The plants, flowers and fashions wowed the crowds at this year's Chelsea - but how can you create these stunning looks in your own garden?
This year’s Chelsea certainly packed a punch! But what can we take from it? With their impressive designs and focus on breaking new trends, flower shows have been criticised for not being relatable to your average home gardener.
Of course, it isn't called a show for 'nothin! The dazzling displays there push boundaries and take expert teams months to create but there are certainly elements we can take away and transfer to our own patch, no matter how modest in size.
Colour, colour, colour!
Bright colour was prevalent in many of the show gardens and this can be taken as inspiration for our own spaces. Enlivening and stirring, they can provide energy and prove that gardens can be exciting as well as relaxing.
Water, water, everywhere
Water played a leading role in this year’s best gardens with running streams, cascading fountains, gentle still pools and shooting jets all making an appearance.
Whilst water is essential for growth, too much or too little can have dramatic consequences and climate change was an issue in the spotlight. In the Urban Flow Garden by Tony Woods, we were shown how to cope with excess water and what plants thrive in wet conditions. The M&G Garden by Sarah Price delivered a dry arid environment and depicted the beauty that can be cultivated there and The Pearlfisher scheme designed by Karen Welmand and John Warland created a stunning underwater garden.
Giant sculpture
From a large blue Perspex head at The Myeloma UK Garden by Jon Everiss and Francesca Murrrell, softened with plants to settle it into the space. The Wedgewood Garden by Jo Thompson, had a large twisted metal sculpture at its heart, with rusted chains allowing the light to dapple through to the seating area below.
Be brave and include sculpture in your gardens. Chelsea has shown us how it can be used as a focal point and how plants interact with pieces so that they feel integral to the space. It doesn’t have to cost the earth either, even a large piece of rock can provide this element of gravitas or look out for odd pieces at a junkyard or salvage centre and that could become art in your own space.
The best plants and flowers at Chelsea
Most of the plants used are readily available to the amateur and are not difficult to grow, such as Foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea), which had self-seeded all over the show! Here are some suggestions to try at home.
Lupin
The most widely featured plant at Chelsea this year was the statuesque Lupin and here we see purple (Lupinus ‘Masterpiece’) contrasting with white (Lupinus ‘Noble Maiden’ or ‘Polar Princess’) and a strong, orangey pink (Lupinus ‘Beefeater’) illuminating the background.
They can easily be sown from seed early in spring and grown on for planting outside when they are more established. This will help them in the battle against slugs and snails who find them rather irresistible. The foliage itself is gorgeous, water droplets balance on their palmate leaves and the flower spikes rise majestically from May to July.
There are many different types providing an array of heights and colours. They are a hardy perennial so will return each year. They do well in full sun or partial shade and like well-drained soil, you may want to incorporate some organic matter or horticultural sand to heavy clay soils. If you want flowers now, hit the garden centre and splash out; they will repay you 10 fold in wow factor.
Euphorbia x martini and Alchemilla mollis
Zingy lime green shouts spring and also fabulously sets off other colours within a border. Here both Euphorbia x martini and Alchemilla mollis is used. Both of these perennials do well in sun or part shade although Alchemilla can cope with full shade and is hardier. Euphorbias pictured above, have a milky sap that is an irritant so wear gloves when handling.
Aquilegia Ruby Port
Aquilegia Ruby Port is a favourite of Mark Gregory’s, its rich colour and delicate double flowers make it a cottage garden favourite. It is easy to grow on any soil in sun or part shade, reaching around 75 cm in height and is a clump forming herbaceous perennial which will happily self-seed. The seed heads themselves are decorative and you can sow to further your stock.
He has also incorporated bright blue Irises, deep purple Salvias with grasses such as Stipa tenuissima to provide a soft natural feel.
Geum
A Chelsea hot pick over the last few years and they are still going strong. Here Hay-Joung uses bright orange ‘Totally Tangerine’ and ‘Banana Daiquiri’ to add to the tonal range. Geums are a hardy perennial that like sun, will be happy in any soil and can flower from spring to summer if deadheaded.
Verbascum
Best in poor soil and full sun, Verbascum ‘Gainsborough’ can grow to 1.2metres tall, adding needed height to a border with beautiful yellow flowers during the summer. They are drought tolerant and thrive on a bit of neglect, just prune off dead flower heads after its done its thing. They are perennial but short-lived which means after a couple of years it’s time to find them a replacement.
Trollius
Rather like Buttercups on steroids, Troillus are another hardy clump-forming perennial. Also called Globeflower, these gorgeous yellow spheres balance atop a tall elegant stem. Spring and summer flowering they do well in sun or partial shade and on most soils but do prefer heavy wet clay. In the LG Eco-City design, we see ‘Lemon Queen’ and ‘Cheddar’.
Still hungry for more? Check out our ideas for small gardens.