Perhaps the most difficult job at Chelsea falls to the judges. Sally Nex talked to show organiser Bob Sweet about the standards set this year. |  |
Bob Sweet is the man responsible for organising the judging, which takes place in two stages 鈥 an assessment, on Sunday, followed by formal judging on Monday. He says the discussions during which medals are decided are long and sometimes fierce. 鈥淭here鈥檚 always quite a strong debate about which one should take the lead, and I think perhaps there is always the feeling that it ought to be a garden which offers something slightly alternative,鈥 he says.  He believes the standard at this year鈥檚 show is particularly high, though he describes Tom Stuart Smith's Daily Telegraph garden as an 鈥渙bvious pick鈥 for best in show. 鈥淗e's gone for a garden which offers a lot of new material, it has this Corten [pre-rusted] steel in it, and it has a very bold range of plants in it. And it has this huge viburnum, which is quite a difficult plant for designers to use.鈥 There haven鈥檛 been many golds in the small gardens category this year 鈥 just one awarded for the City Gardens, and two in each of the Chic and Courtyard categories. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 pretty typical,鈥 says Bob. 鈥淭he small gardens category has got a very high number of first-timers, and therefore it鈥檚 not surprising that some of those don鈥檛 quite make it to the top of the tree.鈥
 In the Great Pavilion, almost half the exhibitors were awarded gold medals in a particularly high-quality year. One of them was the Kirstenbosch exhibit from South Africa, a stand which particularly caught the judges鈥 eye. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e taken lack of water for their theme, so they鈥檝e produced a display which has a big water feature in it, but only uses five litres of water,鈥 says Bob Sweet. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a stunning display 鈥 it just shows you, even with a little water how much of an impression you can make.鈥 As for trends at this year鈥檚 Chelsea, Bob says the new star of the design world is Corten steel 鈥 otherwise known as rusty metal. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been hobbling around on the side for a while, but in several areas of the show we鈥檝e suddenly seen rusty metal appearing now. That feel of having that lovely brown colour, that rusty-type structure - there鈥檚 no doubt that that鈥檚 going to have a big future.鈥
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