I have had the best of days. I cannot begin to tell you what a good day I had at RHS Hampton Court Flower Show. I can of course tell you, it would be a short blog post if I did not...
I shall start at the beginning, the first stall to catch my eye right by where I entered the show. This fantastic Albizia fluttered it's eye lashes at me.
Rather lovely is it not?
Onwards I went. I decided to walk to the furthest point and then walk back through the show. It is a large show, the largest RHS show and I did not want to miss a thing. The quality of the show gardens and feature gardens was quickly apparent. They were exceptional. I will not feature them all but I will start with my two favourites. I cannot decide which of these was my very favourite.
Firstly the Smart Meter Garden designed by Matthew Childs. It might not be the sexiest name for a garden you have ever seen but it is a superb garden.
It appears quite simple but there is a lot going on with the planting.
The other garden that I absolutely loved was 'The Dream of the Indianos' garden designed by Rose McMonigall.
I loved the vibrancy and colour of this garden. I also loved the backstory, a fascinating piece of history that was totally new to me. I had the joy of having a long chat with Rose at the show, her passion for this subject was apparent.
Other gardens I really enjoyed included the Drought Resistant Garden that is inspired by the late Beth Chatto and designed by David Ward.
It is a spectacular example of great planting design and evokes the spirit of Beth's drought garden perfectly.
This is 'The Forest will see you now' designed by Michelle Brandon and is about how we need to connect with nature and the phytoncides the trees and plants emit help us feel better generally.
There is a lot of naturalistic planting to be seen at this year's show. There is the RHS Back to Nature Garden designed by the Duchess of Cambridge, Adam White and Andree Davies.
I thought The Viking Cruises Lagom Garden, designed by Will Williams was rather special. I loved the colour and the floofiness (technical term) of the planting.
The Thames Water Flourishing Future Garden designed by Tony Woods was also worthy of a pause.
I loved the colour of these rocks and how well the plants are combined with them.
and this water station where people could fill up their drink bottles with water. Such an important thing to do to help us think about the resources we use and throw away daily.
The Calm Amidst Chaos Garden designed by Joe Francis is a thought provoking piece of work contrasting green calm with the chaos of modern life.
There are also large vegetables in the Edible Eden section.
and squirrels.
and amazing benches
and I haven't even mentioned the Floral Pavilion yet!
So much to see.
and did I buy anything?
How could I go home without an Albrizia? It just had to be bought
and this Paulownia jumped into my hands as well. A tree I love and yet for some reason have not been successful with so far. Wish me luck!
I had the best of days on my visit. I thoroughly enjoyed being at the show. Next RHS stop for me ..... Tatton Flower Show, my first visit in several years and I am excited already.
