Chelsea & Belgravia In Bloom

Collage of 4 images from the Chelsea and Belgravia In Bloom floral displays, including models of Toad and Rat from Wind In The Willows, King Kong climbing up Big Ben, two pandas sitting amongst greenery, and a green parrot sitting on a railing in front of a colourful tunnel of orchids.

Last week I spent a gorgeously sunny day with my friend and work colleague Emily from Fashioneyesta, as we explored the Chelsea In Bloom and Belgravia In Bloom installations. These artistic floral masterpieces were being exhibited outside businesses on various streets to coincide with the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, as is traditional every year.

A lot of the displays were impressive and beautiful, and so inevitably we took lots of photos. It was easier to do that than I thought it was going to be really, because it wasn’t too busy, people didn’t spend too long taking their own pictures in front of us, and passers-by were happy to pause briefly as we quickly got our own snaps.

So I thought I’d compile some of my photos into this post, which you can click on to see in a larger size, as well as talking about the issues we had with finding everything. I hope you enjoy!

Contents

Getting around the streets of Chelsea and Belgravia was generally easy, apart from the roadworks in Sloane Street that we had to be careful of. However, finding specific artworks was quite challenging and became rather frustrating sometimes, because the maps for both sets of displays weren’t very helpful. Emily had paper copies (as shown in her 2 photos below) and I had the websites open on my phone, and we both struggled, even by working together to figure things out. We even had to ring Emily’s mother for help on a few occasions, as she had been around the displays before us, and has posted wonderful photos on her Instagram as a result.

Map of the Chelsea in Bloom displays. There are coloured dots containing numbers indicating where different installations can be found.

For the Chelsea map, the paper version had numbered markers showing the positions of all the displays, but it didn’t indicate what they actually were, and if there was a separate index page listing them all then we didn’t know about it. The only exceptions were a few special markers, like stars, to indicate particularly big installations.

Meanwhile the markers on the website’s interactive map were clickable to reveal some information, which helped a bit, and there was a list you could look through. However, I found the map was very fiddly on my mobile phone, so I tried to use it as little as possible.

It also didn’t help that there were inaccuracies in both versions of the map, with some markers pointing to installations that didn’t seem to exist, and a few others that were in the wrong place so we had to hunt around for them. King Kong, for instance, was indicated as being further up Sloane Street and on the opposite side to where he actually was.

Map of Belgravia In Bloom, showing illustrative drawings of some of the larger exhibits, including a couple of safari scenes, pandas, seahorses, a peacock and orchids.

As for Belgravia, the paper and online versions of their map did mention the bigger installations, with drawings to represent them and the names of the streets or areas in which they could be found. And the website had a full list of businesses in each street that had a display, including the smaller ones.

All well and good – but none of the street displays had their exact positions marked on the map. So we either had to walk all the way up and down each street to see if we could spot anything, or rely on mapping apps to search for every business name individually. Either way, it was very time-consuming trying to find things. And with all the photography and map-reading I was doing, I had to borrow Emily’s portable power bank in the late afternoon to give my phone a much-needed boost.

Also, when exploring Belgravia in the afternoon, we found that we were often very close to parts of Chelsea that we’d already visited earlier in the day, as the two districts are direct neighbours of each other. So we could have planned a much more logical and simpler route in advance if there had been a single, easy-to-read and accurate map combining both the Chelsea and Belgravia displays. We wouldn’t have minded jumping between the different themes, and different colours or symbols could have been used to distinguish between the Chelsea and Belgravia displays if people did want to focus on one or the other.

All in all, therefore, the navigation wasn’t as easy as it could have been. However, despite all that, we did manage to figure things out one way or another, either slowly by ourselves or with the help of Emily’s mum, meaning we did see most of the displays in the end. So let’s get on to the photos.

Chelsea In Bloom

This year’s Chelsea In Bloom event was themed around films. The majority of the installations were in King’s Road, Sloane Square and Sloane Street, but several adjoining areas also had a few displays. There were rickshaw rides and walking tours available, but we wanted to take our time exploring by ourselves. So we arrived mid-morning, in the knowledge that we would need several hours to go around both Chelsea and Belgravia. And it did indeed take us pretty much all day, especially as finding everything was tricky as noted above.

