The show gardens at Chelsea always produce some great ideas, and with fifteen showcased at this year’s event we’ve picked out a few of the highlights from the class of 2010.

The Tourism Malaysia Garden

This garden, from David Cubero and James Wong, recreates the lush, tropical setting of a Kuala Lumpur courtyard. Framed with minimalist white Portland limestone, the garden mixes the feel of a modern Malaysian garden with the wildness and chaos of the tropical rainforest.

Many plants have been chosen for their usefulness, but have been planted so as to appear wild.

“For example, Alocassia, the wild yam, is an edible root tuber. It is an invasive weed in Malaysia mainly because it is really popular and planted so much – it grows quickly and escapes from the gardens,” explains James.

Visitors stepping into the garden might well feel as though they’ve been magically transported to Malaysia, but the designers have tried wherever possible to source plants and materials locally.

The Laurent-Perrier Garden

This romantic garden from Tom Stuart-Smith is an understated study in elegance and peaceful reflection.

It eschews showy planting in favour of a natural woodland look; a pattern of paths weaves between river birch and spring woodland flowers, including the lilac blues of Phlox divericata.

The garden is bordered by York stone walling and at its heart lies a sculpted bronze pavilion overlooking a long pool of water. Colours have been carefully chosen for a warm, muted, and relaxing effect.

The Victorian Aviary Garden

Designed by Jonathan Denby and Philippa Pearson, this stunning garden harks back to the ornate, manicured gardens of the Victorian period.

The centrepiece of the garden is beautiful Victorian aviary, framed with woodland planting and colourful borders enlivened with tulips, peonies and white foxgloves.

Visitors entering the garden will be greeted by a magnificent 4m x 3m peacock mosaic path created by artist Maggie Howarth. The path, which leads a raised Cumbrian slate terrace housing the aviary itself, features dozens of ceramic bird designs along its border.

If you would like to see any of these gardens first-hand, the 2010 RHS Chelsea Flower show runs from 25-29 May.

(c) fanfan2145

Take a glance at the panicked queues down your local garage forecourt this Sunday morning and you’ll be left in no doubt that flowers are an essential ingredient of Valentine’s Day.

Everyone knows that flowers can and should be so much more than a sorry bunch of carnations from a petrol station, but this year how about combining the gift of flowers with a romantic Valentine’s meal?

A surprising number of flowers are perfectly edible and they can go into practically anything; from a light salad, to pizza toppings or into omelettes.

Just a word of caution first though – not only are some flowers exceedingly poisonous, you can’t assume that florist-bought flowers are safe to eat as it’s usually impossible to know what chemicals and pesticides they have been sprayed with. The safest bet for the floral gastronome is to grow your own.

So, which flowers can go into your food of love this Valentine’s?

Nasturtiums

The Nasturtium has a reputation as the tastiest flower in the field, with a sweet, peppery taste that is particularly good in salads. The petals are said to be melt-in-the-mouth and very nice as a pizza topping, while the leaves are also very palatable.

Lilacs

Connoisseurs claim the Lilac has a distinct lemony flavour, and while highly pungent can be slightly bitter. The petals are versatile, and can be eaten raw or baked into other products, such as corn tortillas.

Banana blossoms

Banana blossoms can finish a delicious chicken salad, along with herbs and roasted peanuts. To prepare the banana blossom, first remove the tough skin of the plant and the banana seeds within. Slice the stem into strips and add with the rest of the salad ingredients into a bowl with the warm chicken and roasted peanuts.

Gladiolus

The Gladiolus does not have a strong flavour, but its attractive petals are a wonderful addition to stuffings; either sweet or savoury.

Roses

Who could forget the red rose on Valentine’s Day? The rose, which tends to have a fruity taste, is a perfect garnish or desserts or salads, and can also be used to make rose petal jam. Count me in for homemade rose jam on my breakfast toast this weekend…