As I was attending Chelsea Flower Show for the first time, I searched for information online to get an idea of what to expect there, and I expected to be able to buy anything only after 4 o’clock in the last day, as the displays were sold. 

My plan was solid: enjoy the Houseplant Studios, check some of the gardens and get a souvenir plant on my way out. 

However, shortly after my field trip started, I stumbled upon Dibleys, a wholesale nursery specialising in houseplants. I was surprised to see they were selling plants and decided on spot to cross the last task on my list early, so I bought a very cute Tradescantia Zebrina Flame Dance.

Furthermore, in the Houseplant Studios area I was told by designer Nikki Barsby from In The Garden I could take home a wonderful Monstera Albo taller than me, if I were patient enough to wait until 4PM and have £1000 available.

Since I had neither, I moved to the next studio: Hope After Humanity. There, when I attempted to identify a baby Anthurium as Clarinervium, I immediately stood corrected by a knowledgeable voice: “It’s a Dorayaki!”. Nevertheless, I was in love with the sparkling ‘nerviums’ and this is how I bought my first Anthurium from GrowTropicals.

Crossing all three tasks of my list, I had to participate in ‘selling the displays’ experience. At a quarter to 4, I joined a very British queue to acquire a large bouquet of colourful lilies with migraine generating fragrance. 

Moreover, another display with tropical flowers and variegated leaves was being dismantled in the pavilion. Here, I opted for a bouquet of two dracaena type of clippings, four different sansevieria clippings, one aloe vera and, the cherry on top, a Monstera Deliciosa fruit. I already collected a few seeds from the Monstera fruit for a very intriguing project. All the other clippings are sitting in water and hopefully will root. 

Shopping at Chelsea Flower Show turned out to be a trilling experience and much cheaper than expected.