Himalayan Blue Poppies score a boundary at the Chelsea Flower Show

 

A short report by Yogesh Patel

Indian Flowers1

It is one of the greatest show on earth where flowers huddle up together in their pomp and show inviting you for the rare selfies with them! Yes, this year’s Chelsea Flower Show also had all flowers going gaga over each other. Our own iconic Himalayan Blue Poppies descended the mountain slopes and lined up in design with the arch-tall cricket stumps to boast about the love for cricket as a fused interest of India and UK. Alan Gemmell, OBE, the director of the Indian branch of the British Council invited me to capture the extravaganza of their exquisite garden, India – A Billion Dreams, through the poetic shutters.

Gateway- Wicket1

This Indian Garden featured Pietra Dura walls of flower patterns meticulously crafted by workers in Jaipur, now also a home of the grand international literary festival. A riot of The Blue Orchid, first collected in the Khalsi Hills of India, was no less scattered to ordain the garden with its glory. A winner of multiple awards, Sarah Ebert’s design celebrated hopes and dreams of young people in India and 70 years of the British Council in India. She incorporated the blue of the Indian cricket jersey in the planting. India had a majestic face under the bright sunny sky held by the stump arches, wicket, awaiting your verdict as an umpire.

 Pietra Dura