At precisely 4.30pm on the last afternoon of the Chelsea Flower Show, a bell clangs suddenly above the noise of the crowds.

Gardening enthusiasts and flower fanciers milling around the marquees stop dead in their tracks, and a disembodied female voice comes over the Tannoy.

Security is drafted in to control the crowds ...

She announces that the sell-off can begin, then firmly reminds visitors to leave the grounds within an hour.

The annual Breakdown is under way.

Seasoned Chelsea-goers know it is the time when exhibitors get rid of display plants and products at knock-down prices.

To the uninitiated, the mad stampede that ensues can be terrifying.

Highest bidder

Chelsea visitors rarely lose their heads over the winning begonias, clematis, or rock gardens.

... and protect the produce

But they seem to lose all inhibitions given the chance to join the scrum and snaffle some of the prettiest plants in Britain for their own gardens.

Keen horticulturalists snap up far more flora than they can comfortably carry, using plastic bags, garden trolleys, and spouses to shift it.

A sea of greenery descends on the Chelsea embankment as the hordes leave.

Chelsea first

Although a major first for this year's Flower Show was the double-length Breakdown, Britain's plant growers and garden designers excelled as usual in exhibiting and displaying their work to perfection.

The cutting edge of outdoor power equipment is on display

The winning garden in the Show category was an Islamic-inspired haven of peace and tranquillity, set amid hundreds of indigenous - and costly-looking - palms and other exotic species from the United Arab Emirates.

According to its sponsor, His Highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahan, the traditional courtyard and open interior give protection from both wind and sun, performing an important function in the climate where such gardens were conceived.

Buying up more than you can carry

In the same category, the Daily Telegraph Reflective Garden - built by the engineers of the Millennium Dome and a "celebration of the forthcoming century" - was a triumph of form over content.

In the Rock Garden category, Horti-couture, a "meeting between garden design and haute couture" had help from designer Bruce Oldfield.

The end result combined balmy flowered meadow areas with flying jets of water that shot out of nowhere and stopped abruptly, appearing to defy gravity.

Rose of the year

In the main marquee, plant enthusiasts crowded around the presentation stands of fruit, herbs and flowers.

Days and weeks of dedicated work - the skilful nurturing of thousands of plants - go into its preparation.

Garden accessory paradise - from garden shears to a gazebo

The flower displays are pure inspiration for amateur gardeners, and most of the exhibitors have a representative on hand to offer advice and sell seeds.

And if you've never even touched a lawnmower, the marquee displays are an education - you can't help but know your heliotropes from your hydrangeas by the time you leave.

The names of the roses, from Pink Souffle to Ingrid Bergman, are very intriguing, and one of the season's new begonias has been dedicated to Desmond Lynam.

And 1999's rose of the year, chosen by experts at the show, is called Fascination, and was specially designed to grow in pots.

But it was an entire stand of lavender from Downderry Nursery that stole this year's show, wafting tidal waves of scent around the tent.