Welcome to Spring folks.
The love affair began in 1984. I arrived at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show to broadcast for Radio 2GB live back to Australia and I was smitten - it was horticultural magic. I returned in 1993 for Channel 7’s 11AM current affairs and news program and presented more than 30 minutes of television over a week in what was Australia’s first serious look at this global gardening phenomenon. I’ve had the great privilege of being there every years since 2005, filming for Better Homes & Gardens and I reckon it gets bigger and better every year!
There’s a personal connection too. My Great Uncle Tom was Superintendent of Royal Parks, London, and was responsible for repairing the grounds of the Chelsea Hospital after each Chelsea Flower Show. In 1924 he wrote to his son’s headmaster saying his son, Roy, would not be attending school that day, because “he was about to start his proper education - with a visit to the Chelsea Flower Show”. Roy attended every year until 1988.
If you’ve always wanted to go to Chelsea, check out the tips in our Garden Festival Planner in this issue. And of course if you’d like to come with us, we’d love to have you. Since the mid-1980s Ross Garden Tours has run several tours each year that include a day at Chelsea, and there'll be more in 2019. But first, check out the highlights of Chelsea 2018, as selected by three of our tour leaders, in this issue.