Chelsea pensioner admiring the flowers (photo courtesy of the Royal Horticultural Society)

The Chelsea Flower Show opened in London  yesterday and continues through this weekend. Naturally, QE2 was there to kick off the festivities.

(photo courtesy of BBC)

Lest you think of the Chelsea Flower Show as a frumpy gathering of old lady tea-sippers, behold the world of floral arts that you will see upon tiptoe-ing through the tulips…

gorgeous garden created by Hay Joung-Hwang (photo courtesy of the Royal Horticultural Society)

• Show-Stopping Gardens (like the one above) created in one week’s time on what were the bare grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, home of the Chelsea pensioners. Click here to read a fascinating article about the relationship between the hospital and the 100-year old Chelsea Flower Show. I am told these gardens can cost $200,000 or more to create. That’s why most of them have corporate sponsors.

This is the Best Garden Award winner, the Morgan Stanley Garden for the NSPCC (a charity). “Designed to raise awareness of the work of the NSPCC, this garden’s design is a metaphor for the emotional transition that takes place in a child as they experience the positive impact of the NSPCC’s work,” according to the RHS website. (photo courtesy of the RHS)

• Horticulture: Over 90 nurseries, growers, and florists creatively display their wares in the vast Great Pavilion. Here you will see the best tulips, the best roses, the best lupins, etc., in all of Britain.

Peony headdress seen in the Great Pavilion (photo courtesy of the Royal Horticultural Society)

Horticulture: displays of the very best of each kind of flower you can imagine (photo courtesy of BBC)

admiring the rose display in the Great Pavilion (photo courtesy of the Royal Horticultural Society)

• Floral design

bridal designs (photo courtesy of the BBC)

Where to Stay

No wonder the Queen visits the Chelsea Flower Show every year! Let’s hop on a plane and join her! Click here to see my hotel recommendations. The closest are the Draycott, the Sloane Club, and the Sloane Square Hotel.

Where to Dine

Make your reservations at the hottest London restaurants at the moment, as culled from Mimi’s Travel Files, …

Kitty Fisher’s tiny subterranean dining room feels like a secret club with great food

• Kitty Fisher’s, in Old Mayfair, stylish, intimate, good press…and I liked it, too!
• Barrafina, Spanish tapas, no reservations, lots of rave reviews
• Ottolenghi, “Oh!!! I love Ottolenghi….spectacular food!!! Great deli, too,” says my friend who has lived spectacularly and dined in London for many years. Ottolinghi is haute Israeli cooking from big foodie media star
• Frenchie, Parisian import in Covent Garden
• Riva in Barnes
• Aquavit, in St. James, although my London friend, who has loved Aquavit for a long time,  has heard its service can be a bit off, from time to time
• Sexy Fish , in Berkeley Square, is “very good,” per my London foodie friend
• Chess Club, in Mayfair
• Gymkhana, in Mayfair, perennially lauded Indian restaurant (UPDATE, March 2019: I just ate here and while the food and service were excellent, the ambiance was mediocre)
• Palomar, in Soho, modern-day Israeli food in attractive setting; “love it, small tasty dishes pretty casual atmosphere but excellent food. ….as is its sister The Barbary,” per my London friend
• The Greenhouse, tranquil French in Mayfair; “Good restaurant. Good quality. Not amazing but not disappointing,” per my London friend
• Hawksmore Knightsbridge, art deco/1930’s glam
• Park Chinois, in Mayfair
• While these are not  new, they are wonderful!
• • River Café, superb Italian food in a transporting setting
• • Quo Vadis , delicious, creative food & excellent service in intimate setting in Soho.

Quo Vadis (Credit Photo: Paul Winch-Furness / http://www.paulwf.co.uk)