leisure words | Marcus Killick
FLORAL TRIBUTES and foliage fisticuffs
I
Anyway, if this was the less crowded day, am not a flower person. I do not have Mecca for gardeners and gardening enthugreen fingers, green thumbs and if siasts. I had been invited by my friend from the public days must be like the start of the Harrods sale. The site there was green anything else, it would Chicago, who is a member of the RHS for the show is quite small be more likely to be evidence of ganand consequently visits the UK to attend The public grene than my horticultural skills. Whilst I every year (I said it was like Mecca). As days must be and they pack a lot in. Aside from the show garenjoy walking in gardens, I rarely enter one such, I got to go on the first Members’ like the start clutching an odd shaped implement with day. This apparently means it is less dens, there are marquees of the Harrods with every kind of flora a curious name (I don’t know what a “macrowded and you get to see the flowers sale. and fauna imaginable. tock” is, nor do I wish to). I and gardens at their best before the There was the awe-inhave never bought nor read a week begins to take its toll. The preI rarely gardening magazine, watched vious night had been the gala evening spiring 5000 Poppies Project on display enter a garden with lots of frocks (the purchases of a gardening show on TV in front of the Royal Hospital. Comprising 26,000 handmade felt poppies it carpetand am not sure I would which no doubt resulted in the empclutching an ed the lawn (clearly having hit their 5000 recognise Alan Titchmarsh tying of stock in Laura Ashley shops odd shaped target they kept going, or simply failed to if I bumped into him at the throughout the Home Counties), implement keep count). There was a floral tribute to check in at Gibraltar Airport. blazers, straw hats and champagne. I with a curious the Queen. The papers that morning had a wasn’t invited to that bit. name... picture of her looking at it with the face of So, why was I, on a sunny someone who clearly would have preferred Tuesday afternoon in May, As an aside, my friend from Chicago being unattributed. wandering around the Royal Horticulturis also the one who edits and proofreads al Society Chelsea Flower Show, with a every article I write. This has the advanThe breadth of imagination shown, and stupid grin on my face thoroughly enjoying tage of the fact she is very good at it, an occasion I had never previously had the having done it professionally. This has the the love involved in the creations would make a diehard cynic smile (no wonder slightest ambition to experience? disadvantage that she will be editing this I was grinning like an idiot). There was as well and so can censor any comment she deems inappropriate. realism, there was surrealism. There was For the uninitiated, Chelsea is a kind of 70
GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE MAY 2017