Although it is the stunning floral and ornamental designs that many keen gardeners attend the RHS Chelsea Flower Show to see, the event has always attracted innovation, whether it’s using varieties of moss or grasses to incorporating technology such as QR codes.
This year it’s the turn of fruit and vegetable plants to delight and surprise visitors from 21-25 May with award-winning gardener Adam Frost creating a space for DIY chain Homebase around the theme of ‘Sowing the Seeds of Change’. The garden will feature organic vegetables, fruit and salads mixed in with roses and herbaceous varieties, the idea being to encourage people to take an eclectic approach to their own garden design.
“I think a lot of people are put off growing vegetables. It can be difficult but I think if they are encouraged to have a go it can be done,” says Frost.
“The idea is to take it slow, experiment a little and start with a small section and build upon that. We want the garden to be there for everyone, especially for young people who don’t seem to connect with the outdoors as much as when I was a child. Gardening is not just for retired people, it’s for any age and for all classes and that’s what we hope people take away from this design.”
Meanwhile, fresh produce comes back to the former wholesale site and now shopping destination Covent Garden Market is part of the fringe Chelsea Flower Show.
In association with Crabtree and Evelyn, Covent Garden will be converting part of the Piazza into a tranquil space designed by gardener Emma Coleman around the traditional aesthetic of a herb garden, with a crab apple tree as a central feature.
Back at the main show grounds at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, champagne house Laurent-Perrier will be unveiling its contemporary take on a romantic garden created by Swedish garden designer Ulf Nordfjell.
The design is inspired by the work of Nicole de Vésian’s famous garden La Louve in Provence, France and Ulla Molin’s private garden in Höganäs Sweden but will incorporate perennials commonly found in English gardens.
“I have tried to offer an insight into gardening history through my design, while translating the garden into something that is uniquely mine – modern minimalism with a touch of romance,” adds Nordfjell. RHS Show Gardens judge Roger Platts has designed a garden for M&G Investments, headline sponsor of the show, that embraces both new and traditional garden features; from modern sculpture to planting threaded with historical shrubs popular in the 1900s.
Platts says: “The theme of the garden reflects on the history of British gardens over the past hundred years, but also focuses on the consistent elements. It is a garden designed to capture what every visitor to Chelsea, whether in 1913 or 2013, would love to take home with them and is designed to bloom throughout the show week.”
Once again it appears that the show has something for all gardeners and hopefully will inspire both young and old to incorporate more edible plants within their own slices of greenery. —
