Chelsea Flower Show

[Tim Ingram]

This is an unusual one to put in, but having just received the Centennial Supplement with the latest 'The Garden' there are a few references to alpines and rock gardens. Brent Elliott's book on the history of the Chelsea Show looks to be really fascinating. Roy Lancaster nicely mentions the Alpine Garden Society at the end of his 50 years of reminiscences of visiting the Show, and a short piece by Brent Elliott on 'Rock Gardens at Chelsea' finishes with an avant-garde Australian Garden which looks as though it might have small baobabs in it! A bit of a way from what alpine gardeners might appreciate. I rather like John Brookes comment of the 'social superiority of the RHS itself' and that it was this 'whiff of privilege' that provided the clientele for the garden designer. Alpine gardening and plantsmen now are more individual than those with the large rock gardens of the past. So this inevitably has an impact on how such plants are seen and used at Chelsea. One of the nicest pictures is of Beth Chatto and her stand in the late 1970's, and I remember being captivated by the last display she did in the '80's. Chelsea is a curious mix of the wonderful and skilled and ridiculous and over the top - and alpines can only fall into the first category.

[Tim Ingram]

I've put this here rather than the Chelsea 2013 thread because it relates directly to a review of Brent Elliott's book on the Chelsea Flower Show: viz.:-

'Chelsea has changed immensely over the years, except for one thing: the picture of 1932's Sundries Avenue on page 42 looks almost exactly the same today (apart from the clothes worn by the exhibitors). We have the alpine societies to thank for today's show gardens. It was they who pioneered taking their 'table top' displays outside the show tent and showcasing their plants in large rock gardens built especially for the RHS' pre-Chelsea Spring shows. That tradition continued into the new Chelsea venue and part of the show garden area today is still called the Rock Garden Embankment even though they've long gone. I wonder what the alpine societies make of their legacy today?'

I wonder? Can you imagine alpine/rock plants being used in an outdoor display again? Do the alpine societies have the imagination and confidence to consider such a display, and would gardeners be interested in it? It could be a forerunner to some proper media coverage of these fascinating plants and how important we think they are.

[brianw]

Although it is a somewhat biased view of the show, (royalty mostly) put Chelsea flower show into the search box on the British Pathe website and look at the different years. How garden styles have changed.
http://www.britishpathe.com/search/query/chelsea+flower+show

[Tim Ingram]

Brian - many thanks for that; yes the garden styles have changed and the fashion of those visiting. I have always found Chelsea most interesting for the individual plants and the nurseries in the Marquee, as many plantspeople will say. But sometimes the gardens can be beautiful and relatively natural (and 'realistic', i.e: in terms of what can translate to your own garden) and I think alpine and woodland gardens exemplify this better than any others - they appeal to the plantsperson and garden-maker in equal measure. This is where the outdoor gardens can really score and perhaps be closer to the aspirations of the so called 'average' gardener; viz.: the gardener whose garden is not so large but still finds plants of absorbing interest. Hence why I would like to see an outdoor 'alpine' garden one day. After all the plants and how to grow them well don't really change from generation to generation; the fundamentals are the same, its only fashion and interest that change. The way the plants are shown off - in the same way as are the visitors who come to the Show!