RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2011

On Friday I made my way to the Chelsea Flower Show while the clouds threatened - but held off from - rain. It was as crowded as ever with couples and elderly ladies from the Home Counties all milling around and queuing up to see the show gardens over one another's shoulders. I don't have the patience to queue so I tend to spend more time in the Grand Pavilion with the gorgeous and imaginative displays of the flowers rather than the gardens. The few gardens I did see seemed to have more stone and brick than plants in any case.

The highlights in the Grand Pavilion for me this year were the Thai temple that looked like Wat Arun in Bangkok, made out of thousands of small flower petals; the displays of tiny Alpines and rockery plants; the strange carnivorous plants dotted around the exhibition (including a prize winner named after Johnny Marr); the many orchid displays and, as ever, the balls and pots of colourful chrysanths and daffodils that always bring a smile. There was also a stand of shirts decorated with flowers that made for interesting viewing.

I'd decided to keep my eyes open for a flower suitable to celebrate Poly Styrene, so I was looking at all the flowers in the broad blue spectrum (including, of course, indigo). I didn't see any that made an instant impression but when I saw the displays of irises I decided to go for the particular clump in the photo below, with interesting shapes and colours, a bit of this and a bit of that, a bit raggedy and a bit stylish. I smiled. I hope someone develops a real Poly Styrene flower for next years' show, just as a rose grower developed the pink 'Natasha Richardson' that won a silver prize. I don't see Poly as a rose - that's probably too stereotyped for Poly - so go on you nursery people, be creative and invent a new flower for Poly Styrene.


If you like these photos there are more in my Flickr stream.