So here are some of my favourite photos that I took:

  • Wind In The Willows at The Ivy – This restaurant’s display wasn’t technically part of the Chelsea In Bloom event, as they do their own thing all year round anyway. But it basically counts, as it was also in King’s Road and was still film-related, depicting a lovely scene featuring Toad, Rat, Badger and Mole.
A large display outside The Ivy in King's Road, Chelsea. Lots of purple flowers and greenery are spread around the windows and on the ground, surrounding models of Badger, Toad and Rat from Wind In The Willows. Models of flying insects and a blue tit can also be seen amongst the flowers above them.
Close-up of Toad and Rat, surrounded by purple flowers and greenery. Toad is dressed in a blue checked jacket over a yellow shirt with a blue bow tie, and the lower half of his plump figure only just squeezes into the small white car he's sat in. Next to him, Rat wears a straw boater hat and a small purple bow tie, while sitting on a picnic blanket with a wicker picnic basket.
Close-up of Badger in The Ivy's Wind In The Willows display, who is wearing a jacket and a flat cap that both have a red and green check design. Beneath his jacket he is also wearing a yellow shirt, and on his plump legs he's wearing grey trousers and black shoes.
The other half of The Ivy's Wind in The Willows display, showing Mole in a wooden boat. He too is surrounded by purple flowers hanging around the windows, but there are also a few bigger flowers with white petals and yellow centres in front and behind him. A large model of a colourful flying insect, like a dragonfly, is among the foliage above him.
Close-up of Mole in The Ivy's Wind In The Willows display, sitting in his little wooden boat. He wears a green and black checked jacket over a white shirt and yellow tie, and has a pair of thin black glasses perched on his smiling face.
  • Peter Rabbit at 11 Cadogan Gardens – This won Best Floral Display, and only came to our attention thanks to a very helpful lady who happened to mention it, as it was a bit tucked away and easy to miss.
A floral display representing Peter Rabbit, across the entrances of 9 & 11 Cadogan Gardens. On the left, Peter Rabbit clings on to some branches as he dangles above a wooden bench on the top of the steps leading up to the house. Behind the bench, in the doorway, is shelving crammed full of green plants. The entrance on the right, meanwhile, has colourful flowers in an arch around the doorway. And on the 5 steps leading up to both houses, there are small plant pots containing colourful flowers on the left and right side of each step.
A large model of the black gorilla King Kong clinging on to Big Ben with its legs and right arm, while in its left arm it holds a small bi-plane that it has caught flying past. The whole model stands in a small bed of colourful flowers and greenery.
A close-up of the upper half of King Kong's floral display, where the giant black gorilla has his teeth bared while grasping on to Big Ben with one arm and holding up a small red bi-plane with the other hand.
A floral display representing The Lion King, with Rafiki the mandrill holding up Simba the baby lion, while standing on a large rock next to an adult lion.
Side view of a floral display representing The Lion King, with Rafiki the mandrill holding up Simba the baby lion, while standing on a large rock next to an adult lion. A couple of large zebras are also standing near the rock.
The large, grinning face of the Cheshire Cat from Alice In Wonderland, made up of flowers. The wide mouth is made of light pink flowers, while his nose is a darker purple colour, his eyes are yellow, and his face is red. There is also a big stripy pink and purple tail behind him, which is also very big but isn't made out of flowers.
A floral display representing Mary Poppins, who is represented as a tall dark blue figure holding a black umbrella. Two horses from a fairground carousel ride, complete with the twisting metal poles sticking up out of their backs, are paused in mid air in front of her, as if an invisible carousel ride is still running. The rest of the display around them is filled with flowers in a variety of bright colours, including whites, blues and pinks.
Floral display depicting The Jungle Book, with large models of Shere Khan the tiger, who has a red and black striped body and a white chest, and Baloo the bear, who has a grey body and a white chest.
Floral display depicting The Little Mermaid, including her flowing red hair on her human head, and her blue fish tail that forms the bottom half of her body.
Floral display representing The Little Shop Of Horrors, with a large round green plant that has opened its red lips to reveal sharp teeth in its wide mouth. The rest of the display is mainly made up of yellow flowers and greenery stretched over the front of the restaurant, but there is also a small market stall with the wording Little Shop Of Horrors on its roof, that has lots of colourful flowers inside it.
Floral display representing Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, including an oversized red and white striped candy cane, 2 large toadstools that are red with white spots, and 2 large round lollipops, one of which has a red and yellow spiral on it, and the other has the words Peter Jones in yellow lettering against a red background and a green border. There are also a few golden ticket envelopes nestled into the greenery around the large sweets.
A floral display showing the horse Black Beauty trotting through a bed of colourful flowers.
A model of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, wrapped up in a white robe, standing in a wicker basket that contains a variety of colourful flowers.
A large gold model of a BAFTA award, which is a large mask of a face, on a black pedestal surrounded by lots of colourful flowers.
A tall gold model of an Oscar award statue, depicting a knight holding a sword vertically into the ground. The statue is surrounded by colourful flowers on the ground and up behind its body.
  • Peggy Porschen – This café in King’s Road didn’t have a Chelsea In Bloom display, but they did have a nice archway of flowers around the door. And we popped inside during the morning for a quick nibble, where I had a tasty Jammie Dodger cupcake and a mug of hot chocolate. However, as nice as that was, they did try and refuse us entry at first because of Emily’s guide dog, which soured the experience. Emily stood up for herself of course and they backed down, but it shouldn’t have been an issue in the first place. it’s amazing that such treatment still goes on when businesses know it’s illegal and humiliating. [Update: Emily’s mother has since posted on Instagram to say that they got a £30 voucher after contacting them to complain, not that they’re likely to ever shop there again to be able to spend it, because it’s the second time they’ve had this issue there. Such a shame, Peggy Porschen should know better.]
A floral archway around the entrance to Peggy Porschen, with the main colours including white, pink and light blue.
A cupcake with pink icing swirled neatly on the top, and a mini Jammie Dodger embedded into it. The Dodger is a round biscuit with a red jam-infused heart in the centre. Next to it is a mug of hot chocolate, with a big chocolate heart in the centre of the white foamy surface, plus lots of pink and white mini marshmallows in the saucer around it.

