Having previously visited the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2016 for the first time, I decided to visit the show again this year as I had some days to use and the weather was nice. I visited on the Thursday and also paid to have lunch at the Ranelagh Restaurant on site, which I had to book in advance and received a four course meal and half of a bottle of wine. I'll cover my lunch and the gardens and also some of the vendor displays in this post.
The first garden (pictured below) was the National Garden Scheme, and the garden appears to be at the edge of a woods. The theme is woodland gardens, which are good for wellbeing and celebrates the charity. There is a wooden hut at the end of the garden with woodland plants.
The Octavia Hill Garden by Blue Diamond with National Trust is a silver winner and winner of the People's Choice, possibly due to the bright colours. The garden promotes wellbeing and is designd to be put into a housing estate. It features several seating areas.
The Terrence Higgins Trust Bridge to 2030 garden is based upon a quarry landscape with stone bridges and ledges over water features. It is inspired by the slate landscapes of northern Wales. The garden won silver gilt.
The Stoke Association's Garden for Recovery was built to be included in a hospital area as a relaxing and calm place to visit. Water sounds and flowers with fragrance help the senses, and the designer of the garden used stories from survivors. The garden won bronze.
The Muscular Dystrophy Garden (Forest Bathing Garden) is an immersive but accessible garden inspired by Japanese tree-bathing in the atmosphere to awaken our senses to nature. This garden won gold and also "best in show".
The below garden is RHS Britain in Bloom 60th Anniversary and is known as the Friendship Garden. It celebrates all of the friendships that have come together and bonded over gardening. It also raises awareness to use products that are good for the environment.
The garden below is the Killik & Co "Money Doesn't Grow on Trees" Garden. It features an area for people to sit and relax, and the flowers are fragranced. It should be a communal gathering place. This garden won the silver gilt award.
RHS Chelsea Repurposed garden is built as a sustainable garden, and everything in the garden has been repurposed from some material that has been used at least once. The pathways and bricks are made of repurposed demolished buildings.
The RHS "No Adults Allowed" garden was designed by children for children. The garden encourages exploration and different landscape types (woodland, meadows, and wetland). The middle of the garden has a small lodge with water pool for children to enjoy and learn about nature.
The Burma Skincare Spirit of Partnership Garden is focused on people with skin conditions, and this garden was built to be sustainable. It features a Burmese house made with recycled products. The garden won the gold award and best sanctuary garden.
The St. James Piccadilly "Imagine the World to be Different" garden inspires to influence urban green spaces. An archway steps into the garden as a paradise of plants, landscape, and water. This garden won the gold award.
The National Autistic Society Garden was one of the most interesting gardens this year due to the structures and planting. The blocks are made of cork. The garden symbolises the 'masking' strategy by autistic people. The garden won silver.
Water Aid Garden focuses on climate change and sustainable water management. This garden can deal with changing waterfall levels. All materials used were reclaimed. Every drop of the rainfall water collected by the structure in the garden can be used. The garden won the gold award.
The Bridgerton Garden was inspired by the period drama "Bridgerton", and it is a secluded garden and inspired by Penelope Featherington's character. The garden is designed to be secretive and mysterious but also colourful and sophisticated. The garden represents her journey in the latest installment of the series. This was probably my favourite garden, but it won the silver award.
The Freedom from Torture Garden is A Sanctuary for Survivors. It's an immersive space that can be explored and bring others together. The garden won the silver award.
MOROTO no IE is a garden with acers and waterfalls. It is designed to be a family garden. It won the silver award.
The Flood Resilient Garden is designed to be a pleasant place and enables water to drain away after heavy rainfall. Water is also stored for later use. The garden won the silver award.
World Child Cancer's Nurturing Garden is designed for sensory purposes to be used by children who are undergoing cancer treatment. The garden won the gold award.
The Boodles Garden celebrates its 200th year, and it is inspired by paintings. Art is the subject with molded frames and hedges. This garden won silver.
The next garden was not an official one but one inspired by Roman villas. This was one of my favourite gardens.
After looking around the gardens, I went to see the flower displays and the vendors. I was impressed at the creativity in here and the wonderful flowers being showcased as the best.
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I also walked around the different vendors. I wish I could have a place to put the below garden furniture. I loved it.
I also did a little bit of shopping.
I also saw the BBC filming. Since the Tuesday and Wednesday were wash-outs, a lot of filming was taking place.
I then went on my way to lunch at the Ranelagh Restaurant on site. The area was decorated with dried flowers. Service was incredibly slow, and I was kept waiting a very long time for all of my food. The ingredients of the food all come from the UK.
I had the Parmesan rind cracker, cauliflower, summer truffle small bite to start. The dish came from Battersea in London. (The other option was a crab taco.) I found this to be tasty and enjoyed the cracker.
For the starter, I had the chopped burrata with pine nuts, broad beans, and sourdough. This dish came from Uxbridge, London. Other options included trout, trombettas, and pansanella.
For the main, I had chicken breast with asparagus, potatoes, smoked cream and morels. The dish came from Leicestershire. Other options included lamb, sea bream, or cabbage.
For the dessert, I had the lemon and elderflower tart ith raspberry sorbet. This dish is from the Cotswolds. I could have had rhubard and custard cheesecake, chocolate delice, rum and pineapple and whipped cream meringue (maybe similar to an Eton Mess), or a cheese plate.
The food was good but the service was just slow. I had the white wine with it as well.
Overall, i was less impressed this year with the flower show as I thought all of the gardens seemed to blend in together except for a couple of them.
To read about the 2016 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, see my post.
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