My favourite Chelsea Gardens 2015

It's Chelsea Flower Show again this week and as usual, I have been watching the BBC coverage of the event.  I have never managed to visit in person and one year I really must actually go, but, until then, I'll make do with watching the TV and looking at the website.  All the photos are from the rhs Chelsea website which is a really good overview of the show and gardens.  For the past few years, I have written a blog post about the gardens which appeal to me, so I'll continue that tradition.  Above is Dan Pearson's evocation of Chatsworth with enormous boulders from Derbyshire.  It looks as though it has always been there and it isn't surprising that it won best in show.

 Matthew Wilson's garden had some lovely plants, with a jolt of orange among the pastels and I like the curly seating.

 The Perfumer's Garden was designed to show a slightly overgrown garden in France, once used for perfume creation and has a very romantic look.

 Chris Beardshaw's garden really appealed to me despite the formality of the hard landscaping and edging...

...as it was softened by the exuberant and beautiful jewel coloured planting.  This garden is going to be part of a community garden in Poplar, East London.

More flashes of orange in the Sentebale garden, designed by Matthew Keightley.  

In the smaller artisan gardens, the Breast Cancer Haven garden looked just that - a haven - with a huge seat in the shape of an oak leaf for lazing on. Even in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Chelsea, it looks a relaxing place.

The Trug maker's garden shows more beautiful planting with vibrant colours.

 The Evader's garden is described as: "Stan Everiss, the designer’s father, was an RAF evader who was helped to freedom by ordinary French citizens after being shot down in 1943. Inspired by these acts of selfless bravery, the garden’s design reflects the bond between helper and evader.

A sculpture of a young pilot, seconds after parachuting into France, hides in the ruins of a war-damaged church. His eyes look up to a stained glass window where two young French people are reaching out to help him. The wall has a code poem engraved into a tablet, as well as the names of Resistance fighters, many of whom lost their lives during the war. A mass planting of perennials and annuals surrounds the sculpture as nature reclaims the abandoned church."

The sculpture is particularly impressive as it seems to melt into the wall, perfectly describing the 'evading' of the title.  He's there, but then he isn't.

This is one of my favourite parts of the garden - the planting around the stone.
As usual, my favourite gardens are informal, with curved lines (except for Chris Beardshaw's garden) and exuberant planting, including splashes of bright colour.  I look forward to seeing more of the gardens on TV through the rest of the week.