Chelsea Flower Show 2013: The Gardens

So I quickly learned that on Press Day 

the international media

is mostly there for the celebrities

which was good news for me as

the garden designers were hanging around their installments, ready to chat :)

by Birmingham City Council

So here were my top picks...

'A Hebridean Weaver's Garden'

To be set in the 1950's on the Outer Hebrides islands of Scotland,

this installment shows the traditional making of Harris Tweed

with hand dyed and hand spun wool

Notice the crooked tree you would see on the islands due to high winds?

I love the little brook and

the traditional blackhouse with its aerodynamic roof line and rocks to hold it down 

The original theme and attention to detail are magnificent

Another favorite was

'The Garden Of Magical Childhood'

Raise your hand if you'd like to see this in your backyard :)

So loving those wooden mushrooms and 

the little pond in the grass with hand painted wishes on rocks

- so sweet -

The garden depicts a tea party taking place under a tree house,

designed to encourage viewers to reflect on the preciousness of childhood

Unlike the Show Gardens section,

the Artisan Garden designers cannot excavate

so they placed a horse chestnut tree in the middle of the fort

and built the slope around it

The ivy growing up the tree house was planted first 

to give it time to grow and look more natural

I think any child would love to spend a few hours in this lovely spot

and this magical retreat looks like it has been there forever

(which is tricky with only 5 days to put it together)

As to the only flower requiring guards,

the Lady's Slipper orchid was hiding in the corner at

Le Jardin De Yorkshire

This beauty is a success story of scientists at Kew Gardens 

bringing this girl back from the brink of extinction

The orchid continues to be the rarest wildflower in Britain

and is being reintroduced in the north of England, including Yorkshire

Like the Chelsea Flower Show,

the Tour de France is celebrating its 100th year too

and teamed up with Welcome To Yorkshire

to promote the Tour de France riding through Yorkshire next summer

two guards protect orchid (see arrow)

Let's now go inside the Great Pavilion,

where I was particularly taken by the unusual hanging amaryllis display

by W.S. Warmenhoven (Holland)

Attached with metal cuffs and secured with wires,

these hollow amaryllis stems will be hand watered just one more time this week

from above

Wouldn't this be a fun idea for a wedding or garden fete?

And for something really different,

check out this red poppy from China

 - Meconopsis punicea -

which is related to the gorgeous and rare blue poppy

(seen in background)

But wait, there's more!

I'm just getting warmed up :)

Check out this carefully excavated apple tree

And as always, a stunning display of orchids

by Thailand's Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden

Working with 50,000 orchids, lots of Oasis and wire 

this amazing display came together

with the help of fifteen people over five days

Nearby, 

Paignton Zoo showed their version of past and future gardening

A classic English garden on the left contrasts with an artificial biome on the right

At Paignton Zoo in Devon, crops are grown hydroponically (soil-free) onsite to feed the animals

Sounding futuristic, trays of crops are placed on conveyor belts to sunlight and feeding stations

But for me, here was the show-stopper...

This dress!!

Just look at the exquisite detail,

made from fresh flowers, foliage and ferns

So dreamy

Okay, I will let your floral heart have a rest

Such deliciousness, no?

I have one more Chelsea post coming your way soon

Don't miss it :)

- photos by me -

More Chelsea Flower Show 2013 posts:

Press Day!

Chelsea Flower Show 2013: Press Day!

In January I applied for a press pass

for the 2013 RHS Chelsea Flower Show

I had to submit previous Chelsea Flower Show articles I had written

(fortunately I had covered it for the last two years on my blog)

And my request was approved in March

It was an unforgettable day!

Here, pull up a chair :)

I bee-lined it to the Press Tent to collect the 'Photocall Schedule'

which listed where celebrities would be at appointed times for photo ops

It had me running around the grounds like a scavenger hunt - too fun!

