Chelsea Images



M & G Garden - designed by Bunny Guinness - Silver Gilt Medal



Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen in the M & G Garden waiting for the film crew

M & G Garden

 Still the M & G garden

M & G Garden

All the above the M & G garden

Principality of Monaco Garden - Gold medal Winner

All above A Monaco Garden

Jekka McVicar plants

Royal Bank of Scotland New Wild Garden

B & Q Garden

Chelsea Flower Show 2011

On wednesday, popped up to London to the Chelsea Flower Show with good friend Jane, who is an RHS member and very kindly got the tickets.

Camera batteries ran out within first 10 minutes, and replacement batteries were not properly charged so only gave me another 5 minutes - how disappointing (and disorganised - yet I thought i'd got it covered!! ) is that!

So was unable to get photos of most of the gardens except a few, or of any of the incredibly beautiful flowers in the large covered halls.

In retrospect, this was no bad thing from my point of view as it meant I could concentrate on what I was seeing rather than just doing a David Bailey, but sadly from a blog sharing point of view it stinks - as did the bark they had everywhere on the ground between the undercover stalls! 

It made Jane feel quite nauseuous, and was a rather unpleasant underlying smell to the beautiful David Austin roses, and the wonderful Peter Beales roses.

NB: have deliberately left some of the photos overly large and spilling out so as to enjoy the larger pictures

Highlights for us:

The above mentioned roses! Magnificent - every rose more beautiful than the last

The large purple Alliums! Every shape and size appeared in most every garden!

All of the wonderful gardens - the plantings were fantastic this year, very soft and cottage gardenish!

The beautiful soft pinks and mauves of the plants in the Laurent-Perrier garden designed by Luciano Giubbilei - what a hunk! Also a Gold Medal Winner and one of my favourite gardens here this year

The M & G garden with beautifully arranged  fruit and vegetables (and lurking celebrity!) - another favourite of mine, it was so magical with the dappled shade and sunlight - many of the photos above are from this garden.

The wonderful little Artisan Gardens - they were all fantastic, especially the "A Postcard from Wales" ( Laugharne is my very favourite place in Wales and I especially enjoyed the BBC coverage of the making of this garden with the designers)

The Gold Winner of the Artisan gardens was the Hae-woo-so  (emptying ones mind) Garden.
"Hae-woo-so - is the Korean word for the traditional Korean toilet. The inspiration behind the garden is that for centuries the Korean people believed that going to the toilet was a cathartic experience and considered it to be highly spiritual." Quote from the RHS website! Go see the pictures here, its a lovely peaceful little garden with a little wooden loo!

Seeing Diarmuid Gavin sitting in his Irish Sky garden with a child (presumably his?) on his lap, and watching the "eye pod" being raised and lowered

The atmosphere at lunch time with the Jazz band dressed up in top and tails singing jazz numbers, including the Charleston, very Jeeves and Woosterish, whilst we picknicked on the grass with the multitudes!

Go and visit the RHS website for details of the Chelsea Flower Show , for 360 degree tours of all of the show gardens together with a wealth of information!

NB: If you read this before 4pm GMT Friday 27th May, you can vote online for the People's Choice Award by going to the RHS website

M & G Garden

What's your favourite garden (s) from what you've seen on TV , on the RHS website, or at the Show??

(My fav Show Garden - the M & G kitchen garden
My fav Artisan Garden - A Postcard from Wales)

About a Boy

Just a quickie post for all those puppy lovers out there!

This is an old post I drafted and never posted for some reason, but it seems a shame not to share these photos whilst I'm "tidying" up my "blog desk" !!

We hadn't had Logan long when all this occured, so he looks pretty tiny here!

After a short but rather muddy walk through the woods the other day, we thought Logan's first bath was long overdue (as I said, this was a while back!)

We couldn't resist taking a few snaps!

Poor Logan looking a bit like a drowned rat!

Look at these mad (yellow??!!!) eyes as Logan was rushing round the bedroom whilst we tried to dry him!

We were told he was used to baths and being dried by hairdryer by the breeder - but Logan preferred the old fashioned rub along the carpet method

As these are mainly "action" shots they are a little blurry!!

PS. Please check out the post before this one which announces the Blog Awards!

Please pass it on!



