Da Vinci hoed at show
2006-05-23 09:14
London - First the book, then the movie,
now the garden.
Designer David Domoney is vying for one of the prizes at
Britain's Chelsea Flower Show with a garden inspired by Dan
Brown's international bestseller The Da Vinci Code.
"Let's hope we can find the Holy Grail with the judges,"
Domoney told Reuters on Monday beside his small show garden
which is dominated by a replica of the glass pyramid outside the
Louvre Museum in Paris that figures in the novel's opening.
"We have even hidden codes on the leaves of some of the
plants which you can only find with an ultra-violet lamp. I
think we all love this idea of hidden treasures and conspiracy
theories," he said.
Chelsea, the world's most famous flower show, attracts
exhibitors from as far afield as New Zealand, South Africa and
Grenada to its elegant showgrounds on the banks of the River
Thames for the four-day show.
Fierce competition
Competition is fierce at The "Olympics of Gardening" which
gives a major fillip to Britain's two billion pound gardening
industry and is an essential first stop for summer socialites on
the way to Royal Ascot, Wimbledon and Glyndebourne Opera.
Gardening is, in the words of designer Terence Conran, the
"new rock 'n' roll for the young" with gardening experts now
rivalling celebrity chefs on a plethora of television makeover
shows.
But this summer this normally green and pleasant land full
of devoted gardeners faces draconian water restrictions as the
worst drought in 100 years threatens some areas of the country
which now have less water per person than parts of Sudan.
Chelsea, which attracts up to 160 000 visitors a year,
drilled its own borehole this year to ensure that all the
lovingly tended blooms did not wilt under a hosepipe ban.
They need not have worried - London was drenched in weekend
storms that ensured enough rainwater to feed the thirstiest of
plants.
Clever ideas on how to save water from computer-driven
"rainwater harvester systems" to built-in water butts were a
constant theme around Chelsea 2006.
The sun even shone briefly on Monday's media day with former
Beatle Ringo Starr, Royal Ballet star Darcy Bussell and West
Indian cricketer Garfield Sobers among the eclectic mix of
celebrities invited along to open the leading show gardens.
And socialites need have no fear of the well running dry -
6 500 bottles of champagne and 5 000 lobsters have been laid on
by caterers to feed green-fingered gourmets at this year's show.