chelsea flower show

On my Bucket List (things to do before I die): Visit the world-renowned Chelsea Flower Show, being held this week May 25-29 at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, London (image below courtesy a BBC story on the Chelsea Flower Show 2010).

My reasons for wanting to see the show are twofold: Of course, the first is the opportunity to see the world's top garden and flower show. Presented by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) for 21 years now, the Chelsea Flower Show is known not only for its cutting-edge gardens designed by leading names but also for its showcasing of some of the newest, most exciting garden plants on the planet - kind of like the gardening world's equivalent of the Olympics.

According to the BBC article, this year's show has an optimistic, extravagant feel that's a stark contrast to last year's recession-inspired display with recycled exhibits and a lack of larger garden sponsors.

But second of all, I've been tracking down my family history and FINALLY tracked down my great-grandfather, Ernest Hutchurson, and the street – and even HOUSE – where he lived in West Ham, London (7 Addington Road - I Google Mapped it). So I desperately want to travel to London to see it and anything else relating to my family history.

Sadly, I won't be going this year. Tickets are sold out (unless I want to pick up one of the black-market tickets left selling for five times its original value). But I will be ordering the official Chelsea Flower Show DVD. If I did go to the show, however, I'd especially like to see the Chelsea gardens already in line for the gold, according British garden guru Matt Biggs. 

Of course, I'd also want to see the Tesselaar Plants in this year's show – Bluestorm Agapanthus and Tropicanna Canna (in a garden designed by Homebase – kind of like the British version of Home Depot). I just planted both on my deck out back (pics below, Bluestorm at top). But mine are just babies, with the Tropicanna canna shoots just starting to break out of the soil. So I'd love to see them at their peak, of course, in a professionally-designed garden at Chelsea! Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of the Homebase garden at Chelsea. But I'm working on finding some after the show opens, and when I do, I'll be sure to post 'em!

Bluestorm Agapanthus

Original Tropicanna Canna (tangerine bloom, rainbow-striped leaves)

Tropicanna Canna Gold (left) and Tropicanna Canna Black (right)

Can't wait for the day when my Bluestorm agapanthus looks more like this:

And my Tropicanna cannas look more like this!

Until then, I'll just wait for my Chelsea Flower Show DVD to arrive – and try not to check on my cannas every five minutes!