As I am already in arrears with my blog posts,  I thought I'd better do a few short posts to catch up rather than the usual longish "throw it all in the pot together " posts that I usually do.

I must post promptly about my trip to the Chelsea Flower Show (hopefully later today or tomorrow ) and also pass on my recent Blog Awards from the lovely Jane at Hook and Yarn to other blogs.

First up then, the Blog Awards!

Rather than pass on both awards to individual blogs I have decided to split them and pass on each award seperately. 

The Liebster Blog Award  I would like to pass on to some of my favourite newer blogs, or those with less than 100 followers (which I think is one of the requirements?).

I think it is also part of the "rules" (what rules?!!!) that those awardees have to post 7 things about themselves - as I did this with my first Liebster Award a few months ago I am assuming I have already done this (takes too long to think up ANOTHER 7 amusing things!) and therefore being very naughty and breaking the rules this time!

There are so many lovely blogs out there, it is so difficult to choose just a few, but I have finally narrowed it down to

Bluebell at At Home in the Country

Fashionista Sisters

Faiths Crafts Box

Do check out their lovely blogs!

The Versatile Blogger Award I would like to pass on to

Andrea at Apples and Pears

Heidi at The Polka Dot Petticoat

Fading Grace

Chris at Squirrelhaus

Simone at Linden Grove

Congratulations to all the above - do go visit their lovely blogs!

There, that was quick!

Be back later with some other shorter posts to knock off a few more on the list!!



Edited to add:links to award winning blogs now done at last - sorry about delay folks!!!

Further edit: Seem to be still having a problem leaving comments so I cannot let the winners know at present!

Flower Show and Keeping Sane

Well, here we are at the start of Week 2 of The Exams having successfully got through Week 1 intact and still relatively sane.

This week is a little less hectic for Bella, with only 4 exams, each on a different day and all starting at 9am so out of the way early with the rest of the day free to rest and revise for the next day.

Resting has taken the form of lots of sleeping and cuddling and playing with Logan

and taking photos of whatever she can find of interest in the garden, including her rather tired and battered Mum (recovering from cold and exam support stress!)

a rare photo of moi (glasses pushed on top of head as usual - I'm still vain after all these years about wearing them in photos, and this photo is the best of several - the other ones were too clear and showed up all my lines and grey hairs!)

and around the house

Bessie

my birthday present from Mum and Dad who popped over for lunch today - am thrilled with this distressed metal napkin holder full of Cath Kidston napkins, and funnily enough had been thinking of treating myself to something similar from Dibor (love their stuff so much!)

And a few of my flower photos of this lovely purple flower, which I still do not know the name of as I keep forgetting to look it up!

Whilst suffering from a cold and trying to keep myself from panicking wildly about Bella and her exam revision (or lack of), I have been busy taking my mind off "things" (in between the usual chores, running around doing exam runs and shopping - just so you don't think I do nothing but read and sew ; 0  )

by

1) reading an old favourite book " The Diary of a Provincial Lady" by E. M. Delafield - there is something so comforting and familiar to me about this book, that crosses the social barriers and the time differences, with its down to earth continually counting the pennies and worrying about children and husband who says very little and falls asleep with The Times every night, so that even though it is set in an pre-war era with maids, cooks and gardeners and in an entirely different social background with boarding schools and French governesses, I can relate to it. 

and 2) finishing off some patchwork and hand-quilted cushion fronts from a year or two ago, mainly by adding some brightly coloured tied "bits" or tufting and a bit of embroidery

made from old shirts

Bears Paw blocks

made from old shirts

embroidery on a crazy patchwork cushion front

3) by hanging some "new" old beautifully soft and gently faded linen Sanderson curtains in our bedroom (Chelsea Rose???)

4) by rather scarily being enchanted when finding a bright red leathery rhodendron leaf (probably indicating some plant or soil nutrient deficiency?) at virtually the same time as delightedly picking up a heart shaped white rose petal and then taking photos of them (maybe the "still being sane" thing at the beginning was untrue??)

And 5) by looking forward to Chelsea Flower Show, where I'm visiting on Wednesday! I am so looking forward to that!!  Went 2 years ago for the first time and loved it!

So, a huge Thank You to you all for your lovely comments and best wishes for Bella and of your support (for me!) during these exam weeks.

Be back soon with reports of Chelsea Flower Show and my list of Blog Awards!!