Archives for July 2008
Hmm, I think a little flowerbed reshuffle is on the cards when I get home or possibly even flowerbed creation. I might have been suffering from the gardeners' affliction of my eyes being bigger than my garden. The car looked like a mobile greenhouse on the way back down the M6 but I bet we weren't the only car on the motorway adorned with foliage.
Clematis x aromatica and
C. flammula mysteriously found their way into my jute shopping bag, along with a really pretty
Nepeta govaniana that I'll have to sneak into the back of a border. I find that yellow flowers divide gardeners in the same way as the variegated/non variegated debate but I can't resist yellow. I don't mind if it's a perfect sunshine yellow, wholesome and cheery or an acid greeny yellow, I'm quite happy with anything in between. The
N. govaniana has delicate pale, lemony yellow flowers and is perfection in plant form.
Lobelia tupa is a plant that I have been hankering after for a long time and now I am the proud owner of one. Carol Klein warned me about its hallucinogenic properties when she spied it my bag. Everyday's a school day at these shows...
A tiny little blackcurrant sage completed my purchases,
Salvia microphylla var.
microphylla I couldn't resist its tiny little magenta pink flowers and scented foliage, I know that it'll thrive in my garden and it was a bargain, that's my excuse!
One item I would have loved to have brought home with me was this chap. My soon-to-be-husband and I have a little Russian tortoise called Claude so I am very fond of these slightly grumpy shelled creatures. Even though Claude has an uncanny habit of homing in and munching on any plant that I have struggled to grow or is very rare or special, I don't know how he does it! On second thoughts perhaps a stone version is a brilliant idea...
Many people have commented that the trade stands at this year's shows have been every bit as good as some of the gardens themselves, and at Tatton I have to agree. Many of the gardens created outside some of the nursery stands were exquisite and beautifully done.
I was particularly impressed with the display outside Brooklands nursery stand, which featured a swathe of perennials in a range of pastel colours. It was just the thing to entice visitors into the stand to buy plants (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it).
I try to resist buying things, but I always like to take home something from the flower shows I work at, and in the end I chose a Dierama. I purchased a large plant from the plant societies marquee, which was accompanied by plenty of useful advice from the grower. Hopefully it will do well in a sunny free-draining spot I have in my new garden.
I got at lot of attention as I walked back to our tent with it, I don't think I've had so many admiring glances in a long while. If you're ever at a flower show and want to get attract attention, forget waving a coloured umbrella and choose a large Dierama instead.
It's always interesting to earwig on conversations at a flower show, you can't really help it when there are so many visitors, and everyone's got their own ideas as to what makes a great show garden or exhibit. One comment I hear time and time again is how inspiring the gardens are and how they're going to try to copy 'that' colour scheme or 'this' style of planting. The thing that I'm going to take away and copy from this years show is not plants but paths.
The back to back gardens are very good for hard landscaping ideas and I spotted a brick edged path in-filled with pebbles stuck into concrete, much like a mosaic. Or, there's a stone path with grass instead of mortar and something more contemporary, a metal grid suspended over a bog garden - almost like a bridge. However, the one that I'm going to copy at home is the path in 'The Garden for Bees'. It's a gravel path planted with an informal drift of thyme, which smells as good as it looks. The good news for me is that I've already got a gravel path, all I have to do is add the 'thyme' and once the flower show is over, I'll have the 'time' to do it.
Filming the 10th anniversary show at Tatton Park has been a real treat for the team. Huge crowds turned up for the filming of our closing piece to camera featuring Joe Swift, Carol Klein and Rachel de Thame. It only took 18 takes for our esteemed talent to trip the light fantastic up Chris Beardsaw's garden and sample some '10th anniversary Tatton' cupcakes which were given out to all children under 15 who visited the show. Remember, kids go free!
'Have a go Joe' had a go at making a 'lunkie' also known as a 'smoot'. The crowds loved his attempt at thatching. He was offered a stick in the rural crafts marquee but as he quipped, he's hopefully not going to need that for sometime yet! Joe also went all artistic as he turned his hand to willow sculpting when he made two ears for a hare.
