I read this morning that Chelsea Flower Show tickets are selling on Ebay for over 300 GBP (that is on the order of $500USD).

The unimaginable has happened….A flower show has outstripped demand for Cold Play Tickets.

The idea of this both shocks and frustrates me.  Much as I love the show….whoa….that is 6 times the RHS price!!!

But the show will wow and awe and inspire me like no place else.  It will bring together gardeners and garden lovers, the chic and the earthy, and simply the best in the business for 4 days, and it will be extraordinary.  And when I am not there, I can’t help but follow every minute online.  I would pay more than the ticket price…but what I don’t understand  is why this can all be so wonderful, when in other places (like here in the US) we are stuck with ho hum or even downright terrible events.  No one would dream of paying this kind of money for one of our shows….not that they should.

Here are some of my thoughts about how to start righting that wrong….

1) Organize a group of industry and event leaders — those that might be able to pull off organizing a show like this, to actually go and visit Chelsea.  We Americans need to know that Philly and Chelsea simply are not the same….not even close… and we need to understand that the bar can and should be set way higher.

2) Designers need to get better at selling themselves as the unique individuals that they are.  They need to be designers — creative, intense, interesting, challenging and celebrated people.   Much as TV makeover shows have a tendency to make me cringe –  primarily because they aren’t usually done in an engaging way –  (I think that  the designs are often benign, the personalities aren’t shiny, and the shows are all formatted in a too similar and formulaic way)  - we need more of them.  We need a few celebrity designers, growers, and gardeners that aren’t Australian or British imports…that are real, homegrown kick-ass cool people who inspire others to want to be the same.

3) More individual garden makers need to start to seeing garden making as a wonderful form of personal expression in the same way that they might see that in interior decor, art making, crafting, theater, fashion and a whole host of other ways that we express ourselves.   We need to stop talking about landscaping…but rather real personal garden making.

I know these are all tall orders…and I’m not sure how to begin to tackle them.  But I would love to start the conversation….and maybe together we can raise the discourse in the USA about garden making and design and we can start to evolve our shows and events.

I am curious, what do you think we need to do to raise the excitement bar and evolve events that are much more inspiring and interesting.   I think a population that has a greater interest in plants and the natural world and the industry surrounding it would serve our country well.   If you understand what it means to cultivate the land, you also grow a greater understanding of the importance of the uncultivated, the wild and the natural.  I think more people need to have a greater connection to our land and I think that from that we will have huge benefits in our health, our environment, our economy, and a knock on to many other areas as well.

So, what do you think we need to do as an industry and a population to inspire, grow and evolve the garden industry in the US? 

p.s. I am headed to London tomorrow to cover The Chelsea Flower Show and the Chelsea Fringe Festival!  I can’t  wait….it will be all Chelsea here for a while as I bring you along with me….

image from the Telegraph.

Some have an affinity for the tiny sweetness of the diminutive, but I (and my kin) seem to obsess over the monstrous, huge and gross enormity of the gigantea plants.

While in general, ‘gigantea’ means giant as in really large, it is sometimes in respect to the regular (so perhaps it is not soooo large when the regular version is small) — but often gigantea really does mean huge.  And that is where things get fun.

Like Colocasia gigantea (above)  and my own homegrown Miscanthus gigantea – which I swear you can watch grow.    I split the giant miscanthus that I got a few years ago into 5 plants this year.   We are all so excited to feel small amongst these towering plumes in the garden.

Check out my Latin Series Pinterest Board for more gigantea plants.

What’s your taste in extreme sizing?  Do you prefer the tiny or the tremendous?  Feel free to share your favorite.

image from Brian’s Botanicals  (where you can buy a baby Colocasia gigantea!)

When I was a new mom of a sweet baby girl — and we lived in England —  I had one of those new mom clothing obsessions.  I went all in on hedgehog inspired baby goods.   Adorable and seemingly so European (I told myself)….I loved the cute details that these small garden rodents brought to dresses, tights, hats…whatever.

So, last week when Roanne told me that you could adopt a hedgehog here in the US, I was instantly intrigued.   Now the last thing this family needs is another pet, but if I could infest my garden with these critters, I would soooo be tempted to throw aside all highly questionable ecological species introducing warnings and cultivate these charming garden guests.   Good thing they won’t survive the wild here so I’m not tempted with such insane ideas….but I’m nonetheless happy to know that should I need a hedgehog fix….it’s not too hard to come by.

Hedgehog breeders list.

image from the berry

There is something quite appealing about these simple shapes.  If I had an extra ~$2100.00 I would certainly buy three.  (Actually, I take that back….even if I had the $$, I think I’d only be in if we dropped a zero off the end).  So until there is a knockoff, my starling neighbors and I will have to admire these beautiful teak, lined with stainless steel, bird sculptures from afar.

Available at Garpa.

Images from Garpa

My MIL and FIL arrive from CA tonight, so this mothers day weekend will be especially mother-ly.   I am particularly grateful for this visit as it will allow me to depart for London next week knowing that my family will not have to endure the stress of a missing mom, chauffeur, chef, laundress, dog walker, chicken feeder, etc. etc.  I’m looking forward to an opportunity to focus on working and making a trip that revolves almost universally around gardens.   But before all that, its mother’s day and the weekend….I hope you all have a wonderful weekend with your mothers or those who you mother (or both).   Until Monday….

• I spent much of the day yesterday looking for a couple of great adirondack-like chairs for my garden…I found nothing….but now am wondering if I might be loving this instead.
• Love this post about cheap, easy and DIY-able outdoor kitchens.
• and this one for Sandbox ideas is pretty great too!
• I just can’t ever get enough of ephemeral fashion.
• Cretaceous Garden.
• I think I need this for my shopping lists…
• The Next Gen of String Gardens.
• My new (signed and #’d)  Charley Harper print that I scored yesterday (above) at Brimfield reminded me of these guys!

~Rochelle

Am I the only one who gasped when they lowered the thing out the window? This is gardening with nerves of steel for sure, but I love it and think it a fantastic idea for window gardeners!

Design by Barreau and Charbonnet.