Chelsea is just around the corner and being as this show changed my life, I feel this pull every year to be there if not in person then by spirit and Internet.  I had an offer to take a tour group to the show and other gardens around England with the Landscape Institute here in Boston, but it fell though as the economy has few students able or willing to pay for such a trip.  Hopefully maybe next year.  If you haven’t been to Chelsea, it is something that I highly recommend for any garden or design minded person.  It is simply the best place to be in May.

This year, I am so excited to see the blog’s of designers and hear them talk about the lead up and construction for their displays. It seems to me that this is as interesting as the completed works. Show garden building is the ultimate in staging, over the top design, and time pressured stress. Total drama.
As I look over the list of designers this year, I notice only a couple names I know…have I been away too long (from England) or is this the year of the newcomers?  Absent are the big names of recent years (Stuart-Smith, Lennox-Boyd, Sturgeon, Gavin, West, McDowell, Bloom,etc. etc.) .  I am so excited to see who comes away with ‘best in show’ as it seems it could be a wide open field.
So I am watching this everyday…reading all the blogs and bringing you the best and most interesting….it’s all over in a couple weeks.

Here is a link to the RHS Chelsea Blogs page.   There are a full range of characters there talking about the lead up….growers, designers, show organizers…it is a fun read.

Image by naughtonlucy

Oh – and one more thing…and I just don’t know what to say about this…Chelsea is to me steeped in tradition.  You dress nice (perhaps even wear a hat), if you are serious, you buy your tickets in January and go on opening day, you drink Pimms or G&T…..so this is a bit of a break from the mold…There is a new cocktail drink at Chelsea!!

It sounds lovely…here is the recipe…

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show Cocktail
25ml Tanqueray gin
25ml Kwai Feh lychee liqueur
25ml cranberry juice
10ml cranberry syrup
Dash orange bitters
Ruinart Rosé champagne

Shake the gin, lychee liqueur, cranberry juice, cranberry syrup and orange bitters in a Boston Shaker. Double strain into a cocktail glass. Top up with Ruinart Rosé champagne. Garnish with a Singapore orchid.

Doesn’t it look delicious…