Carol was at home in the floral marquee where of course she used to be an exhibitor. She was amazed by the high standard of the plants, in fact she's convinced that this year was the highest standard she's ever seen. Her highlights were the Hampshire carnivorous plants and Southfields nursery stands both of which won gold medals. Carol was also a bit partial to the perennials in the marquee which were fabulous this year due to the weather conditions having been particularly good in helping them get to peak performance at the right time.
Rachel's enjoyed a blooming good time in the BFA marquee where eight of Britain's top florists competed for the title of 'Florist of the year'. She was on the sidelines as the competitors had to complete a surprise challenge, they had to create a floral masterpiece with a random selection of blooms, bits and bobs.
The Cheshire area of Nafas have created a gold medal winning display inside the Floral Design Marquee. It's inspired by Mondrian and Andy Goldsworthy. Pam Orton, one of the designers, explained
"We decided to call our exhibit Sculpture Park in celebration of the Cheshire Year of the Garden and the Cheshire Artists' Network's - Art in the Garden. After we had decided on a title we were able to look further for our inspiration." Further sources of inspiration come from Mondrian and Andy Goldsworthy. The result is a lively, vibrant arrangement.
Also in the marquee The Welsh College of horticulture have certainly caused a stir! A stunning, floor to ceiling wall of flowers and coloured wire fills their display, a beautiful kaleidoscopic ball completes the exhibit, which is proving a great talking point for visitors.
We got a silver-gilt medal which we are very pleased with, we're really pleased because it's our first Tatton. The judges did say that they'd like us to do a larger stand and that our plants would really suit a larger exhibit. One of the reasons why we create a display of this size is because it fills one lorry!
We never know how the plants will go down when we come to a new show and especially one in a different climatic area, but so far so good.
Next week we're going to the Taunton flower show where we're exhibiting our own plants and planting a garden, then Rob and I are off for three days to an undisclosed, secret location to reflect on the last few months and plan for the year ahead.
One of my highlights at this year's show has been the 'Art in the Garden'. As you wander around the showground you come across a variety of work from fibreglass cows to steel, pine and charcoal sculptures, as well as more traditional artwork, using willow and oak.
Not to be outdone however, many garden designers have used art in their show gardens. incorporates a handcrafted Moorcroft tile featuring the garden's plants, bees and butterflies. There's even more artwork from designers who are showcasing their work here.
One of my favourites is by an artist who has created leaping hares from twisted, plastic-coated wire - he's really managed to inject movement into his pieces. I'd love to take one home but I can't afford the price tag.
Floral bedding is always something that divides gardeners; they either love it or hate it. There seems to be no half measure.
While I wouldn't do it in my own garden I have to admit I think it looks great at Tatton and the 'Conwy Butterflies' created by Conwy County Borough Council display made of marigolds and sempervivum is a worthy winner of the .
The displays are always of a very high standard and there are many that stand out for me including the helicopter in the Cheltenham in Bloom display (Silver) and the cyclists on the Bury Borough Council display. There is even a 'Yellow Submarine' (Silver) courtesy of Vale Royal Borough Council, perfectly placed for suitable accompaniment from the bandstand.
Many of the displays have interesting stories behind them and a large tank created out of plants was one that stuck out for me. It's been created by Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council in honour of Fred Kite, a resident of their borough. It commemorates the two military medals he was awarded while serving with the Royal Tank Regiment in North Africa. A fitting tribute, and certainly an explosion of colour.
I've been trying to persuade my colleague Louise to love the flower beds without much success although she did admit that she liked the penguins in the 'Chill Out' display.
The RHS are launching for the nation's best flowerbed to rival those at Tatton. The competition is open to any team or individuals working on public bedding displays around the country. If you think you have what it takes, make sure you take a picture of your flowerbed before August 31 and find out how you can enter at the . The winner will have the chance to compete in the National Flower Bed Competition at Tatton 2009.
The back to back gardens are a unique feature of the flower show at Tatton Park and they are arranged in groups of four all over the showground, what I like about this is that as I walk around the show I stumble across a square of gardens and keep seeing ones I haven't seen before, also you can get a really good look at them because they're nicely spread out.
Out of 27 back to back gardens at the show, five were awarded the coveted gold medal, best in show went to Reaseheath Alumni with a garden dedicated to growing and eating plenty of fruit and veg.
