Views on this years Chelsea

I was surprised too at their criticism, bearing in mind how full of praise they were after visiting her garden initially-her first show garden at Chelsea.
I thought they were tactless to air such opinions live on TV.
But in time it will be forgotten about and she will have an award sitting proudly on her mantlepiece and they won't.

 

Never understood why personal appreciation of a few so called experts should affect how others should think.

 

I like Chelsea flower show I've been ogling the plants all week , I've taken a real interest in the Verbascum I keep seeing . I wished they show more of the little gardens I seem to be looking at the big show gardens all the time .

One of the things that tick me off though is Celebrity / VIP day on Monday they are no better than anyone else, the show isn't about them most of them just want to be seen at Chelsea like a fashion statement, I can understand they don't want pestering etc but they shouldn't get first dibs .

 

Now caught up on Monday's programmes. My favourite segment was Carol's piece on "cottagey" plants/planting.

 

The brief is only one part of the scoring system! There are 8 other categories/criteria:

Judging criteria

1. REALISATION OF THE CLIENT’S BRIEF: clarity and delivery.
2. AMBITION: atmosphere, originality, impact.
3. OVERALL IMPRESSION: attention to detail, polish & dressing.
4. DESIGN, LAYOUT, PLAN OF GARDEN: dimension, scale, unity
5. DESIGN, 3D AND SPATIAL COMPOSITION: mass, void, volume, balance.
6. CONSTRUCTION: quality of build and finish.
7. PLANTING DESIGN: visual impact, composition, colour, texture, form.
8. PLANTING ASSOCIATIONS: horticultural accuracy, relevance, cultural requirements.
9. PLANTING IMPLEMENTATION: quality, plant health, density of planting.
   
   You don't get to be a judge at Chelsea without having extensive horticultural experience and knowledge plus receiving additional training to be a judge.
   
   @Perki I can do without all the vacuous celebrity bits too.

 

I knew that meeting the brief was just part of the scoring system @Obelix-Vendée, but not the full extent of the criteria so thank you for that detail. It makes judging MasterChef seem much easier and much more fun! (A worthy winner this year!)

 

Interesting to hear the person talking about hostas saying she grows them all in pots. After 20+ yrs struggling with mine in the ground I moved it to a pot last yr and have to say it is looking its best ever.

2400 different clematis on that stand! I liked the one combining white, purple and green but I didn't catch its name and they didn't put it on-screen unfortunately.

 

Haven't watched the programme yet @Plantminded , but was it Evison's stand ?
Possibly this one ?

Viennetta™

There's also one called Crystal fountain.
Clematis 'Crystal Fountain ('Evipo038') (PBR)' - early large flowered clematis (group 2) (syn. Clematis 'Fairy Blue')

 

I haven’t watched it yet either @AnniD, but will do now! @ViewAhead will no doubt see your message.

 

Ahh, Viennetta! That's the one! Thank you, @AnniD!

 

@Plantminded haven't seen the final yet! Agree that the RHS judging system is complicated but it does cover all aspects and needs to give the imporatnce in economic terms to the designers, suppliers and builders as their success or otherwise leads to lucrative contracts elsewhere and all over the world. Builders have their own Best in Show award.

@ViewAhead I had loads of hostas in the ground in my Belgian garden and they did fine but here the snails are worse than any Belgian slug so I have them in pots. They still end up lacey. I've never seen copper wire here but will be making some garlic spray this weekend to see if I can save them this year.

 

Someone could start a good business manufacturing ready-to-use garlic spray. I'd buy it.

 

It's dead easy @ViewAhead but does need refrigerating between uses so porbably best - and cheaper - home-made.

 

I don't "do" garlic in the house! I would like an aroma-free solution in a squirty bottle, ready to go. Or maybe crystals you dissolve in a watering can.

Given how much people love their hostas, I'm sure it would be a best-seller.

 

I bought some of this highly priced stuff a few years ago, cant remember how effective it was, it was a wet year like this one has been and you were supposed to keep applying it, I ran out of money before the slugs and snails ran out of interest.
Grazers G2 (350 ml) helps plants to keep slugs & snails away | Grazers