Views on this years Chelsea

My sister is very intolerant of garlic. It makes her quite ill, and she can smell it on other people even if they've had so little that they couldn't even taste it.

 

Even just reading this I am hallucinating the smell! Either that or one of the neighbours is currently roasting it on a barbeque.

 

We love garlic but don't have it every day - never on Sunday as I have patchwork/sewing club the next day and I avoid it on Tuesdays as we have dance class. OH's golfing pals just have to cope.

It is very good for your health too. Adding fresh parsley to a dish at the last minute can mitigate the odour and also help with digestion and gives extra vitamin C plus potassium and magnesium.

Can't be doing with raw or pickled onions tho as they repeat on me all day and smell awful.

 

It seems virtually impossible to find a decent recipe without garlic in. Most cuisines tend to include it, and there isn't much in the way of a substitute. Which I'm fine with, but people with intolerances might not be.

I do wonder why chefs never talk about the difficulties or the side effects of garlic breath, though. They must reek of it!

 

I used to hate the smell of garlic, but that was in those ready meal type things, I think they added garlic powder which is pretty rank stuff.
I'm quite into fresh garlic and I dont think the smell lingers personally.

 

Onions and garlic make me unwell so I avoid them. I’m OK with celery though which is a possible substitute in some meals.

 

I know of no substitute for garlic, ideas welcome just in case we do ever run out. Just been out and found the first little scapes to save us this year as there are more on the way

 

Doesn’t sound like you need a substitute @DiggersJo!

 

My sis uses other herbs and spices. The taste is different but is OK. She's fine with well-cooked onions or leeks as well (but not raw). Any dish that is absolutely dependent on garlic is a no-no but things like chilli, curries, pasta sauces are fine without it. Garlic bread or aioli, maybe not .

 

Can't remember which or why but one of the regional or religious cuisines in india does not use either garlic or onions. They use asfoetida instead. Asian grocers will stock it and better supermarkets.

Asafoetida | Good Food

Given its name includes "foetid" it's a fair bet it'll work on slimesters as long as you can handle the smell yourself;

 

Well I have thoroughly enjoyed the coverage of Chelsea this year I think many of the gardens were not only beautiful but sent an interesting message and raised awareness of the aims of the charities they were built in aid of.
I have now booked tickets to go to the Gardeners World show in Birmingham and am really looking forward to it, not Chelsea I know but I have been in the past and liked it.

 

I agree with this. For me the problem is that at Chelsea we see gardens designed to look perfect now, while a real garden needs to look good throught the seasons. The result, we always see varieties of the same seasonal flowers - geums, foxgloves, alliums, iris, poppies... Everywhere, every year. An August garden would be something completely different.

I know it's not practical, but it would be cool to see a Chelsea show at different times each year. I enjoyed seeing the late summer one they did a few years ago because of lockdown.

 

I like the Malvern Shows. They do different times of year. I've been to the Spring Show a few times and we are planning on going to the Autumn Show this year.

 

The Malvern shows are good and not too far for me to travel. The appeal of Gardeners world is the food show attached to it. Fiancé is a chef so it’s something for both of us.

 

I get more enjoyment visiting "Open Gardens" in my area, seeing what ordinary people can do with a small plot/garden.