(Gold) designed by Ness Botanic Gardens highlights the importance of our buzzy little friends. It's beautiful too and more than dispells the myth that wildlife gardening has to be wild and woolly. (Silver-gilt) is another wildlife friendly garden at the show.
It's packed with the sort of plants we could all try to grow more of, to attract native butterfly species into our gardens.
I noticed a fair amount of black in the back to back gardens, uses black to dramatic effect as a backdrop and in the planting with two stunning
Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy' and a generous sprinkling of
Cosmos astrosanguineus, another garden which features this plant heavily is (Silver) which also uses black as a backdrop but mixes acid greens through the dark flowers and foliage, a great combo.
(Silver) uses colour but it's much more gentle here. The decking and fencing is stained a soft grey and is set off by touches of galvanised metal used as edging and in the form of poles used throughout the garden as a suggestion of a boundary. These double up as plant supports too, this is an idea I might well take away with me...
A garden that addresses a very common problem is (Silver) and it speaks volumes that I had a good long look at the garden, admired it, made notes, took a photograph and still had not realised that it had been designed with wheelchair users in mind, it proves the point that a garden when well designed can fit a specific brief and be gorgeous too.
Children are always very inventive and their imaginations know no boundaries especially when it comes to gardening.
As Joe Swift mentioned earlier, the was a great example of this.
Schools across the Cheshire area have submitted an amazing range of interesting and unusual containers to be judged by visitors to the show. I had a look through and was really surprised by how good they were, from small scale exhibits like the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, entered by Bexton Primary School, Knutsford to a large scale container made from a Piano.
Created by Park Royal School, Macclesfield, this was entitled Keys to Health and Happiness! (get it!) It looked spectacular although I can't help wondering what the music teacher thought?
There is one container that I know will particularly appeal to my colleague Louise. St Anne's Fulshaw, Church of England School created a chest shaped container overflowing with bright nasturtiums and other bedding plants, entitled
Ooh Arrgh Pirate's Treasure (She's from Cornwall you know).
The RHS are very keen to encourage children to get into gardening and are actively campaigning for it to be added to the school curriculum, with young minds as inventive as this, it can only be a good thing. Also as part of the Tatton tenth anniversary celebrations .
John, my engineer, and I had an early start on Thursday - we arrived at the showground at half past 5, so that we could get 91Èȱ¬ Radio Merseyside on air at 6.
Claire 'Minty' Minter did her travel reports from the flower show for Tony Snell's Breakfast programme, as well as chatting to anyone else she could find at that time in the morning - it felt like we were the only people about but she did manage to track down one or two stalwarts, including Show Manager, Kris Hulewicz. Later, we were joined by 91Èȱ¬ Radio Lancashire's, John 'Gilly' Gilmore. Gilly was on air all afternoon and boy, was it hot! Luckily for Gilly, he'd brought his producer, Sue Hendey, who ensured he was covered in Factor 50 and had plenty of water. However, there's not much shade and they were both wilting by 4 o'clock. So, if Minty's early starts and Gilly's sunstroke haven't put you off and you think you can give Wogan a run for his money, get yourself a nickname...
Show gardens at flower shows are always very subjective, the judges are looking for one thing, the gardening press another, and very often the public are just looking for something they can recreate in their own garden. All too often they don't agree on which should be the winner.
At Tatton Chris Beardshaw's garden, , pleased all three and it's easy to see why it was awarded the Best in Show title. Recreating a classic english country house garden with bold herbaceous borders on both sides was a sure fire winner. I loved the predominantly pastel planting and highlights of gold added by the Catalpa at the end. I'm told there are subtle elements from at least 12 Cheshire gardens incorporated into the design, including the famous double borders at Arley Hall. If you're visiting the show and you know your Cheshire gardens see if you can spot them.
According to my colleague Louise I have 'Boy tastes'when it comes to gardens and some of the other designs i liked typified this. The garden (Gold) was created by combining the traditional elements of a relaxing Japanese Zen garden with a contemporary seating area and blocky water feature.