First I saw Emilia Fox at Prince Harry's

B&Q Sentebale Forget-Me-Not Garden

then Dame Helen Mirren at the Burncoose stand in the Great Pavilion

followed by Ringo Starr opening the WaterAid Garden
with his wife Barbara Bach

I missed Helena Bonham Carter by a few minutes
at the 'As Nature Intended' garden

Lots of local celebrities were walking around

and a photographer would ask them if s/he could take their photo

My friend, Suzy, is my garden partner-in-crime 

She usually accompanies me on most of my gardening shoots

and we've always gone to the Chelsea Flower Show together in the past

This year we were separated as I had a solo press pass,

and she worked the gala event at the Chelsea Flower Show just a few hours after I'd left

Although Prince Harry didn't turn up for 'my' Press Day yesterday, 

he did show up at 'Suzy's' gala event last night

Garden designer Jinny Blom with Camilla, Prince Charles, Prince Harry
at B&Q Sentebale Forget-Me-Not Garden

The Queen looking lovely in lavender

Prince Harry teamed with B&Q to highlight his charity, Sentebale,

which cares for vulnerable children affected by HIV in Lesotho

(Prince Harry did his gap year in Lesotho)

Jinny Blom not only designed this garden,
but also designed the 'Healing Garden' with Prince Charles
for the Chelsea Flower Show in 2002

I can't wait to show you more gardens

Watch for my next post ;)

- photos 1-6 by me 
7 & 8 by Suzy Wood -

More Chelsea Flower Show 2013 Posts:

The Gardens

Reporting From The Chelsea Flower Show...

I am off to the Chelsea Flower Show tomorrow

Celebrating its 100th anniversary,

the grandest flower show on earth is this week

(photo from last year)

Armed with a press pass in hand for the private 'celebrity day',

I may catch a glimpse of Prince Harry due to his involvement 

in Sentebale's 'Forget Me Not' Garden

and who knows who else I'll see :)

It is speculated that due to Prince Harry's participation,

tickets sold out in record time this year

and scalpers are asking a whopping £500 per ticket

I'm excited to view the Lady's Slipper, 

Britain's rarest orchid, which has security surrounding it

And there are sure to be stunning and innovate installments

which never disappoint year after year

I can't wait to share it all with you :)

Stay tuned over the next couple of days

for unforgettableness :)

- photo by me -

Source: The Telegraph

More Chelsea Flower Show 2013 posts:

Press Day!
The Gardens

To Do London: Jamie Oliver Cooking Class

Jamie Oliver has taken the world by storm

with his cookbooks, television shows, and products

Passionate about improving the quality of food in schools,

he also is excited about his cooking classes offered

in his Recipease cafes/storefronts

- two London locations, one in Brighton -

We selected the Vietnamese Street Food class 

which lasted 1.5 hours

In this gorgeous venue

we prepared our meal from scratch 

with an interesting blend of fresh ingredients

This is what we made

[Photo from Recipease website]

Not only was the food delicious,

but the vibe was really fun

all under the guidance of a professional chef

(not Jamie, unfortunately)

With many menus from which to choose,

I'll be back to Recipease to whip up some more yummy dinner ideas

First photo by me

(an unsponsored post)

English Bluebell Beauties

Growing in ancient forests,

the bluebells are at their peak right now

A breathtaking blue mist
carpeting the forest floor...

The English bluebell is a protected species

found happily growing in ancient woodlands

and particularly fond of blooming under beech trees

And it is well known fact they attract little fairies :)

English bluebells have a graceful curve to their stalks 

due to the weight of their flowers lying on the same side of the stalk

Spanish bluebells are more upright, mainly in gardens, and tend to be more invasive

This year was the first time I'd seen these girls under a cloudless sky,

and, my, how they emitted the most heavenly sweet scent 

released by the warmth of sunlight

With half the bluebell population residing in Britain,

you may not need to travel far to drink in all this deliciousness

Glug, glug :)

- all photos by me -

The Polo Season

Savoring local sports, 

we made our way

to a polo match

Knowing nothing about the sport,

we were happy we brought a smartphone

to educate ourselves during the day

We were surprised by how casual the event was

and that some of the teams were co-ed

We sat in metal bleachers

and bought our food/drink from the nearby caravans

Costing just £5 for the 'picnic ticket',

we found it to be very affordable

The announcer had hilarious commentary

We even helped with 'divot stomping' at half-time

just like in the film 'Pretty Woman'

All in all,

a great way to spend a few hours with the family

- photos by me -

Venue: Ham Polo Club

(an unsponsored post)

Giddy For Spring

Spring has arrived!

