Dave and I went to the Chelsea Flower Show yesterday, probably the UK's single most famous gardening event. It's so popular that tickets can be hard to come by -- we got them through our membership in the Royal Horticultural Society, a gift from one of Dave's colleagues at work.
I had never heard of Chelsea before I moved to England, but here it is quite the thing.
Royalty was present, at least in cutout form. (The queen did attend earlier.) I took this photo and realized only afterwards that those two ladies on the other side were posing for me.
The royal visage hovered over all of us...
...and over all the floral displays, like these proteas from South Africa.
Dave and I wandered through the great hall -- packed with exhibits by growers of specific types of plants -- and around the grounds, where vendors were selling everything from garden statuary to gazebos and treehouses.
We popped into the cafe and had coffee (Dave) and a Pimm's (me) overlooking the Thames. We joked that we should have worn t-shirts reading "FLOWERS SUCK" -- just to be provocative.
We saw the huge display of crocheted poppies between the show grounds and the old Royal Hospital. It's meant as a tribute to the armed forces, kind of like the installation in 2014 at the Tower of London.
And of course we saw the show gardens, which are quite amazing and unlike anything we're ever likely to have at home. It's interesting to see how the garden designers use certain plants and colors and shapes to have the desired effect. (We loved that orange flower in the lower right -- I have no idea what it is. A zinnia, maybe?)
Still, after we got home from all the hustle and bustle we agreed that our own peaceful garden was our favorite!
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