Morning:
5°c
Guards for this £20m jewel of a garden at Chelsea Flower Show
Mark Prigg, Science and Technology Editor24 May 2010
A Helicopter and security guards were drafted into the usually serene Chelsea Flower Show today to protect a £20 million display.
David Domoney's “ace of diamonds” garden, for airline bmi, contains precious stones including a £3.2 million flawless blue diamond in a daisy-shaped ring and a £1 million peony-shaped ring. The jewels were flanked by a team of guards as they arrived while a helicopter hovered overhead to monitor the area.
The diamonds — loaned by Bond Street store Leviev — make the garden worth three times more than all the other displays at Chelsea combined.
Gallery: More pictures from the Chelsea Flower Show
As temperatures soared on the opening day of the festival, another garden to catch the eye was Tom Hoblyn's design for Foreign & Colonial Investments, which featured a naked model painted gold.
Competitors were surprised to find the model, known as Paisley, cavorting through the garden performing interpretative dance pieces. Organisers said she would not be performing when the queen toured.
As judging got under way, contenders for the coveted best garden award include Roger Platts's romantic garden for the show sponsor M&G, which features rambling roses and lavenders. Leeds city council's Hesco Garden was also well received, with its emphasis on hardy annuals. It also features the first lock gate in the festival's history.
Many competitors were forced to make last-minute changes to their gardens to cope with the hot weather. Earlier this month Arctic winds forced designers to resort to hairdriers and halogen lights to try to coax their plants into bloom. Mr Domoney said: “We were really worried about plants not flowering in time, but then we suddenly had a hot spell and some things have gone a bit mad. My brother and I were actually having to drive round and pick up new plants.”
Roberts Myers, the gardener behind the Cancer Research UK garden, said: “I think today is key. If we can get through it without plants wilting, we should be okay.”
