THE CHELSEA Flower Show organised by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in partnership with Eastern Eye, hosted its first same sex wedding on Monday (22) which was attended by the royal members.
Manoj Malde, the RHS advocate for diversity and inclusion and his husband, Clive Gillmor were got married at the Garden of Unity.
King Charles and Queen Camilla dropped by the Garden of Unity to meet the newly married couple and kept up the tradition that was long maintained by Queen Elizabeth, patron of the Royal Horticultural Society.
Catherine, the Princess of Wales, attended a picnic for 100 schoolchildren.
The RHS has minted a new Elizabeth Medal of Honour “with the gracious assent of His Majesty King Charles III in perpetual remembrance of Her Majesty’s glorious reign”.
“They were lovely,” said Malde. The meeting was apparently at the request of the King.
Landscape designer Manoj Malde has spoken of the highlights of the RHS-Eastern Eye Garden of Unity which was unveiled on Monday at the Chelsea Flower Show. Malde designed himself the Garden of Unity.
“It’s a very colourful garden – pinks, oranges with hints of aubergine and alabaster,” said Malde.
His very happy and proud mother, Suryakala, was alongside her son, who was dressed in his wedding finery.
Even amid the riot of colour, his creation stood out – and attracted a great deal of favourable attention from gardening critics and members of the public.
He said his famous florist friend, Simon Lycett, “has curated the most amazing table. We’ve got beautiful copper kalashes. We’ve got coriander, we’ve got okra – bhindi to most of you. We’ve got small bananas and pineapple. We’ve got fruit and vegetables from around the world. We’ve also got saffron mangoes – they are my favourite.
“We’ve got calendula – you can use them in your cooking. And then we’ve got things like Birds of Paradise, and Red Hot Pokers. We’ve even got flowers from a radish, and Eryngium as well. Alliums are here, and bits of fennel – a superb array of a mix of them.
“And one thing that I must point out is we’ve got the little deities of Ganesh, Saraswati, Lakshmi, we’ve even got the Shiva lingam. There’s also coconut on a copper kalash. And we’ve got this most beautiful granite statue sitting on a stone – and it is Ganesh. In Hindu worship – especially weddings – a wedding doesn’t take place without the presence of Ganesh.”
Malde said many celebrity guests had been drawn to the Garden of Unity, among them the actress Dame Judi Dench and Thérèse Coffey, secretary of state for environment, food, and rural affairs, who is expecting to accompany Rishi Sunak to the G20 summit in India in September this year.
Eastern Eye executive editor Shailesh Solanki along with his wife visited the Garden of Unity and attended the wedding.
On Tuesday (23) evening, guests were invited to the formal opening of the RHS-Eastern Eye Garden of Unity.
Drawing attention to some of the highlights in the garden, Malde said: “We’ve got some artichokes here, we’re growing sweet corn, we’ve got chillies in the garden. We’ve also got aubergines – nothing like a lovely aubergine curry. We’ve got kohlrabi, lettuce and chard. We’ve even got marigolds – marigolds are really important in Hindu worship and festivals.
“And peas. I love growing peas and there’s nothing like a fresh pea curry. I’ve actually got some of those growing in the recycled oil drums.
“We’ve got these lovely, embroidered throw cushions that represent artisan skills from India. We’ve got these lovely garlands hanging from the pergola.”
Malde said most Eastern Eye readers “will be familiar with hanging limes and chillies at your front door to keep the evil eye away and we have done that also on the pergola.”
Asian fruits and vegetables are included in the Eastern Eye Garden to honour Asian home cuisine, while drought-tolerant plants are used to symbolise the UK’s increasingly scorching summers.
Malde, who was born in Mombasa, Kenya, aims to include individuals who have typically been excluded from gardening.
In his garden, there are stakes with words in Braille so that blind people may appreciate it, and he said that planting food and showcasing varied tales will help to attract a larger diversity of individuals.
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