The beautiful weather was the perfect start to the first opening day of RHS Chelsea Flower Show on Monday. The picturesque show gardens and the ways in which the designers are able to transform a blank canvas into something spectacular. This year, there are many different themes that run prominently throughout, which include the First World War, gardens from around the world, sculptures, sustainability, fashion, and the focus of new talent in the gardening world.
With lots going on from RHS Chelsea, we thought we would share just some of the highlights from the first few days with you.
Poppies and Poems
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the First World War, many garden designers have chosen to base their show gardens around the theme of World War 1. This includes the garden named Enlightenment, with the incorporation of giant poppies and reconstructions of trenches to capture life on the front line.
Rowan Atkinson also paid his respects through participating in a poetry reading, sharing poems that were written from those that were on the front line.
Winners for 2014
This year’s winners have been announced with 26 year old Hugo Bugg breaking RHS Chelsea history by being the youngest ever garden designer to win gold. His environmentally conscious 'rain garden' has been praised for it's sophistication through incorporating the underlying theme of the sustainability of water.
Gardens from Around the World
As well as celebrating traditionally English gardens, this year’s Chelsea incorporates traditional landscape architecture from around the world, with gardens ranging from Italian, Spanish, Nordic, Persian, Japanese, Himalayan and American styles. The variation from garden to garden is breathtaking, allowing you to become immersed in tropical and exotic garden design elements from many different cultures.
Fashionable Gardens
Fashion also plays a large part in this year’s Chelsea, with designers focusing on the incorporation of fabric into their gardens. The Gucci Garden, reflects this aspect celebrating their Flora fabric design scarf designed by Vittorio Accornero in homage to Princess Grace of Monaco.
New Talent
This year’s Chelsea has a great focus on new talent and the development of careers in horticulture and other garden architectural related fields. Many elements have been included that reflect the rising interest in horticultural studies from the younger generation.
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