& shades of green in-between
RHS Chelsea Flower Show exhibitors and designers have always aimed to excite, inspire, and educate visitors with new ideas. Ever since the first Chelsea show in 1913, known as the Great Spring Show, this event has been as much about the changing of public perceptions as the beauty and charm of plants themselves. One commentator, writing about the very first show, wondered
Why is it that English gardeners are so slow to realise the beauty of dwarf trees? … is it because our national sentiments forbid us to admire anything that cannot be seen half a mile away? 1
At this time, attendance by the British monarchy was yet to become a tradition at Chelsea (during her 70 year reign the Queen has visited Chelsea on more than fifty occasions) but amongst the crowds at the first show was Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. A year later, the archduke and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo, sparking a chain of events that would contribute to the start of the First World War.
This period in British history also saw the height of suffragette militant actions in the campaign to convince the government that women were entitled to vote. Protest through the destruction of property and works of art included an attack on the orchid house at Kew Gardens, and the burning down of Kew’s teahouse. The suffragettes declared, however, they would ‘never disturb a Flower Show’. 2
Nonetheless, security measures at the 1913 show were said to be second only to the Goldsmith and Silversmith exhibitions, stepped up after the very first night when the show’s freshly-planted orchard was raided. This opportunistic theft probably reflected the desperation of the many underpaid and underfed citizens of the area, living in urban poverty in the early twentieth century.
Fast forward to 2022 and the social and political climate against which the Chelsea Flower Show takes place has in certain respects changed little. Despite the notorious affluence of Kensington and Chelsea, there are still poverty levels which exceed UK averages in certain areas of the Royal Borough. Gender equality in the UK has made great strides, yet women remain outnumbered by men 2 to 1 in positions of power, with less than a third holding top jobs and even greater levels of under-representation for women from ethnic minority groups. In the wider political sphere, another war is being waged on European soil, with ominous global implications.
It would be easy for the Chelsea Flower Show to offer nothing but a beautiful flower-filled bubble in which to escape the social and political realities of the world. Whilst it remains a breath-taking sensory haven and horticultural theatre of delights, many gardens now highlight social and global struggles, as well as celebrating achievements of ground-breaking individuals and organisations. It takes confidence and vision to engage and delight visitors with beautiful planting and design, whilst exploring some of the most serious and thought-provoking issues faced in society today.
Below, we celebrate one of the many gorgeous and impactful show gardens.
The Grow2Know show garden weaves together issues of racial injustice and global deforestation in a space of powerful symbolism, beautiful planting, soothing lushness, and attention to detail. The garden pays tribute to the Mangrove Nine, a group of civil rights campaigners, who were arrested for protesting against police prejudice, and charged with incitement to riot in 1970. At the end of a 55 day trial, the jury acquitted all defendants of the main charge, and for the first time in British legal history there was judicial acknowledgment of racial hatred motivating the actions of the Metropolitan police.
The vindicated Nine were named after the Mangrove, a popular Caribbean restaurant in Notting Hill which had been subjected to repeated and unjustified police raids. With this culinary link, it is fitting that the garden offers edible plants as well as ornamentals, suggesting the comestible and community benefits of growing and harvesting fresh food.
The striking weathered steel sculpture at the heart of the garden stands over four meters high, representing a truncated mangrove root system, and honouring each member of the Mangrove Nine. The strong, linear form is inverse-mirrored in the surrounding planting of willow trees, balancing the impact of the sculpture and reinforcing its arboreal connections. It acts as a powerful reminder of the impact that human decimation of mangrove forests is having on the planet. Mangroves not only support precious estuarine and coastal eco systems, but also act to sequester carbon.
Moreover, coastal communities, such as those in Kenya, suffer impoverished livelihoods following the destruction of mangrove forests. In this way, the narrative of the garden comes full circle, bringing us again to the threat against individual human rights and community culture and welfare, this time through environmental injustice.
Despite the gravity of issues informing the creation of the landscape, the mood and sensory experience of the garden is very much one of richness, hope, and positivity. The rust tones of weathered steel, echoed in the natural sculptural form of Glycyrrhiza yunnanensis (Yunnan liquorice), emphasise the living green hues of lush and promising growth all around. The vertical accents of Lupinus ‘Masterpiece’ a delicious deep plum, and bright spires of Verbascum ‘Chantilly’ help integrate the structural linearity with the generous planting, as steel roots draw the eye down to reflective pools of water surrounded by an uplifting harmony of hues. The structure creates a protective arbour over a meeting space, where the permanence of boulder seating suggests both inner strength and the vital importance of a grounding sense of place, where everyone can come together, connect, and flourish.
Hands Off Mangrove, the design duo’s debut show garden, was awarded a Silver-Gilt RHS Medal.
For the story of Grow2Know, click here.
References
1 R. E. N. (1913). Chelsea Flower Show, 1913. Academy and Literature, 84(2141), 696.
2 Elizabeth (Betty) Lambert. (1981). The Chelsea Flower Show. Town & Country, 135(5012), 30.