Lifting everyone's spirits

from such a long dreary winter,

everyone has a new spring in their step

This brave neighbor filled a bed with Forget-Me-Nots

I suppose they are so easy to pull out of the ground

and happy to reseed, 

why not?

Beeeaaauuutttifulllll!

This is a long holiday weekend

and the sun is shining,

so I'm running out the door to be outside...

Have a great weekend!

- photo by me -

From Wigs To Windows

Ever wonder why those 18th century wigs went out of fashion?

Here's a good little story...

George III (wikipedia)

The fashion in the day for men was horsehair (or goat) wigs,

which tended to be scratchy and bug infested

They were powdered with finely ground starch

scented with orange flower, lavender or orris root

When the government started to tax wigs to help fund

the American War of Independence,
men started to ditch the wigs
and just powder their own hair by the 1780s

In 1795, the government taxed the powder,

and out went the wig and powder fashion all together

Meanwhile, another interesting tax sprang up

which you still see evidence of in England 

and other European countries today

The Window Tax

Introduced by King William III in 1696,

this unpopular tax was seen as taxing 'light and air'

The thought was 

the bigger the house, the more windows it would have,

thus the more tax the occupants would pay

A house with fewer than twenty windows could escape the window tax

This tax was easy to access from the street by tax collectors

so occupants started to brick up their windows

Although the window tax was repealed in 1851

under Queen Victoria,

you still see evidence of it today

The horsehair wigs,

not so much

:)

- photo by me -

Source: Wikipedia 1, 2

A Brief History of St James's Park

St James's Park is
the oldest Royal Park in London,

the first Royal Park to be open to the public,

and it is one of the most visited parks in Europe today

 

The park is surrounded by three palaces

- St. James's, Westminster, and Buckingham -

and often has beautifully landscaped borders

Originally the park was a marshy meadow

where the River Tyburn often flooded on its way to the River Thames

Pigs grazed the land with farms and woodland in the area

 

In the thirteenth century, a leper hospital for women opened
(and gave the park its namesake)

 

Like the conversion of Hyde Park,

King Henry VIII turned the land into another deer park in 1536

with a hunting lodge that later became St. James's Palace

 

Later, King James I brought minor changes to the park

including keeping exotic birds, camels, crocodiles, and an elephant in the park

 

King Charles II acquired Green Park so he could walk
from Hyde Park to St James’s Park without leaving royal soil

 

Then in 1827 the Prince Regent (later George IV) commissioned
John Nash to design the park in a naturalistic fashion which included
winding paths, converting the canal into a lake,

and replacing Charles II's formal, French-inspired plantings to something more fashionable

The landscape design has changed little since Nash’s time

Earlier trees were burned for fuel or
accidentally burned due to out-of-control fireworks,

therefore, many of the plane trees (in the Sycamore family)
you see today in the park were planted during the 1827 redesign

In 1837, the Ornithological Society of London gifted the park various birds

The position of bird keeper and cottage (below) remain today

And those fabulous pelicans?

In 1664, the Russian Ambassador gave pelicans as a gift for the park

Just last month the City of Prague gave the park three Great White pelicans,
increasing the pelican population to six

They can be seen feeding between 2:30p and 3:00p daily

It's reported that there once was a naughty pelican
who would fly to the London Zoo to steal fish for lunch
and then return to the park

This one looks a little suspicious
:)

all photos by me

Source: The Royal Parks

(an unsponsored post)

Day Out With The Girls

A friend and I had

the perfect day with our daughters

last week

I'm not a fan of musicals,

but Matilda is the best one I've seen EVER

Based on a Roald Dahl story,

this musical oozes talent and creativity

About a girl who is mistreated by her parents and headmistress,

this dark story has a happy ending 

with snappy tunes, amazing sets, and delightful choreography along the way

We started our day off right at Sanderson Hotel

with their Mad Hatter's Tea

Complete with marshmallow mushrooms, 'Drink Me' juice, and other fun (and delicious) bites,

my daughter had a hard time deciding if she liked the musical or the afternoon tea best

I'd say it was a tie

Such a great day!

- all photos by me -

Laura Porter's review of Mad Hatter's Tea here

(an unsponsored post)