The RHS Hampton Court Flower Show is one of my favourite shows of the season. The setting is stunning, with the show spanning both sides of the Long Water in the famous gardens of Hampton Court Palace. The show feels spacious even on the busiest of days, with plenty of space for visitors to relax under the trees lining the Long Water. The following are a few of my highlights form the show.
Main Image and above - The Perennial Sanctuary Garden by designer Tom Massey.
Corten Steel has been a big feature at the shows this year and this garden uses it perfectly as a great backdrop to some wonderful planting. Designer Martyn Wilson earned a well deserved Gold Medal for his garden 'Brownfield Metamorphosis'.
Transport was a feature at the show this year with some vehicles providing a great stage for planting displays. I also loved the Farrow & Ball paint milk float.
Some wonderful veg was on display in the Blind Veterans UK : 'It's All About the Community Garden' designed by Andrew Fisher Tomlin & Dan Bowyer. A well deserved Gold Medal. A Circular Show Garden designed with blind and visually impaired veterans in mind while employing traditional craftsmanship.
Its easy sometimes to walk by gardens and not take in the full details and meaning behind the space. This garden below by designers Adam White & Andree Davies is an expansive rather naturally styled garden with a restful feel, set in a woodland setting with a shallow, rock-edged stream running though it, and created for children with disabilities in mind. The Zoflora & Caudwell Children's Garden has some wonderful features including a rope swing and a carved out cedar trunk providing an excellent children's tunnel. (Below). I guess becoming a father has made me look at gardens differently and this one has some excellent features to both entertain children while still looking aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
I was talking with designer Rose McMonigall about her Turismo De Galicia Garden which won a Silver Gilt (Below). The level of detail the designers go to is incredible. The debris around the garden had been saved from plants and dried just for the garden so the authenticity was perfect. With dried camellia flowers in the pond that represented the flowers which would have fallen from the nearby camellia tree. My camera however just seamed to focus on the wine on the table!
'The Pazo's Secret Garden'. Designer Rose McMonigall