Jersey Farmers’ Union at Chelsea

I just got back from Chelsea on Saturday and to be honest I’ve needed these last few days to recover and process all the wonderful things that I saw there. The whole experience has served to deepen my respect for gardeners and growers and helped me fall in love with kitchen gardening all over again.

The stand at Chelsea that absolutely lit my fire was the Jersey Farmers’ Union display of vegetables. They had grown these vegetables, transported them via refrigerated vans from Jersey (not an insignificant task in itself) and then designed and executed this intricate and perfect display. When I saw it from the other side of the pavilion nothing could stop me finding the quickest route there, camera at the ready.

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A celebration of sumptuous vegetables was all over it. The colours of the peppers lay on their side and packed into place with Parsley to create these luminescent rainbow-coloured stain glass windows were out of this world. I could hardly believe that, yes, I was looking at Peppers!

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The hairy Radish balls were truly alien-like but so much fun. Just as a Radish ought to be!

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Tomato pyramids popping up from all angles looked for all the world like red wedding cakes waiting to be eaten.

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And the baskets of Pak Choi were the freshest, greenest, leaves that I’ve ever seen. And made me want to rush home and sow some seed now before it’s too late.

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The whole stand made my year I think. And the people behind it were hugely modest and very thankful for their gold medal. They also said that they never wanted to see a piece of Parsley again. Understandable – until next year that is.

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10 Comments on “Jersey Farmers’ Union at Chelsea”

  1. I think the peppers are absolutely stunning and they displayed everything incredibly well. I thought the aubergine display was crazy, how on earth did they manage it? It was a wonderful day, I think I walked 10 miles or more, i couldn’t get enough – until next year!

  2. This was my favourite in the Great Pavilion too and I enjoyed talking to the people who’d put together the exhibit.

    I’ve found that the TV coverage of Chelsea depresses me because of the perfection of everything that’s shown. But like you, I find actually being there is totally invigorating :)

  4. Stunning display, even more so when seen from further away. Everything looks perfect.

    Do they have to update/replace items during the course of the week?

  6. Oh, so very beautiful!
    Happy gardening!
    Lea
    Lea’s Menagerie

  7. Love the pictures… and admire those who created the designs. Just wonderful, both.

  8. Wonderful images of a wonderful stand.
    I too enjoyed Chelsea Flower Show very much indeed – but I’ve written my report from the flowers rather than vegetables standport – both are grown to such a wonderful standard at the show, it’s awe-inspiring, all the hard work and dedication that goes into it all.
    Ursula

  9. Stunning displays so much time, effort and expertise have gone into them. I’m doing a back to back garden at Tatton 2012 I’m a touch nervous but excited !

  10. wow, these are some incredible displays..some very talented people out there with great visualisation, and great blog