post-chelsea

Cleve's West's BUPA garden (Gold) winner of BBC/RHS People's Choice

Now it is all over there is time to perhaps reflect on Chelsea 2008. A very 'green' Chelsea - with many of the major show gardens having green as the dominant colour - I was therefore not surprised when the BBC RHS People's Choice winners were announced. The shortlist for the large Show garden comprised of Cleve West's fab BUPA garden, Geoff Whiten's lovely garden - Realf Life by Brett (couldn't understand why this only got a Bronze), the Marshalls Garden and the George Harrison garden.

These four gardens deserved to be in the People's Choice line-up and they all had colour! It is very nice having a beautiful neat and artistic garden but if one feels that you dare not sit in it or walk in it for fear of damaging something - in other words it might not be a place where we really feel comfortable and want to sit in - then what is the point! Some of the gardens reminded me of a rather house-proud person who frowns when you crumple the cushions on the sofa. They shout - do not touch.

Green gardens can be restful I agree but for me a garden is full of colour, it might have its cool places and green shades, but for a garden to be comfortable, I want to be able to walk through it, find a little niche to sit in and just be able to admire!

So the people spoke and I think they gave a big thumbs up for colour. The choice of the Shetland Croft as the BBC RHS People's Small Garden was also right on the mark, again a delightful garden, one you can warm to and feel enjoyment from.

We are delighted for Cleve who produced a simply superb garden with an important message. I also liked Andy Sturgeon's garden for Cancer Research as well, he used plenty of green but he also had various levels and little dells which invited you to go down and have a look - that is the difference.

Andy Sturgeon's garden for Cancer Research (Gold)

I think that the public also want to see gardens to which they can relate - over the past few years some of the gardens at Chelsea have been more artistic statements than gardens in my opinion. This opens the door for the whole argument about art versus gardening - is gardening an art form or not? I don't intend to get into that argument, suffice-it-to-say I like colour, I like variety and I like a garden to look like a garden - it might be simple, it might be colourful, it might be green, but it needs to be a space where you can feel comfortable in, want to spend time in and relax in.

Cleve West certainly achieved that with his garden for BUPA and how wonderful that it is going to be re-sited at a home in London after the show. In fact, this year, several of the show gardens will be re-sited and that has to be good news.

I also thought that David Domoney really broke through some barriers with his Underwater & Tropical plants feature int he Grand Marquee. He was awarded a Silver-Gilt and justly so for a very innovative idea.


David Domoney's Underwater and tropical plants.