So, once again we headed for Central London by car, the only time in the year we venture into the Congestion Zone is for this show. Public transport would be quicker, however anyone who has struggled home by the underground or train with bags of shopping will know how difficult that can be at rush hour. Let alone with several large plants to get home!
This has become something of an annual trip for us (see here for last years visit), and once again we were not to be disappointed.
The star attraction for us was the Crug Farm stand, not just for us but the judges as well, as Crug once again won a Gold medal for their display.
Oreopanax floribundus
Crug Farm stand
Another view of the Crug Farm stand
Polygonatum cf. tonkinense
Another well deserved Gold Medal
Shortia sinensis
Maianthemum amoenum
Pachysandra axillaris 'Crug Cover' BWJ8032
With the time of year giving emphasis to spring bulbs and flowers many of the stands were dedicated to Galanthus, Iris and Hellebores. The bright vivid colours may not entirely be to our tastes, but we still came home with several Hellebores for the garden although, I might add, we are more attracted to interesting and unusual leaf forms, shapes and colours than the flowers themselves.Galanthus 'John Gray'
Galanthus nivalis
Galanthus Warham
One Hellebore in particular caught our attention, Helleborus 'Annas Red', with quite large leaves and a very deep and rich red flower but sadly it had also caught the attention of many of the other visitors, and sold out pretty quickly, too quick for us! "We will have some more next year" the stall holder told us, so we shall have to wait!
Helleborus 'Annas Red'
As well as a focus on plants, the other half of the show name is in relation to garden design, and the Lindley Hall, just across the road was dedicated mostly to the design aspect.We were particularly taken by the sculptures on display by the Sculpture Park, these designs are stunning although a little out of our budget!, but still a great source of inspiration, and perhaps one day...
Azalea garden design, won a well deserved Gold medal for their Smoke and Mirrors garden, featuring white rendered walls (obviously they have great taste there, perhaps they have seen our Pond build project!!), and one of the hottest current trends in gardening at the moment, vertical green walls.
The day was not just plants, we bumped into fellow exotic gardening blogger Clive, who was rather heavily laden with plants by the end of the day. He did lead us to believe he was going to get home on public transport, although a text confirmed a taxi came to his rescue!
All in all a great day, and so hard to believe its been a year since last time!
Gaz
RHS
Crug Farm
Azalea Garden Design
The Sculpture Park