As floral as can be!
This marquee is a plantmans paradise; a showcase of a huge variety of plants creatively displayed, ready to be admired by anyone who ventures in it. And even better, you'll have the chance to indulge in plant retail therapy too via the plant sales stalls, with the ones on display more likely they have some available for sale too. In there you are bound to spot so many rare and unusual plants to excite and tickle your fancy. It is also a great place to hunt for new plants or others that you may not be familiar with before but could potentially interest you.We spent most of our time in there last Monday, catching up with some friends that we knew in advance would be there, and pleasantly bumping into others who were there at the same time too by chance.Who says a plantsmans marquee cannot be a social marquee too? Saying that, the plants and the displays were still the main draw for us. We'll share to you some of the scenes we captured and displays as we found them last Monday....
Desert to Jungle stand, note the show stopping trunked Blechnum tabulare in the middle
Bright and colourful gladioli display. It is a floral marquee after all!
Blackmore and Langdon's stand
Banksia grandis, a show stopping plant at the....
Trewidden stand
Monday was a judging day for the stands inside the Floral Marquee and several of them were still in the middle of finalising their displays at the time of our visit
I do like this regimented and structural way of presenting Allium blooms
A very fun way of presenting Agapanthus blooms!
The badgers make an appearance again, this time at Hampton Court. Culm View Nursery stand
Sumptous succulents! I like the way they have presented these spikies as well as the color scheme of the stand itself (grey and maroon, an elegant color combination). Craig House Cacti stand
Summer and Lilies go hand in hand
The very architectural, leafy, and lush stand of Amulree Exotics
Note the tall, trunked specimen of Chamaerops humilis var. arborescens in the middle
and the very blue Nannorrhops ritchiana on the edge as a contrast to all the green lushness
Sempervivums and other alpines at the...
D'Arcy and Everest stand
Plantbase Nursery stand, full of unusual exotics. Note the Sonchus fruticosus (tree dandelion) in the middle
Spiky Solanums! All gorgeous!
Hardy's Nursery stand
As floral as can be - Dahlias
My personal favorite of all the stands in the Floral Marquee of Hampton Court this year - Todd's Botanics
The planting and color palette is refined and exquisite...
Beautiful at every angle...
Superb planting
Can't sing it enough praises
Todd's Botanics stand - outstanding!
More lilies courtesy of Harts Nursery
Eremurus, Alliums, Astilbe, and many more...
Primrose Bank stand
Burncoose Nursery stand
Hart Canna stand
Aldo Airplants stand
For the more serious Nepenthes collector...
Borneo Exotics - for all your Nepenthes needs!
Not to forget the orchids - Burnham Nurseries stand
You can always rely on Jacques Amand to make a fabulous stand!
Waiting for customers....
Rotherview Nursery stand
W & S Lockyer stand
A lovely stand of ornamental grasses, looks great against the black backdrop
Spikies for sale
Disa, beautiful Disa! Dave Parkinson Plants stand
Although I wasn't intending on buying any plants that day (not wanting to carry them around for the rest of the day, especially we were attending a sub event within the show that afternoon) my resistance was weak and I made a couple of purchases within the marquee whilst there. How could I resist when we were surrounded by so many gorgeous plants? I carried around with me a lovely specimen of Ginkgo biloba 'California Sunset' (my second plant, because why have one when you can have two?!) and left behind a small palm to be collected on Saturday when we'll possibly go back again (if not then we'll have to make arrangements for delivery or collection somewhere else).Hampton Court Flower Show is a great day out, even for anyone not really into plants as there other things and attractions in there too to appeal to every taste. With the grand setting and generous space it is conducive to having a picnic too or just relaxing within the grounds. And for this year, as a bonus the weather is cooperating too. Sunny and warm, gorgeous location, lots of plants, perfect!
Mark :-)
