When Swati Piramal met Prince Charles, and discussed her Chelsea Flower Show plans

When Swati Piramal met UK’s Prince Charles a couple of weeks ago, conversation between the two took an interesting turn when Piramal mentioned her plans of participating in the 2018 edition of the Chelsea Flower Show. If her participation is confirmed this month, this will be the first India pavilion at the prestigious event.

“The showstopper in our pavilion will be the Himalayan Blue Poppy. It is a flower that grows at a height of over 10,000 feet in the Himalayas. When the snow melts, you can spot this iridescent blue flower,” Piramal told ETPanache. The blue colour of the flower reminds Piramal of the Indian cricket team’s blue jersey, a collective metaphor for every Indian’s pride.

She is sourcing the flower from the Piramal Group’s factory premises in Scotland. To be on the safer side, she’s also planted a batch in Cornwall. “I don’t want to take any chances. The process of ensuring that the flowers bloom perfectly during the five days of the show and judging is laborious,” Piramal said.