They say that behind every successful man there is a woman.
And behind every successful Chelsea Show Garden there is a shed. Some contain exotic items like rose-water and lime leaves, others are cluttered with boxes of disposable plastic shoe covers. (Chelsea judges don’t take kindly to messy footprints).
While the public sees only cool, calm, sophistication on Main Avenue, behind the scenes there is a makeshift world of shanty living. At the Chelsea Flower Show, the shed becomes a home-from-home for the garden designer – a womb-like structure to retreat to, where copious cups of tea are made.
By the time Medals Day has come on Tuesday morning, many designers are suffering from exhaustion. Uneaten sandwiches give way to bottles of fizz: everyone knows they have to savour the moment and make the most of enjoying a garden that will soon be torn down.
We randomly photographed the sheds of 6 designers: James Wong/ Malaysian Tourism, Tom Hoblyn/ Foreign and Colonial Investments, Robert Myers/Cancer Research, Andy Sturgeon/ Daily Telegraph, Tom Stuart-Smith/Laurent Perrier and Roger Platts/ M&G.
Enter our Chelsea Flower Show Shed Competition for the chance to win a highly sought after, signed copy of ‘Shedworking: The Alternative Work Place Revolution’ by Alex Johnson of the world renown Shedworking blog. All you have to do is Match The Shed To The Chelsea Show Garden.
Those with 6 right answers will be placed in the prize draw. E-mail me here
Competition closes when Alan Titchmarsh rings the bell for the Chelsea sell-off at 4pm on Saturday. My grateful thanks to photographer Helen Fickling who dashed round to take the pictures and the designers who allowed us behind the scenes.
If you haven’t done so yet, there is still time to vote for ‘Shed of the Year’ over at Readers’ Sheds.