Chelsea Flower Show 2019: The Gardens

I've been watching the Chelsea Flower Show on TV for years but have always avoided going as I thought the crowds looked too much but when my mum suggested going as a birthday present I jumped at the chance. My birthday fell on the Wednesday so I figured it wouldn't be as crazy as it may have been over the weekend. The weather was perfect and the crowds weren't half as bad as I thought but I must admit it was a bit of a rugby scrum to see the gardens. So I've divided the post into two first showing you the gardens then inside the Great Pavillion

I hadn't made any plans and decided to follow my mum and her friend who have both been before. The crowds weren't too bad but it was a bit of a rugby scrum to see the gardens. I felt like I was in the pub and the queue was three people deep - you know that feeling right? Anyway first up (above) was the RHS garden - you can just see the H under the arch.... 

Now when I saw this garden on the TV I didn't think I'd seen it but clearly I did because here's the photo to prove it :) It was inspired by a Forgotten Quary but it obviously didn't make much of an impression on me! 

This was called the Green Switch and is a place for the designer, Mr Ishihara who comes over from Japan every year, to relax. The building in the back is a shower room and the building in the front was a place to listen to music with a space below for his motor bike. Again I'd seen this one on the TV and was suprised by how small it was! 

I liked the purple hues on this one which was celebrating 50 years of the Donkey Sanctuary. 

This little beauty was by Chris Beardshaw who's work I only know about as he's on the TV and Radio. 

I'd seen part of this one on the TV and it won People Choice. It's Mark Gregory's  Yorkshire Garden and reminded me of our trip on the Canal a couple of years ago. 

This one was sponsored by Dubai and I really liked the water feature and planting but was a bit too arid for my liking. 

Now above and two below was my favourite, and I think it was one of my mum's and her friend's favourites too but the pictures aren't that great. It was a garden for kids, the Montessori Centenary Children's garden to be precise and I thought it was wonderful 

I think I just loved the pops of colour. 

This one was one of two sponsored by a brand of gin but I liked that it had so many different levels, with the hospital in the background. 

This garden was inspired by a charity in Zimbabwe, I didn't really like it but I liked the ethos behind the idea. 

This one was sponsored by Facebook and had actual waves as if you were by the shoreline. I think the idea is to try and get people to look away from their screens for a time (says the lady writing a post about this online in the hope you'll read it!). I did like this but hadn't realised at the time it was the Facebook garden. 

Above was Andy Sturgeon's M&G garden which was very green. At the time Angelica Bell was filming towards the bottom of the garden which created a huge crowd, and then just as we had found a small space to see into the garden the designer turned up with a large group of people so we really didn't get to appreciate this one much. 

I think I heard that the leaf sculpture rotated but I'm afraid I didn't see it was move, but again I wasn't at the front long. 

I loved the planting in this one - so delicate and subtle but with the fun green hands and tiles it wasn't dull! 

I wasn't sure about this one which was celebrating Latin America sponsored by Trail Finders. I don't know why but it just didn't really grab me. 

And finally a small detail of the Wedgewood Garden which I really did like but again couldn't get a good angle. 

Now what about Kate's garden I hear you cry. Yes the Duchess had a garden which had a lot of hype but the hype meant EVERYONE wanted to see it and as it was the only garden you could walk through the queue was huge so we gave it a wide berth. So there you have it - I don't think I've covered all the gardens but you get the idea. I had such a lovely day and it's inpsired me to buy a ticket for Hampton Court Flower Show in July so I can compare the two!