It amuses me when an event starts to become popular and the media finally get on the bandwagon. Overnight the event becomes a “success” and the media seem chuffed with their efforts. Then as time wears on the same media begins to foretell its demise as though “every good thing must come to an end.”
True to form this article Chelsea Flower Show’s future in doubt, claims leading nursery emerged from the Telegraph. It seems that Chelsea is sitting on ticking time-bomb in terms of its tenure. The organisers must be quaking in their gardening clogs!
While I certainly haven’t been around for the whole 205 years of its celebrated history one can only hypothesise that this is not the first shot across the bow of the Chelsea flotilla. In fact I’d even bank on it not being the last.
While I understand the point of the article it does seem to be a little like “focussing on the trees instead of the forest”. Most of the complaints and reduced displays have resulted from the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) with sponsors not willing to part with funds that they did previously.
Interestingly, last year, at the height of the global boom, there was a record 22 displays – a record! That means it has never had that many before. So where were the doomsday prophets then?
Here’s my tip, for what it’s worth. Chelsea will go on displaying plants and gardens for another 205 years at least. In that time they will succumb to financial pressures and probably suffer at the hands of another two GFC’s, but they’ll last. Chelsea is an institution and ought to be celebrated and supported as such.
