Chelsea flower show

Chelsea was on my list of must dos before I was forty. We went on a coach trip which was very affordable (but this was over 30 years ago), with entrance included. It also included a day in Stratford.

£122 per ticket- I had a look and decided not to bother- with return travel, meals etc it would have been a very expensive day out. Went to Hampton Coutr once, it was heaving, and an extremely hot day- we took refuge in the walled garden which was as a bit cooler!

MartavTaurus

Is the thought that ticket prices aren't dissimilar to those of a London theatre ticket? You can stay all day at the flower show if you have the more expensive ticket, I think.

The new alliums from Holland were pretty.
The gynae cancer garden was well thought out and a relaxing space.

A gold medal for the Lady Garden. 🏅
"Silent no more".
A sad story behind it, but inspirational.

CanadianGran

I'm a bit jealous; we don't have any flower shows here! We have the BC Home and Garden show, but it's in February, all indoors, and is more of a exhibition by home builders than an actual garden show.

Our local garden club has an annual tour and tea that I look forward to. For your ticket, they give you a map to local gardens, where the owners host a small tour, then finish up with a tea at one of the houses. It is informal and it is nice to see local gardens and chat with the owners. They usually do 5 or 6 local gardens, and you go at your leisure.

We do this here too and I have visited some lovely, and unusual, local gardens.

I'm a bit jealous; we don't have any flower shows here! We have the BC Home and Garden show, but it's in February, all indoors, and is more of a exhibition by home builders than an actual garden show.

Our local garden club has an annual tour and tea that I look forward to. For your ticket, they give you a map to local gardens, where the owners host a small tour, then finish up with a tea at one of the houses. It is informal and it is nice to see local gardens and chat with the owners. They usually do 5 or 6 local gardens, and you go at your leisure.

I went last year my eldest Grandson treated me and came with me. The gardens were wonderful but I found it hard to relate to my own patch of garden everything looked complicated and expensive. The queues for food or even a cuppa were long but I did enjoy the day.

Susiewong65

Sadly I think the BBC has ruined it in so many ways making it overly commercial and in return rather elitist and expensive.
They’ve done the same to the Malvern show which was a reasonable price to enter when I used to visit many years ago.
It had a lovely vibe to it.
The small growers were a joy to do business with but then along came the BBC and hijacked it.
The small nurseries were priced out and it became expensive so I stopped going.

How has the BBC made the Chelsea show overly commercial or "hijacked " anything?

Excellent news, MartavTaurus!

I went with a friend last year, free tickets as another friend is an exhibitor, tbh I preferred Hampton Court which I went to the previous year. I will go to Badminton though just to see how it is and I did pop into Malvern Spring Show on the last day. It was incredibly cold and the best thing was the Floral tent. However, many of the small specialist growers won't be there next year as they have to be completely peat free. Sadly, they have been struggling (just like us) to find a good peat free medium and it's given them big problems so they have decided not to adopt a peat free growing completely. The floral tent won't be the same although many of the growers have started or joined a group called NEO and hopefully they will still be at shows that are not RHS ones.

Allira

Hampton Court Flower Show is not on this year - back in 2027!
It is being held in Badminton this year.

Yes, I think the RHS are trying to get more shows to places further afield.
I went to the Sandringham Flower show last year, and in fact did meet Charles purely by chance!
It was very much a local flower show and was charming. This year it’s been taken over by the RHS, I’m not going, but I wonder how it will be perceived.

I laughed at Monica Galetti's comment that she loved gardening but her garden didn't always love her!

I enjoyed that, too. Know the feeling, Monica!

REKA

I'm just thrilled to see gnomes are being allowed this year

I was in a hardware shop this morning and the assistants said they were constantly being asked for gnomes today!!

merlotgran

Without the glitz, glamour, celebrities, TV coverage and royal patronage the growers and showers wouldn’t be able to get their own financial support and firms like Landrover wouldn’t spend millions in sponsorship.
Everyone wants a return on their investment.

I’m so thankful that although Chelsea has become a commercial giant I get the chance to watch the extensive coverage from the comfort of my armchair

I agree, a lot of the celebrities are genuinely keen on gardens and if that encourages others, all well and good.
I laughed at Monica Galetti's comment that she loved gardening but her garden didn't always love her!
Long may Chelsea conitinue

I'm just thrilled to see gnomes are being allowed this year

Hampton Court Flower Show is not on this year - back in 2027!
It is being held in Badminton this year.

Like you Witzend I prefer Hampton Court, with bonus of wandering round their gardens.
We stopped going to Chelsea a couple of years ago. It was impossible to see the gardens properly as you can’t actually get into many of them, unlike watching on TV.
Also there were a lot of ‘corporate ‘ visitors, even on members days, who propped up the outdoor bars and were very loud.
The food stations were crowded as well, even though our last visit was on a hot sunny day.
Just negotiating the crowds was exhausting.

We used to be very lucky, in that for several years in a row we had free tickets. After going at least twice with dh I’d give the tickets away, or take a friend.

On the last occasion I took a colleague who’d been very unlucky in many ways, both family and health worries. . We both lived not too far away, so could get there via free public transport.

But it was a miserable day, chilly and raining on and off - the main marquees were absolutely heaving, and we couldn’t find anywhere undercover - and out of the drizzle, to have lunch, the one or two places we found were already packed.
So disappointing - not so much for me, as for her.

If we’d paid £££ for tickets, and for travel on top, I would have been seriously furious at the lack of enough covered places to eat. It’s not as if May weather is consistently reliable!

I haven’t been for a few years but can thoroughly recommend the Hampton Court Flower Show (or whatever they call it now) - usually in July, when at least it’s likely to be warmer! - and there is SO much more space for spreading out. Chelsea can feel terribly crowded even at the best of times.

Without the glitz, glamour, celebrities, TV coverage and royal patronage the growers and showers wouldn’t be able to get their own financial support and firms like Landrover wouldn’t spend millions in sponsorship.
Everyone wants a return on their investment.

I’m so thankful that although Chelsea has become a commercial giant I get the chance to watch the extensive coverage from the comfort of my armchair

Susiewong65 the RHS set the prices, I don’t see why it’s the fault of the BBC?

Seconding your Harrogate Flower Show suggestion Greyduster. We look forward to it every year and always have a fun day. We have been to Chelsea twice. It is a very different experience as lots of people are very dressed up and view it as a social event to see and be seen - lots of Pimms and cocktail drinking rather than purely a gardening show. Setting off at 6am and home at 11pm makes it a long day though we enjoyed the camaraderie on the train and underground. If anyone is going to Chelsea I’d advise taking a decent packed lunch and plenty of water as the food is extortionate and the queues are massive!

I’m hoping to see the Japanese garden planting in a bit of depth. Mine is nearly finished (about 100 times smaller😊) but I do need ideas about plant around the water fall. I think maybe the forest grass but not sure what to plant alongside.

For those who live further North, the Harrogate Spring and Autumn Flower shows are always a wonderful day out. Pre booked tickets for the Autumn show are £24.

My dearest friend - now departed always, alongside another friend had a stand in the flower arrangement section. I used to help her get stuff together. Always good fun.

Haven’t been to Chelsea since. My problem now would be finding a seat when I got tired.

I’m a bit underwhelmed by the show gardens this year but I’ll probably change my mind later in the week.
Nice to see Georgie Newbury, the Flower Farmer, has a stand promoting British grown cut flowers. I’ve been a fan for years and her Flower Farmer’s Year is my bible.
I love Chelsea week.

Years ago I went with my husband .. we sat in the Pimms tent for most of our time !!!!