Color Test Bouquet

The Chelsea Flower Show is not for the amateur gardener. It is only for the gardening elite and those who can afford lavish and highly designed gardens. I have seen the gardens on television and they leave me cold.

Before start writing to me, that is not my opinion but someone I know who knew I would be trying to catch every minute of the television coverage. I could not make the trip this year but maybe next year.

We should all be able to have our own opinions. I do not have to agree with the opinion above and in fact definitely do not.

You hear some commentators saying that the show gardens should be leading edge, showing us and the next generation of gardeners the way forward.

It is important for shows such as Chelsea to show us what is possible in our gardens. If you look at any of the designs we can probably pick out something that we can adapt for our own use. Notice that word "adapt". We do not have to copy everything down to the last pebble, slab, stone plinth, pot and chrome bar. It can give us something that will finish off that piece of garden that, well, just did not look finished.

My own preference is for a garden with an emphasis on plants. Yes, all gardens should have plants but often at a show such as Chelsea it seems that the hard landscaping and other materials come first with the odd plant squeezed in as an after thought. I am sure this is not what the designer intends, he or she is looking at the overall effect they were trying to create.

I came away from my first Chelsea Flower Show thinking that many of the show gardens were clever but what use were they? Obviously they would cost an absolute fortune to recreate and would not look good transported into my plot. But once you get over the tiredness of the day, because it is tiring as well as enjoyable, you realise that there is a place for these styles. Yes, perhaps in the larger formal garden homes but many of these designs look really well if used in a commercial environment - a Science Park or Office Complex maintained not by the tenants but the landlords.

When you go to Chelsea, one of the things you absolutely must do is to talk to people. Naturally the exhibitors have paid a lot of money for their little patch of the Chelsea Hospital grounds and are there to show off their products and encourage you to dig deep into your pocket or purse. What you have to do is think beyond that. Where else can you find so much gardening talent and knowledge in one place? You like a type of plant so why not go to see and talk to the expert grower? Ask which variety is best for your location and situation. As I found, they are only too willing to help as most gardeners of all levels of expertise are. There are designers that you recognise from books, magazines and television. If the opportunity arises talk to them about their designs and ideas - preferably not when they have just been told they have not won a gold medal!

Did I spend a fortune at my first Chelsea Flower Show? I bought a top quality book published by the Royal Horticultural Society. What else? Packets of seeds. You see, I cannot afford to buy a truck load of plants to create an immediate effect. I am willing to start things, wherever possible, from seed and have the patience to see them germinate and mature. To me that is what gardening is all about, the satisfaction of seeing what I pictured in my mind coming to fruition. Before you say it, yes, I do have failures but I accept that this is part of gardening. Mother Nature never promised me that it would be easy.

So are shows like Chelsea only for the elite and wealthy? Absolutely not. They are for everyone from the fully trained and qualified horticulturist, to the absolute beginner, those lucky enough to own a garden the size of a football pitch to those in flats with window boxes.

If there is a Flower Show near you, why not pay a visit. You never know what you will learn. It does not have to be one of the major shows like Chelsea, there are many fine quality smaller shows put on by enthusiastic societies who just love their plants and gardens.

Above all else, just have a great day out and enjoy the experience.

Rodger Cresswell is author of and the