The most obvious example of this is Tony Smith's garden entitled 'The Quilted Velvet Garden' (judged as a Show Garden at Hampton Court 2009). Last year his garden 'Ecstasy in a Very Black Box' about bi-polar disorder was easily the most outstanding of all the Conceptual gardens, a simple black, brick wall enclosure to show the imprisonment of the soul in darker moments, inside bright shards of coloured Perspex on a mound of freshly sprung, lime green lettuce leaves, summing up the ecstasy.

Smith received the recognition he deserved when Quilted Velvet asked him to build three show gardens this year. (Chelsea was the first, Tatton Park will be the third). His second garden, which has just won a gold medal, once again touches you in a way that works on many levels. The theme is an environmental one, highlighting the need to plant new trees as we use up existing forests. 30,000 miniature oaks are encased by broad planks made of green oak, each with a shorter slab set at an angle on top. Three blue cedar trees are surrounded by fallen trees in the middle. The whole garden has a magical feel to it, something you would like to walk into a clearing in the forest and find - natural materials very clearly ordered symmetrically, placed there by man. The planks on top face the sun reminiscent of wooden windmills. They stare at the sun but are they beaming from the earth or receiving a message from the universe? Not only would I love to see this structure being moved to a sculpture park or a forest, this garden would also be just as powerful in an open field, standing alone in contrast to the flatness around.
"That's exactly how I always imagine my work" says Smith. "I love doing show gardens but it can be frustrating because they are none of those things - in my head I always see them in a forest, a field or even a white room in a gallery."

Three other honourable mentions in the Conceptual Gardens category:
'It's Hard To See' by Rebecca Butterworth, Victoria Pustygina, Ludovica Ginanneschi is a sunken garden with mirrors lining a cube filled with lush, green planting. The execution was first class (and it was rightly awarded Best Conceptual Show Garden by judges). The message was an anti-materialistic one: the middle part representing the vibrant and beautiful within us all, if we only take time out of the rat race to stop and look inwards.

Concreation by Sim Flemons and John Warland looks at the precarious relationship between man and nature. (Nature, in many cases does a pretty good job at fighting back).
The large, polished concrete plinth with a crack in the middle filled with plants was dramatic and a favourite with many show goers.

Lastly, but always interestingly, was Spaniard Fernando Gonzalez's 'Monstruosa' (Spanish for Monster), a computer generated design painted in silver and planted with carnivorous plants.

The idea was that the tentacled monster from outer space lands on the earth and colonises the carnivorous plants which will help it to take over the world.
There is no doubt that Gonzalez's head is stuffed full of ideas, but the finish on this creation is what really let it down (he received a Bronze medal). To have made this installation in chrome would have been sensational (and prohibitively expensive), but then to have made it in cast polystyrene then sprayed it with silver (the joins in the piece were also rather crude) interfered with the flow of the piece as a whole. Gonzalez has something of a 'devil may care' attitude when it comes to conforming but he is an interesting designer to watch.

Modern show gardens may be the order of the day but we are still a traditional bunch when it comes to our back gardens - the most mobbed stands were roses and clematis followed by lavender and orchids. As the pavilion became more crowded, more and more plant material went on the move. Sometimes the plant material came first before you knew who was behind it - a huge Ficus benjamina rammed into a couple of enormous double-flowered clematis. At other times the tall spires of plant material could be observed proceeding from afar like Roman standard bearers. One woman I saw chose to drape her long Clematis 'Vienetta' elegantly over her shoulders, giving her an air of Botticelli's 'Primavera.'

But it wasn't all gaiety. There's an emotional side to ending the show for many of the designers. Adam Frost who designed the QVC garden couldn't stand to see his garden broken up and left an hour before the bell was rung. "I can't bear to see it taken apart and the sell off just upsets me", he says. Conceptual designer Tony Smith was taking a last look at his Quilted Velvet garden. "Things in the pavilion often wilt after a few days, but our gardens get better as the days go by," he says. "It's difficult for me to see it torn up". All gardens are ephemeral, none more so than these. The pictures and recordings may live on, but the feel of walking around in them lives on only in our collective memories.

So, was I tempted at the sell off? I queued up the Grenada stand and was delighted by the bags of spices on offer for £1. Turmeric, nutmeg (still in its shell), cinnamon. The smell of Chelsea will be in my thoughts for some time to come.

This week I attended a very interesting debate at The Garden Museum, part of the VISTA lecture series, chaired by critic Tim Richardson and writer Noel Kingsbury. The participants included Swedish designer, Eva Gustavsson and design legend John Brookes.

When posed with the same question it was interesting that John Brookes was firmly in the camp of those who think flower shows should be there to guide people through the design and planting process. In fact, when asked what sort of show garden he would build today if he were taking part, he said he would construct a garden with a very large plan attached to the side of it so that people could see exactly how it was put together. (It's not just what you put in a garden he says, - the spaces between what you put in are just as important)

This was Eva's first time at Chelsea and her observation was how 'male' the designers and indeed the gardens themselves were. Did you like the winning 'best in show' Daily Telegraph Garden by Ulf Nordfjell? It wasn't my personal favourite (though I would say that when I saw it at night, it was sensational), but Eva pointed out that perhaps it was a garden that appealed less to women because we tend to garden in a different style and have different concerns. I think there may be something in what she says.

For me, the answer is that you need a bit of both approaches at Chelsea. The big show gardens add a sense of drama and wonder to the show, (and in a difficult economic climate, escapism is all the more important...). But, as a gardener whose fingernails are permanently muddy, I'm rather glad that there are always ideas that I can recreate at home.

* The Vista podcast of this debate will appear shortly on the web-site of Gardens Illustrated magazine.

At the other end of Main Avenue, is designer Tom Hoblyn, who says he likes to show the relationship between gardens and the natural world. I spied him from a distance, putting the finishing touches to the wavy slabs of giant redwood tree that feature at the back of his garden. The boggy part at the front is yet to be filled and will include a selection of carnivorous plants. Normally, these plants are shown in a museum-like state of perfection on stalls inside the pavilion, but many carnivorous plants, like the sarracenias (pitcher plants) Tom is going to use, are actually hardy. Hopefully, his example will make us all think about trying some in our own gardens.

Some designers have organised, experienced contractors and nurseries behind them who will always manage to pull a horticultural rabbit out of the hat if an emergency occurs; that's why designers jostle to be accepted by the favourites. For those designing smaller gardens with limited budgets and less back-up, the pressure is even greater to produce perfection.

Big garden or small garden, one thing is for sure: no one will be resting easy in their beds.

(* The recipe is in a book published in the 1920s The Mystery and Lure of Perfume by CJS Thompson).

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