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After 2 long years of spending days on end in our own gardens due to Covid-19 interruptions, we were finally able to be inspired by the gardens at Chelsea Flower Show, which took place at its rightful time of year for the first time in two years. This year was particularly special as we are also celebrating Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
The Chelsea preparations started on the Thursday before the big week with Will, Henry, Glenn, and Graham setting up our wonderful stand, in anticipation for everyone to visit and enjoy. Over the weekend, the final touches were added to the stand, ready for press day on Monday. This year the Fuller family made some beautiful flower arrangements in celebration of Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Press day was extra special this year as Her Majesty the Queen came to view the gardens, as well as all the Jubilee decorations. There were several floral displays dotted around Chelsea Flower Show which paid tribute to our longest reigning monarch. She was very on theme for Chelsea as she wore a beautiful, floral dress with a wonderful bright pink coat.
Tuesday was members only day and we had the largest number of our lovely clients visiting us. Our stand looked spectacular, with the works of artists such as Georges Charles Robin and Gustave Loiseau on show for everyone to enjoy. Of course, the weather posed a few challenges; one minute the sun was shining, and it was lovely and warm, the next minute it was pouring with rain with the sounds of thunder and lightning.
We had the wonderful Peter van Breda painting for us who was working on his latest piece of London in the evening light. The piece depicts Albert Bridge at dusk, he has created a magical painting of the twinkling lights of the bridge reflecting on the water. As always, visitors were mesmerised by his work and how he creates such beautiful paintings of London.
Members only day continued on Wednesday, with the amazing Paul S Brown as our artist of the day. Paul was working on a small still life of fresh, French garlic, which was carefully placed in front of him so that people could see how he studies real objects to create his beautifully detailed paintings. The weather was definitely improving, with only a small shower compared the torrential rain that we experienced the day before.
On Thursday, we had the fabulous sculptor Ed Waites as our contemporary artist who was working to produce a study of a buffalo’s head. Once again, our artist brought a lot of interest to the stand, with people watching closely as Ed created the small details that brought the animal to life. The afternoon became increasingly busier, especially in the evening as people came to visit after work in anticipation for the busy weekend ahead.
Martin Taylor was our artist for Friday. He started with just a drawing of a bluebell wood and his progress throughout the day was incredible. People were amazed by the level of detail in his works, the pop of blue in his current painting was enhanced by the beautiful forest greens and browns. Martin has an amazing ability to paint exactly what is in front of him, creating a window into the countryside that surrounds the area where he lives.
Saturday was our final day at Chelsea, the fantastic Martin Taylor joined us once again with his painting of a bluebell wood. The sun was shining, and although the breeze was a little chilly at times, it was a wonderful day to chat to more new friendly faces and reflect on the success of our week at Chelsea.
After 2 years of uncertainty and adjusting to the Covid-19 measures, it was wonderful to see Chelsea Flower Show back at its usual time of year and buzzing with people again. A huge thank you to all of our G&P team for making the week such a huge success, and a massive thank you to all of our wonderful clients and new friendly faces for coming to see us, we look forward to welcoming you back next year!
