This week I finally got to visit the Chelsea Flower Show after longing for years but never quite being organised enough to book tickets before they sold out. Thanks to an invitation to collaborate with Scotts of Thrapston on their beautiful summerhouse stand this year, I was able to fully gorge on the magical gardens in the center of London that I’d previously only watched from the rather less vegetated comfort of my own sofa. After sprucing up the summerhouses with their Katie Alice/vintage-inspired show outfits the week before, it was wonderful to return to the show in full swing with my Mum and sister for a girls day out. The fork-lift trucks and workmen in high-vis jackets had all disappeared and in there stead were elegant garden sculptures and ladies and gentlemen in floral ensembles. As busy as it is there is a lovely atmosphere to the bustling streets inside the show grounds. The organised chaos of sauntering crowds sweep you steadily through the avenues of gardens, which are full of perfect flora and inspiring layouts. As we approached the Scotts of Thrapston stand we could hear people being lured in at the sight of the pom pom’s in the birdsong collection themed summerhouse and it was very exciting to see people squashed in amongst all the Katie Alice products. All the gaps in the stand that were left when I was last there had now been filled in with plants and the summer houses looked like everything else at the show as if they had always been there.
Armed with umbrellas due to a more than worrying forecast we made our way around most of the show until the sky turned black and the thunder began to rumble the delicate little petals of their worried stems. We decided there was only one option for us made a beeline for the champagne tent and waited patiently (and stylishly) for the torrential rain to end. Here are some pictures taken before our dash to safety!
Not one for wanting to leave a party empty handed…. by the end of the show I had a bag full of seed packets that I can’t read the names of, an enormous order for tulips that will be far too many for my current garden, a handmade bronze dragonfly decoration that I kept unintentionally poking in people’s faces on the train home, a giant golfing brolly that a kind man had given me and my sister on the train there – and a mild hangover.
I loved being involved in Chelsea this year both in my work for the Scotts of Thrapston stand and as a day out I’ll definitely be going again – and lets hope it rains every year! Cheers!
Katie x