Last week we took a trip to the Royal Horticultural Society's flagship annual garden show, Chelsea Flower Show, the jewel of the horticultural world. As usual, we came away brimming with inspiration, for both Coco & Wolf and our own lives and outdoor spaces. From the most beautifully planned gardens and meticulously grown plants and blooms to bountiful ideas for gardening more sustainably and thought-provoking colour schemes, the five day event was nothing short of glorious.
From Plants to Prints
As the eyes of the horticulture world fell on Chelsea there were two flowers in particular which were completely unavoidable, even if you wanted to! Poppies and irises were the stars.
Featuring in almost every garden, bearded irises and the old-fashioned Benton irises were seen in many colour schemes, from Sarah Price’s muted palette in the Nurture Landscapes Garden to bold purple blooms in Myeloma UK’s garden, A Life Worth Living. Ephemeral, fragile poppies also featured in many gardens and we particularly loved the unusual colours on display, such as dark maroon and white. The recurring poppies felt particularly relevant as some of our current favourite Liberty prints also feature this charming bloom - Poppy Dawn, Spring Blooms and Classic Meadow, all seen below.
Charities
The RHS is the UK’s leading gardening charity and its highly anticipated event in the horticultural calendar provides such an incredible platform for many charities to raise awareness and funds. Project Giving Back made it possible for a diverse range of charities to have a presence at the show, with seven charities represented through show gardens, including Horatio’s Garden designed by Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg, Samaritans’ Listening Garden designed by Darren Hawkes and the Centrepoint Garden designed by Cleve West and two Sanctuary Gardens representing charities; The RSPCA Garden designed by Martyn Wilson and The National Brain Appeal’s Rare Space designed by Charlie Hawkes.
It was also a great pleasure to speak with the team at Perennial, recently rebranded from Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Society. Perennial is the UK’s only charity dedicated to helping everyone who works in horticulture, and their families, when times get tough.
Somerset Bounty
The Newt in Somerset returned to RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year as sponsors and we could not be more thrilled. This local (to us!) jewel's sponsorship supports the RHS with its mission to safeguard the future of horticulture through research, education and community programmes. Like the RHS, The Newt champions the power of gardens to insure creativity, enhance community and facilitate learning so the pairing is harmonious and unbeatable. This year the Newt created a scaled-up beehive surrounded by nectar-rich planting allowing visitors to see the world from the bee’s perspective, as well as celebrated Somerset’s natural bounty with Fine Cyder tastings a-plenty.
We Saw & Loved
Beautiful hand crafted copper poppies by Kubucu are winging their way to our founder, Amy’s garden as we speak. https://kubucu.com/
Botanically accurate and beautifully painted stationery and art prints by Laura Stoddart stole our hearts. https://laurastoddart.com/
David Austin’s new Dannahue debuted at Chelsea and we couldn’t resist the gorgeous apricot tones and sweet citrus scent. https://www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/products/dannahue
Fabulous floral fashion! Whilst there is no dress code for Chelsea Flower Show the general theme is florals (of course!) across blouses, skirts, shirts and dresses. You could sit and admire the fashion all day long and if you wanted your own floral beauties, you won't want to miss our sister site AHB Atelier for luxury, timeless Liberty silk womenswear.
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