Armchair travel: Rachel Hershfield visits the Chelsea Flower Show

Looking for a little garden inspiration? Islander Rachel Hershfield recently revved up her green thumb at the famed Chelsea Flower Show in England as well as several other British gardens, and agreed to share some of her 700 stunning photos of the trip with us.  

"I've become totally obssessed with gardening and flower since I moved to P.E.I.," said Hershfield, who came from Calgary eight years ago where she only had a small condo deck.

If you're going to have weeds growing everywhere, the delicate and colourful English daisy can't be beat!— Rachel Hershfield

The Chelsea Flower Show had long been on Hershfield's bucket list, and she decided this was the year. A few weeks ago, she embarked on a group bus tour that included the legendary show as well as seven more horticultural gems in South England, most preserved and managed by the National Trust.

"It was awesome, just fantastic," Hershfield said. She enjoyed not having to find directions, buy tickets or stand in long lineups, she said of the tour. 

'Everything looks so nice'

"I think what inspired me the most was just how into gardening the English are," she said. "Even if it's just a little garden, they're working hard and everything looks so nice." 

The abundance of dramatic plants that grow in England's warm, damp climate were also exotic to see, Hershfield said. 

The highlight of the trip was definitely the Chelsea Flower Show, Hershfield said. 

"When I walked into the Great Pavilion, I almost cried," she wrote on Facebook.

Even though it was very crowded, she tried to ignore all the people and enjoy herself. "It's massive!" she said. 

Inspiration and marvel

After the show, the tour headed on to other famous gardens throughout England — each stop providing Hershfield with inspiration and marvel. 

"As I left [Wilton House] I couldn't imagine anything that would make more of an impression — but then I hadn't yet seen Stourhead," she wrote. 

Stourhead, opened in the 1740s, has been described as a "living work of art," according to its website. 

'I even loved the weeds'

Hershfield said of Hestercombe House in Somerset, "I loved everything about it, especially the gorgeous views of the English countryside and the use of symmetry in the design. I even loved the weeds — if you're going to have weeds growing everywhere, the delicate and colourful English daisy can't be beat!" 

'Happiest, cheeriest and brightest'

Upon returning home, Hershfield decided to give her own garden a facelift. 

"It may not be vast and majestic, but I feel like I've achieved what I've been envisioning all winter long — the happiest, cheeriest and brightest garden I could imagine!" she wrote on Facebook. Key to the design: a colour palette, fresh paint and reupholstered furniture.

Hershfield is a graphic designer by trade and has decided to sell some of the images she captured in England on the online marketplace Etsy. 

She booked her 7-day trip through Brightwater Holidays, and it cost approximately $2,600.

She'd love to see a flower show in P.E.I. similar to the Chelsea show, so Islanders could see what plants are available and new and how to plant and arrange them. 

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