Chris Beardshaw very bravely decided to risk bringing back rhodos to Chelsea despite their being much out of fashion in recent years. I must confess to being prejudiced against them – too large and lumpy and dark green when not in flower, too garish when in flower – except in their native habitats. However, the garden he created shows how much nicer they are when used amongst other plants and with a bit of colour restraint. Based on Furzey Gardens in the New Forest, it has a real period feel and could easily have appeared in the pages of Country Life in the early part of the 20th century.