Belgravia In Bloom

The Belgravia In Bloom theme was called Into The Wild, and thus featured a beautiful array of different animals. They could be found in various locations, ranging from Pimlico Road near Sloane Square Station, up to Motcomb Street near Knightsbridge Station.

Here are some of the displays that I appreciated the most:

  • Eccleston Yards – We were welcomed to this pleasant little corner of Belgravia by the lovely PR lady at Biscuiteers, who gave us some free biscuits and a drink each, and had a nice chat with us. They had an owl as part of their display, while nearby there was a safari scene called Eccleston Explorers by Moyses Stevens (in the centre of the concourse), a couple of giraffes that looked like they’d glow in the dark (outside 25 EP), and a big grassy green elephant called Jumbo Jones (at The Jones Family Kitchen).
A model of an owl with flowers for eyes standing on a thick branch in front of some greenery. A sign next to it says the shop, called Biscuiteers, does hand-iced biscuits, cakes and macarons, bespoke biscuits and cakes, and has a Prosecco bar.
Models of 2 giraffes, one with its head up high, the other with its head bowed downwards. They are both bright yellow with green spots, and each has a thick mass of greenery and colourful flowers running all the way down their back, from the top of their head to the tops of their legs.
A large green model of an elephant, which looks as if it's made out of turf. Its back is covered in lots of colourful flowers, and there are also 3 pink flowers attached to one ear, like piercings. The elephant is nicknamed Jumbo Jones, while chairs in front of it also have names on the back, including Quincy Jones, Indiana Jones, Grace Jones and Bridget Jones.
In amongst a lot of green leafy plants, a giraffe drives a red jeep, while a monkey with a big smile on its face holds a pair of binoculars as it sits in the back looking around.
Floral installation featuring 2 large colourful seahorses facing each other, their mouths almost touching, across the entrance to Neill Strain Floral Couture. A flowery model of a turtle sits behind the left seahorse, while an orange and yellow fish sits behind the other one.
Models of 2 pink seahorses decorated in colourful flowers, one behind the other and facing the same direction, standing in a bed of colourful flowers.
Floral installation featuring 2 large black and white pandas, one eating a thick piece of bamboo cane, as they sit amongst greenery and small blue flowers.
Floral installation of a safari scene, including a grey elephant with big white tusks, an orange and red striped tiger, and some tall leafy trees.
Floral installation featuring a large model of a dinosaur, its body and mouth covered in colourful flowers.
Floral installation featuring a model of a lion with a very oversized straggly mane around its head.
Floral installation featuring a couple of very colourful peacocks, mainly covered in pink and purple flowers. The peacocks are facing each other, while behind one of them is a red telephone kiosk, which is also covered in colourful flowers.
Floral installation featuring 2 foxes. The foxes are represented in a 2-dimensional way, facing us with their heads and chests visible among the white flowers and greenery.
  • A Wild Garden Fit For A King(fisher) & Queen(bee) by Mosimann’s – Featuring a picnic hamper and a busy beehive.
Floral installation with lots of colourful flowers, some bees climbing over a white beehive, and a picnic hamper with meaty items and other treats.
A tunnel of bright colourful orchids and greenery filling a short passageway.
A model of a parrot, with a green body, white face and a large black beak, clinging on to some black railings with its light grey claws, with a tunnel made of greenery and colourful orchids in the background.

Conclusion

And that’s it. Despite the frustrations with the maps and the roadworks, we were glad we made the effort to find as much as we could, even if our feet were tired at the end of it all! There certainly were some very creative displays.

So I hope you enjoyed seeing my photos. Remember to check out Emily’s Instagram as well, for any photos that she shares in the days ahead, and also the excellent photos that have already been posted on her mother Emma’s profile. I don’t mind saying that both of them are much better photographers and Instagrammers than me, so you’ll find their images are much more professional. And of course many thanks to Emily for inviting me to tag along with her in the first place!

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Author: Glen

Love London, love a laugh, love life. Visually impaired blogger, culture vulture & accessibility advocate, with aniridia & nystagmus, posting about my experiences & adventures.

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