quite quickly, and I never found getting a good view a problem.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
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