I may have mentioned in earlier posts that I’ve developed a bit of a thing for the Rubus genus. I already grow raspberries (R. idaeus), Blackberries (R. fruiticosus) and Japanese wine berries (R. pheonicolasius) and in 2011 I spotted this rather gorgeous ornamental Rubus ulmifolius bellidiflorus in the Plant Heritage marquee at Hampton Court. The pink pom poms sitting atop such a wild habit truly spoke to me, but alas, the plants were just for looking at, with none to buy. However, not entirely forgotten, its image has been lurking somewhere deep in the back of my mind.
Roll on two years and Barry Clarke is back again with choice specimens from his national collection (of 170 species and 30 hybrids), this time with cuttings aplenty. Not only did he have pom poms, but also small plants of Rubus x fraseri, very similar in habit (and flower) to this gorgeous R.oderatus above. It does produce small quantities of edible fruits, so I’ll look forward to tasting these whenever they appear. Although determined to leave the show empty-handed this year (there’s no room left in the garden), I departed from the Plant Heritage marquee with my two plants in hand and my heart full of joy! Thanks Barry!
I loved Matthew Childs’ ‘A light at the end of the tunnel’ garden last year which was about recovery and hope after he was injured in the July 7th bombings. His planting this year on the Ecover sponsored garden was positively exuberant and deservedly won a gold medal and best in show. Flowing planting, winding paths and three interlocking ponds expertly illustrated the ‘Water is life’ message and with their supersized products, Ecover was none too shy in pointing out their role in sustainable use of plastics for their products!
Water and wildlife friendly planting seem to feature in many gardens this year and I really liked how Peter Reader used rills to divide his garden into distinct areas in his Four Corners garden.
Peter has just finished retraining from doctor to garden designer, and won the Provender Nurseries 2012 Student Design and Build Award to create his first show garden at Hampton Court. Impressive!
And lastly (for this post), I loved the “less hard landscaping and more plants” ethos in The Hot Stuff Garden, designed by Victoria Truman, Liz Rentzsch and Marcus Foster. Taking inspiration from the planting in the Exotic Garden at Great Dixter, this simple but lush garden was, for me, equally best in show.Hampton Court Flower Show continues today and tomorrow (13 and 14th July 2013).More gardens and fab comments can be seen and read at Weeding the Web, Vegplotting and Alternative Eden
