The MGS Forum
Talking points. Comments and questions on: => Other events of Mediterranean garden interest => Topic started by: Alisdair on May 20, 2014, 08:26:56 AM
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The Royal Horticultural Society's Chelsea Flower Show in London opens today. This year the most truly "mediterranean-climate" display there was staged by Kirstenbosch, the national botanic garden, who have brought over a tremendous collection of native South African plants and set them out to give a very realistic impression of how they might look in several different South African settings. Here are some views (just cellphone snaps - I know other MGS members will be going to the show, so I hope they might post some pictures too!):
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For the Telegraph newspaper, Tommaso del Buono and Paul Gazerwitz have set out to rework the classic traditions of Italian gardens in a clean-cut modern interpretation. (I bumped into Tommaso in another part of the show, where he was checking out other displays with Rossana Porta, who had been helping him with his own one - "La Rossana", an MGS member, is an old friend of many of us!). Here's Tommaso's show garden:
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In a nearby show garden for the financial group M&G, Cleve West's design is meant as a modern twist on the Middle Eastern concept of the paradise garden, which by way of the Arab conquests brought the elements of plants, shade and water into the classic contemplative formula of the great early Spanish gardens:
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Unexpectedly - given their local mild damp climate - Trewidden Nursery from Cornwall was showing a fine range of the proteas, restios, succulents and other South African mediterranean-climate plants that they raise (first three pictures). But my own absolute favourite display at the show is absolutely un-Mediterranean: the enchanting Japanese garden designed by Kazuyuki Ishihara, in the final picture. This snapshot doesn't give the magical impression of its almost intricate tranquillity. You might get more of a feeling of how much I was bowled over by it from the short very hand-held cellphone video you can see by clicking here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=997XoFrmxjU).
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Many thanks for sharing your visit to Chelsea with us Alisdair. I particularly liked the Cleve West garden photographs - wish I could have been there. :)