A TRIP TO LONDON: THE CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW

A high-rise walkway, Sunflower Street, between six model gardens shows the colorful crowd in the West Marquee.

"Flower Market," a shampoo ginger plant, was on display at the Barbados Horticultural Society's space in the East Marquee.

"The Millennium Festival Growing for the Future" by the Birmingham City Council shows part of the ceiling of the Chelsea show's new marquee made of polyvinyl chloride and polyester.

I've heard of the Royal Horticultural Society's Chelsea Flower Show in England for years. Mary Blue, who was a popular garden columnist for the Southeast Missourian for many years and was known as Lady Bug, first wrote about attending the Chelsea Flower Show in 1982. This year, along with artist and photographer Janet Chamberlain of Cape Girardeau, I attended the show.

The whisper of the words "Chelsea Flower Show" has always conjured visions of spectacular floral displays and stunning show gardens. Jan and I weren't disappointed. Plants are flown in from all around the world -- many varieties never having been seen in a flower show before -- and put on display for four days. As a gardener said in the show program, "Chelsea Flower Show is all about dreams. It shows us the world of our ideal garden. And even if we grow too wise to think we will ever achieve it, we never grow too old for the dreams."

In only 16 days of actual setup, empty spaces are transformed to look like established gardens. One of my favorite gardens used 800-year-old olive trees in its design. Can you imagine trees that originally sprouted in the 13th century were incorporated into a 21st century garden within 16 days to look as if they had never been moved? There were also exhibits of floral arrangements along with special presentations of educational or scientific interest. All exhibits are judged, and strict guidelines apply.

Every plant used must not only be free of any pests, diseases or disorders, but should not show any signs of damage. That means no crimped, caterpillar-chewed or black-spotted leaves. We're talking about displaying 10-foot climbing rose bushes where every leaf is perfect, perky and facing upwards, not to mention the rose blossoms being at the peek of bloom. An exhibit receives extra points for using unusual or difficult-to-grow plants. All labels are expected to be accurate and well-presented.

Gardening is different in Britain than in the United States. For example, how many 20-foot-high hornbeam hedges or "pleached" (braided) trees does one see in Cape Girardeau? And because of the overcast and rainy days, flowers cascade over windowsill boxes in downtown London during the summer. Before air conditioning, when windows and doors to balconies were regularly opened, there used to be more of that in Cape Girardeau too, because watering the flower boxes was easier. I remember well the Southeast Missourian's own window boxes. Without constant watering, however, plants in the boxes dry up because of the hot summers here.

England's climate meant that it rained almost every day while we were in London, but one soon learns to do what the Brits do: pack an umbrella wherever you go.

According to some of the participants we met, the Chelsea Flower Show also marks the start of the social season in Britain, with the gaiety of flowers and colors bursting forth from a dreary winter, not unlike the whirling and twirling of elegant debutantes into a brave, new world. Curiously, the crowds in attendance on the days Jan and I were there included an overwhelming number of men, many of them in suits, and the almost complete absence of children. Going to the flower show can be a heady horticultural experience, a social event and, for some, serious business.

The flower show debuted in 1888 and has been an annual event since 1913 at its current location, the war years being the only exception. Nowadays, it takes 18 months to organize and 2 1/2 weeks to install. The show gardens are viewed by the public for only four days. The show takes place every May on the grounds in front of the 1682 facade of Sir Christopher Wren's Royal Hospital in Chelsea on the banks of the Thames. The British call the two tent-like covered areas the Grand Floral Marquees East and West, which was a story in itself this year. The tented areas had a new design incorporating a polyvinyl chloride/polyester cover and "natural sunlight" halogen lamps, which created more light, greater height and wider, more accessible aisles and doorways. The old marquees had 278 thick, wood support poles. The new marquees: only 16 slim metal ones.

A marquee to me always signified a prominent sign, like an entrance to a theater. So when I heard it was possible to take home a sentimental product of the "old marquee" -- which defined the Chelsea Flower Show since 1951 -- in the form of a hat, gardening apron or bag, I was really curious. That's when I learned the second definition of marquee is a large outdoor tent for sheltering a party or reception.

Jan and I spent eight hours at the show on the day our tickets designated, half of which were in the rain. We wanted to take pictures and to understand how to take advantage of all that was offered to share with readers and gardeners back home. It wasn't until we arrived back at the hotel exhausted that we realized Edna Ruth Fischer's request for pictures of the flower-arranging exhibits hadn't materialized. We had completely missed a whole section of the show that was reached by going down the new Mavis Sweetingham steps. Jan and I have much to learn about trying to be members of the press.

The Royal Horticulture Society is Britain's gardening charity and organizer of the Chelsea Flower Show. There are more than a quarter of a million members. For 35 pounds (roughly $52.50) one can become a member. Membership includes two tickets to the show as well as a subscription to The Garden magazine and calendar listing of other flower shows. The first two days of the flower show are set aside for members only. The total attendance for the four-day show, including 16 days for setup and one press day, was over 150,000 flower enthusiasts. There were more than 800 exhibitors. Last-minute public tickets are hard to come by and must be applied for months in advance. Joining the RHS makes obtaining tickets easier.

Putting the show together is one of the main facets of fund raising for the RHS. The money raised not only provides educational programs and services for school-age children and adults, as well as research funding, but also maintains three magnificent experimental gardens at Wisley in Surrey, Rosemoor in Devon, and Hyde Hall in Essex. In addition to these projects, the RHS is also currently involved in a major project to rehouse and develop the world-renowned Lindley Library.

Is it worth all the time and effort that go into the four-day Chelsea Flower Show? In financial terms, yes. The flower shows are important to the RHS as they encourage new members to join and make a net contribution of 1.6 million pounds ($2.4 million). But, more importantly to the two visitors from Cape Girardeau, the answer is yes. It gave an ideal stage for nurserymen to demonstrate their many skills and to inspire creating thinking in our own gardening.

The next Chelsea Flower Show will be May 22-25, 2001. Jan and I may not make it back to another show, although we would love to go. But perhaps this story will spark the dream in some readers like Mary Blue's columns did for me many years before.

For more information about the Chelsea Flower Show, the RHS Web site is www.rhs.org.uk.