The Silent Pool Gin Garden at Chelsea

Now I’m sure you won’t be surprised that I stopped by this garden, but like me you’re probably wondering why it’s taken until now - and during dry January at that - to share it here. And for the record, my January hasn’t been dry, as the meme goes I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life, but if you’ve been doing it, well done, you’re nearly there - and sorry for this post. Although there’s no actual gin in the garden, unless they’ve used it to fill the pond, but that would just be wasteful and I’m sure we’d have heard about that if it was the case…

It’s the copper features that provide reference to the gin distillation process of the garden’s sponsor, and the space aims to provide a contemporary, but relaxing urban haven for a professional couple to unwind in. And, you’ll understand when you get to the photos, I hope we’re not all expected to unwind like the couple in the last few photos, who were being choreographed while I was there. They were certainly elegant, almost as elegant as I feel after a gin or two (although sadly I think the results in real life aren’t quite the same, whatever I think).

The garden combines water, dappled shade and the copper in a space that could easily be replicated in many domestic gardens. It won a Silver Gilt medal and was voted the Best Space to Grow Garden in the People’s Choice vote, and it’s easy to see why isn’t it?

And as with many of the Chelsea gardens there’s more to it than first meets the eye. The delicate blue of the meconopsis (or blue poppy) - there’s one peeking out to the right of the Y in the tree trunk - hints at the colour of the gin bottles produced by Silent Pool Distillers. This wasn’t the only garden to have the unusual flowers in either, there was also meconopsis in the garden to celebrate the British Council’s 70th anniversary in India, in the ‘billion dreams’ garden, with its giant cricket stumps.

The planting with its blues, whites, greens and copper contributes to the calming space and five of Silent Pool Gin’s 24 botanicals are included in the garden including angelica, iris (the water loving Iris fulva is in the pale green water of the main pool) and rose.

Oh, and look - there’s that professional couple relaxing!

I’m teasing of course, this couple were clearly dancers. She moved in such a balletic way that was entrancing, and both were so supple and each were trusting and strong too, they were beautiful to watch.

So that’s another of the Chelsea gardens shown, and one that provides a welcome blast of sun just when we could do with a hint of warmth. I’m not sure what the weather forecast is for you where you are, but in London there’s threats of snow - let’s hope they stay just that, let’s think hot and warm thoughts to help keep them away!

Love This #82: Splashing about in the birdbath

Like you do.

Or rather, like these playful frogs do, even though they’re frozen in time. The sculpture or birdbath just screams movement and fun to me, and it’s the last of the sculptures I’m sharing from the 2018 Chelsea Flower Show. This birdbath, and the others around it, are by Willie Wildlife Sculptures, who on their site have many more great birdbath designs which include birds, dragonflies and even trout.

They’re beautiful and I think I’d have a hard time choosing a favourite, especially now I’ve looked on the site. But as you’d expect for something so lovely, they’re not cheap - the price tag on this one at Chelsea was £2995 - gulp. But it is something that would look good year round and bring structural interest when the rest of the garden was bare, but then again, as MOH has just pointed out so would many things with a lower price tag - he’s ever the practical one. Or perhaps he’s just staking a claim so I don’t flex our credit card, who knows.

Just a final thought, wouldn’t the frogs look super cute with jumpers on!  I could probably crochet them some, well if I had the birdbath... 

Clematis at Chelsea

After yesterday’s greyness, and the colder weather forecast for today I thought i could do with a blast of colour. And where better to pop into, than Chelsea? With a nod to the weather we have at the moment I’ve popped into the Pavilion, which is just huge. I’m sure I read somewhere it’s the size of three football pitches, which gives you an idea of just how big it is.

I tried - and failed - to walk around it all, but it’s size and the magpie-like behaviour it encourages - ooh, look at that over there! - meant that my methodical plan to cover as much as I could went out of the window, or perhaps tent flap, quicker than you could say clematis. And it’s clematis that have the colour I’m after.

All of these photos are from the Raymond Evison display, and they’re wonderful. The display too is imaginative, with a beach theme and waves of colour and scent. But before you scroll down to see more, I also discovered some handy guides on the nursery’s site, for beginners and experts, and with advice for simple pruning through to archways and trees and walls.

I guess it makes sense for nursery’s to provide advice, after all they are the experts on their plants - the photos below are proof of that, but I’ve never thought to consult a specialist grower for growing or pruning advice before. But now I will, and I think it’s well worth remembering.

I told you there was waves didn’t I?

But there was also a seashore on the other side of the boardwalk, complete with lobster pots, sand and some artfully arrange pebbles. And more clematis, of course.

And true to life, there were even some pebbles at the bottom of the sea.

On the stand there was every type of clematis you could imagine. The more usual (I think) open flowers, the one I have in my garden is similar to this but a dark maroon which makes its yellow centre (yeap, the technical approach again) stand out. Somehow the petals look even more velvety in the darker varieties.

Had you asked me what the flowers above were, I’m not sure my first thoughts would have been clematis. But I know they are, or otherwise they wouldn’t have been in this display, but aren’t they different. They were just as vibrant as they look here, and I remember it amused me at the time that they were being restrained by that rope. These must be the rowdy clematis…

The ones above hardly look real do they? But I can assure you they were - it’s the pink ones I think that have an almost hand drawn quality. And I’ve realised I’m a fan of this colour combination, what about you?