Chelsea Flower Show hijacked

Gardens and politics have long mixed. From Louis IX lording it over nature in the ultimate display of power, to the soft diplomacy of colonial diplomats, to the Urban Garden Revolution in Cuba. The Chelsea Flower Show is no stranger to floral power play either and has long been touted as the first ‘society’ event of the year, associated with corporate networking, celebrity photo-calls and royal patronage.

Now though, apparently, “a sense of optimism sown by the Conservative victory is bringing a rare glow to gardens at the annual floral spectacular and across the country”, according to one commentator in the Sunday Times. Whatever your politics, that’s just a bit silly, and about as subtle an attempt at product placement as a Ferrari in a show garden.

Chelsea is ALWAYS an extravagant display of optimism. It’s that time of year. Everything looks fantastic, gardens, the countryside, the tumble-down shed in my garden. Even the pigeons are strutting their stuff in London this week. May is the rising crest of nature’s wave and we are all swept along.

Not to mention the fact that gardeners are the most optimistic of creatures. Next year the flowers, the vegetables, the weather….will all be better. Or that only 24% of eligible voters actually put their cross in the Tory box.

To be fair it is difficult to predict the mood of an event before it has begun, just as it is difficult to predict the weather. So as the opening day of the world’s greatest flower show gets underway to a damp start perhaps we should celebrate the bipartisan nature of gardening and not blame the rain on sour red grapes.