The Urban Londoner
In cord trousers and dark-rimmed specs, the urban Londoner is earnest – and the seeds of his passion for gardening took root in lockdown. It’s his maiden Chelsea Flower Show excursion and he’s navigating the site, weighing up the geography before settling on the Newt’s Cyder stall as his natural habitat, enjoying the spectacle of the rows upon rows of apples (especially having once visited the Newt’s Somerset HQ). The Urban Londoner might stop by the Freddie’s Flower stand (this year, awash with blush pink peonies), since its founder is the godfather of his two-year-old, otherwise, he’ll be perusing the small balcony and container gardens for practical ‘at home’ ideas. Anything that is multi-functional, fragrant or edible is what he is in the market for.
The Horticultural Anorak
They live and die for their garden. In fact, it’s a place they rarely – if reluctantly – ever leave, except for the annual Chelsea Flower Show (or a trip to Dobbies Garden Centre to stock up on soil). There’s no time for Pimm’s or Pommery Champagne – they’ve got a checklist of who’s displaying what and exactly where: Roualeyn Fuchsias in the Great Pavillion at 12:00pm; The Lady Garden Foundation ‘Silent No More’ Garden at 12:45pm. The itinerary is day-long, buzzing around with a bee-like intensity. Spot them in practical footwear, a cagoule and a sunhat – breezily au fait with the gardening professionals at large. They can quote verbatim the best parts of Radio 4’s Gardeners Question Time and, unsurprisingly, they’ve downloaded the RHS app. Not so much off-duty horsey – as off-duty green-fingered.
David Armstrong-Jones is trialling a more stylish take on the Horticultural Anorak Chelsea tribe
Karwai Tang
The Cosmopolitan Chelsea Local
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