Last week our own Martin Cowell visited the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and despite the typical British weather providing heavy rain, it was a day filled with ideas and inspiration!
The show gardens, as always, were breathtaking in their beauty, with carefully curated colour palettes and perfect plant pairings. Martin’s personal favourite was the National Garden Scheme garden, as the choice to use all white-toned flowers in a range of shapes and sizes was particularly striking. The open hazel trees provided a beautiful canopy shape over the planting, their multi-stemmed form weaving elegantly upwards.
The decision to keep the colour palette clean and minimal meant the garden had a calming, reflective quality, and looked to be an ideal place to relax and clear your mind. As it is designed to be a therapeutic garden for hospital patients, we can see this being a useful sanctuary when it is relocated to its designated hospital site.
The floral marquee was stunning. Martin always enjoys a visit to the Delphinium display in particular, as the statuesque forms and rich colours are a dramatic sight! The David Austin rose stand is also another highlight, with a beautiful array of flower forms, shades and fragrances. We are also excited to be stocking the brand new Emma Bridgewater rose which made its Chelsea debut, and is available for pre-order now.
The houseplant displays have been growing in popularity in recent years, and its clear to see that the growers put an incredible amount of effort into ensuring the plant foliage is faultless. They manage to find some inventive ways to show how a houseplant can fit into your home, too.
Lastly, Martin was particularly interested to see the mature specimens of some new plant breeder introductions in person, as we have recently stocked a few, with others on the way very soon. The form of the Mangave 'Praying Hands' was impressive, with its clean shape and symmetry. Although it may struggle over winter in our North East climate, regions further south in the UK should be able to keep this plant outdoors throughout the year. It will definitely bring a tropical look to your planting scheme.
We hope you were inspired by Chelsea this year!