lovely lettuce wall sent in by @Greenhouses_UK_
Alan Bates @TorreMaster sent in this picture of his patio in Bedford
READERS GARDENS
RHS Chelsea Flower Show: A Centenary Celebration by Brent Elliott
Every May the horticultural world descends on a 12-hectare site in Chelsea for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
RHS Chelsea may not be the world’s largest flower show, but it is without doubt the most prestigious. Honoured and emulated around the world, it has been the peak event of the British gardening world for generations. The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is an annual, world famous and well-loved horticultural and social event.
In the week before the Spring Bank Holiday, nurserymen, garden designers and contractors, television gardeners, celebrities, dignitaries and the royal family all pass through the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, where dozens of model gardens and
hundreds of exhibits of plants have been prepared for their attention. For a week, gardening makes it on to the front pages of the major British newspapers, and the television schedule is filled with daily commentary.
In this new book, Brent Elliott takes a look at what makes Chelsea special. He explores how the show evolved, how it has formed part of the social calendar, and how it has reflected and shaped tastes in garden design and planting over the years. Throughout the book, there are short pieces by significant nurserymen and nurserywomen, designers, organisers, visitors and patrons describing what Chelsea means to them.
With chapters on the early shows, shows between the wars and decade by decade to the present day, the book is illustrated with images mainly drawn from the RHS Lindley Library archives. Many of them are published here for the first time.
BRENT ELLIOTT can reasonably claim to be the world expert on the history of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. He is historian to the Royal Horticultural Society and the author of numerous articles and books.
Published by Frances Lincoln, £25 hardback
avalible in most good book shops.