There are dozens of quirky, whimsical, imaginative items on display at the Chelsea Flower Show. The pity is that you can’t buy some of it and get it home, although some retailers do ship.
But here are a few of the more interesting items that caught my eye at this week’s show.
Copper garden sofa. This was part of a display of decorative garden items made entirely of copper, including a saucer-shaped hammock.
Bears sculptured out of artificial grass. These giant bears were hugely popular as was the giant giraffe.
These driftwood animals made a dramatic impact. There were charging stags and galloping horses and other beautifully sculptured creatures.
This hippopotamus table costs 15,000 pounds and was created by a Scottish designer. I saw something similar in South Africa but not as beautiful as this table. Imagine the dinner conversation.
These floating tent-like hammocks are called Cacoons and are made in England’s West Country. They sell for between 200 and 300 pounds.
I loved this green and white garden with the steel sphere with green inside and white silvery outside set against white-trunk birch trees. I always think I need to do a white garden after visiting Chelsea. The designers do white gardens best of all, I find.
A children’s garden with lovely coloured pencil fence, just one of the cute features in this fun, whimsical garden for toddlers.
What could be more arresting than to find a tiger in your perennial border. How about this giant tiger, part of a display of exotic creature sculptures.
Balanced stones. The chap doing this spent a lot of time balancing these huge stones in the most unbelievable way. No one could believe he actually managed to do it.
These glass apples caught a lot of attention. They look terrific when gathered in a group like this on a table or patio.
Other cute features