Chelsea Flower Show 2013: Products & Ideas

This is the second year the Chelsea Flower Show

has housed the Artists Retreat Section

- one of my favorite areas -

Designers are invited to decorate a summerhouse,

creating inspirational hideaways

Swoon on, my friends...

The mowing path is so creative!

A quintessential English brand,

the Cath Kidston retreat

featured handmade paper roses

Let's take a peek inside the shack,
shall we?

Across the way, I met Rob Ryan in his workshop retreat

Genuinely, I have been a huge fan of his work for years

so it was a real thrill to meet him

With a background in print making,

Rob now is known for his papercut art (laser and by hand)

and poetry-like sayings that sweetly speak to the heart

Transferred onto ceramics and textiles,

you can find his products online and in some of the coolest stores

(including Liberty)

Grabbing things from his real workshop,

here's a limited look at his show retreat

A space that oozes creativity

Moving away from the Artisan Retreats,

I thought this was a clever peat-free compost alternative

made of wool and bracken from the Lake District

And how about an upside down lampshade
as a decorative potting sleeve?

or an old boot?

Ken Muir exhibit

Typically, 'coloured mythical creatures' are banned from the show,
but this year the ban was lifted for charity

I think gnomes are having a bit of a comeback,
for I spied a few at the show

Look at this cutie

University of Reading exhibit

The University of Reading
was promoting the concept of
'A New Millawnium' (clever)

With proper planting,
it is possible to have a full flowering, grass-free lawn
requiring mowing just 3x/year

Goodness me,
can you imagine, lawn gardening?!
My, how beautiful

Ideal for roundabouts and small yards with light foot traffic,
I can see how this could be possible
with nonaggressive clovers, yarrows, buttercups,
English Daisies, violets, and more

According to the university,
medieval paintings indicate lawns of the past were flowered
while grassy lawns were for jousting tournaments

Pippa Small's retreat

Alrighty, I think that pretty much covers it :)

I hope you found some inspiration over the last few days
through the series

It has been an absolute pleasure -
can't you just see me twirling in a meadow of flowers right now?!

'But yet still inside you there will never be a shortage 
to the amount of love that your heart can grow...
until it finally blossoms and its flowers cover the whole world'
-Rob Ryan

P.S. A few of you have asked about how to buy tickets in the future. I order my tickets online in December/January for the May show - they sell out each year but it varies as to when. RHS Members can purchase tickets for Tuesday (when flowers are looking their freshest), and the public can buy tickets for Wed - Sat. Buy tickets through the RHS website here.

- photos by me -

More 2013 Chelsea Flower Show Posts:

The Garden

Press Day!