Went to Chelsea Flower Show with my sister, it was our first time. The show gardens were magnificent without doubt and seeing them live instead of on TV was really special. The designers and their teams were so willing to explain their gardens’ designs and you can see why this show is so popular. The smaller gardens and the Pavilion were dreamy too, leaving you with lots of ideas and of course plants and seeds. However, food and drink was quite pricey on top of the entrance ticket price. There was not a lot of seating outside of the food halls and on a hot day sometimes you need to sit for ten minutes or so. It is still worth a visit but, maybe, go on a half-day ticket from 3pm onwards when the crowds have died down and its much easier to get around.

It was a few years ago so we thought it was time for another visit. There is plenty to see and experience. Sometimes very crowded. The exhibition gardens are always nice to see, we bought seeds, as it is the easiest to bring with us. We booked an all-day ticket so we could go in peace and quiet, without stress. Also ordered onions which were sent home.

There is nothing like the Chelsea Flower show! We had planned this 12 day trip to Paris then London ending with this show and heading back across the pond tomorrow and every dollar/every mile was worth it! I could post hundreds of pictures so please use your imagination…. Every flower and green plant you know and don’t know is here… is full bloom, watered to perfection and displayed in magical settings. I joined the RHS last year to gain early admission on the first day of the preview. A short taxi or water taxi ride from our London hotel. Wear sensible walking shoes.

Took my mum to see the garden show for her birthday! Booked months in advance, and one of the highlights to complete the whole experience was to enjoy a ‘British’ afternoon tea. Paid £151 upfront - for 2 for a ‘champagne and seafood’ afternoon tea at 3pm. Arrived 15min early for our booking and were told to wait outside while they turned over their lunch tables - eventually admitted at 15h15 Tables were not set, never received full cutlery, or a napkin. At 15h40 I eventually asked if someone could serve us. The menu on paper looked fantastic but the reality was WAY far from that. Half a Bite size savouries and a scone the size of an Oreo biscuit! Bland and NO taste! So disappointed! The show was enjoyable despite the rain!

RHS seem to have forgotten to order shuttle buses this year. Great confusion at Victoria as to how to get from there to the show and no one to help. Similarly had to get back. Lots of elderly struggling with Sloane Square tube station stairs which is how they were suggested to go. Judging a bit inconsistent. St James garden overrated and old fashioned. Octavia Hill garden fab and under marked. Not sure the forest bathing one was really best in show. Certain sameness in gardens as a consequence of judging criteria which are driving gardens a particular way. Used to be better but show seems now to be decline.

It was mobbed, impossible to get a seat to eat anywhere and just too many people. RHS have sold way too many tickets for this event, it was difficult to see the displays. But for those displays we did manage to see, the architecture and sculptures ones were the best.

First time at Chelsea, so excited couldn’t sleep the night before so it was easy to get up early and be in the queue at 7:35 for the 8 am open. The whole line of folk was excitable, like every festival these days there was a bag check. We had taken water with us and that was no problem. We had purchased the booklet with map and had studied both. We went in with a plan and stuck to it. The signage in the grounds were excellent and it was very easy to find items of interest. My main goal of being at Chelsea was to source vendors for plants and seeds that I can’t get locally. For this, the great pavilion was a wonderful resource. The vendors were so very helpful and I spent almost two hours enjoying the stands and making some small purchases of seeds and tubers that I could easily pack for travel. Even more important was seeing the merch and attaining contact details. Even the grounds were planted in a lovely fashion. CFS is busy. However, the only time it really bothered me was when the tv presenters and cameras were around, then people clustered around the cameras blocking the gardens and the paths. The food stalls were actually quite good, we enjoyed both the Vietnamese and the Wings on Swain Way. However, more seating in the grounds would be helpful, we walked over 4.38 miles in the show and I only saw part of one big garden. By the time I left I was too exhausted to care that I hadn’t seen the designer gardens.

We arrived at the Chelsea Flower Show within half an hour of it opening and it was quite busy. By the time we left almost three hours later it was difficult to move because of the crowd numbers. I'm glad it wasn't a wet day with umbrellas everywhere! The best part for me was the pavilion which was relatively quiet when we went in. Lots of colourful flowers on show. Stunning. My wife liked the gardens which, quite frankly, were almost impossible to get to through the crowds without lots of pushing and shoving. When we did get a place to view them, they seemed a tad underwhelming to me. Not all, mind you. Some were very nice. There weren't as many as I expected and the colour was subdued in many. There are also lots of garden-related retail shops which were quite interesting. And lots of plants for sale which weren't of interest to us as we can't gat them back to Australia. Very popular. Very touristy. Very busy. And not cheap, including the food offerings.

I have been wishing to attend this flower show for many years and bought a whole day ticket for £90. We went there around 9.30 am and started inside the pavilion. It was a wonderful display of colourful and vibrant display of beautiful flowers. Around 11 am we started moving outside of the pavilion and was shocked to see the huge number of people everywhere! It was impossible to move around easily, the food and cafe places were packed, not enough tables or chairs to consume beverages, and no where there were any benches or chairs for sitting down ! So many elderly people were unable to find a place to rest their legs or sit down to have a meal. Obviously there is a lack of appropriate planning in terms of number of tickets sold the provision of seating. There were also many more shops than actual garden displays. Hope this can be improved for next year.

The place is pretty big and full of wonderful creative gardening, truly amazing work by designers and gardeners. When you visit you can see why it’s so popular, which is where it becomes more negative. It was so busy on our visit that it became impossible to enjoy the experience. There is very little seating around the site meaning people were perched everywhere, there was nowhere near enough seating around massively overpriced food outlets. Glad we done it but would not do it again.