The display gardens for the 99th Chelsea Flower show burst into full bloom in London on press viewing day, despite one of the driest winters and wettest springs in Britain for decades and a tough economic environment sweeping Europe.
Severe drought in the southeast English region that includes London has led to the imposition of water restrictions and Chelsea designers have responded by making responsible water use one of the show's key themes.
Caroline Spelman, the British secretary of state for the Department of Rural Affairs and Food and a keen gardener, visited the Climate Calm garden, an installation that showed the effects of climate change in the water-stressed southeast.
"I feel I've learned a lesson as a gardener for this year and for all future years, which is to think carefully when I'm making choices about which plants use water sparingly, so that I too can use water wisely," she told Reuters.
The show, which takes place on the sprawling lawns between the red-bricked elegance of the Royal Hospital, a 17th century retirement home for army veterans, and the river Thames, draws in over 150,000 visitors each year.
This year, with the London 2012 Olympics fast approaching and the nationwide celebrations for Queen Elizabeth's 60th anniversary as monarch two weeks away, the show had a definite patriotic feel to it.
Union Jack flags were ubiquitous, dotted around displays, woven into patterns in the flowerbeds and even adorning the jackets, t-shirts and dresses of attendees.
To commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, a number of growers unveiled new varieties of flowers. In rose grower David Austin's installation, the pale pink Royal Jubilee romped with the fiery Fighting Temeraire and white Tranquility varieties