Angular water features were in evidence in several other gardens i liked, including the (Silver-Gilt), with white walls, red containers and interesting grassy planing scheme and (Silver-Gilt) a garden created to promote the work of the Samaritans. This was just my cup of tea, with green the predominant colour and plants chosen to complement perfectly the stonework and rusted steel used within the design.
The judges awarded just two gold medals and four silver gilt at Tatton this year and I'd completely agree with their decision. A number of gardens featured heavy stonework waterfalls including (Silver), My Little Piece of the Lakes (Bronze) and Natural Distinction (Silver-gilt) and I think all of them could have done with a bit more planting to soften the hard landscaping.
Elsewhere (Silver-gilt) brought the traditional northern back garden into the 21st century and was definitely drawing interest from the crowds. (Bronze) took a more Mediterranean approach and showed how we can adapt our gardens to the changing climate. Who knows, if the weather continues to be as hot and sunny here as it has been this week maybe bananas will soon catch on in Manchester?
Rachel De Thame picks her favourite part of the show.
"One of the highlights of Tatton for me are the bedding displays. The is great and the displays are done better here than anywhere else. It's done much bolder, brighter and better up north and the bedding schemes certainly show that."
"The exhibitiors work very hard on their flowerbeds and often put a lot of humour and skill into them. I particularly like the bed that's like a ploughed field complete with its own hare. There are some great designs with really interesting stories behind them."
Best in show was awarded to Matthew Soper of and he was delighted.
"This is a very special year, not only because of this award at Tatton Park but it means we have won ten consecutive golds at Chelsea, ten at Hampton Court, ten at 91Èȱ¬ Gardeners' World Live and now ten at Tatton Park and best in show. I couldn't be more pleased, it's fantastic!" Well done to Matthew.
I couldn't mention the floral marquee again without letting you know how Medwyn Williams got on. Well, his gold medal record is as unblemished as his prize winning vegetables; another gold for Medwyn and an unbroken record.
And to top it off the sun is shining! I'm really not used to this at a flower show, I might have to go and have a lie down. In the sun. With an ice cream perhaps...
I'm not sure if it's to keep 'us' in...or 'them' out but on Tuesday, the 91Èȱ¬ local radio team were surrounded by a seven foot high fence. However, I'm relieved to report that we were left with a narrow escape route.
We started broadcasting on Wednesday with reporters and presenters from 91Èȱ¬ Radio Stoke, Coventry and Warwickshire and Manchester. Luckily they managed to find us. You can see the aerials on the top of the 'OB' van, you can't really miss them, they're 20 foot tall -
you just can't work out how to get in to them. We also did '2-ways' for 91Èȱ¬ Radio Wiltshire, Oxford, Lancashire, Hereford and Worcester, Sheffield, Tees, Gloucestershire and Jersey. What's an 'OB' or a '2-way'? Like many organisations the 91Èȱ¬ is full of jargon and acronyms...I'll share the secrets with you another time.
Joe Swift reveals his favourite part of the show so far.
"I really like the Cheshire kids quirky container competition. It's a tiny but brilliant part of the show where the kids really get to show off their talents, and there's some really wacky and creative things there. Everything else is very structured and defined but the kids are not inhibited at all. They do whatever they feel like and I think the result is amazing and so creative."
One of the occupational hazards if you like of working at flower shows is that you tend to be on-site before the show's open and you're still around after it's closed. It's these times that I love. Take this morning for example, I got the chance to have a proper look around the floral marquee, I almost had it completely to myself, now I don't mean to show off but how many of you can say that? Not only a bit of peace and quiet but also, the medals had been awarded so I was able to peruse at my own leisure...heaven! I'm a bit of a sucker for perennials and there's no shortage of herbaceous nurseries in the floral marquee.
I couldn't resist having a closer look at Hardy's cottage garden plants (silver-gilt),
there were a couple of new plants on the stand, a sturdy looking, low-growing campanula (
Campanula 'Jenny) with white, open, bell shaped flowers that have the most delicate touch of blue at the throat.
A vibrant ornamental and edible pea,
Lablab purpurescens 'Ruby Moon' will be a real talking point throughout the show I'm sure. I also spotted a couple of my favourites,
Lobelia 'Hadspen Purple' and the ethereal
Thalictrum delavayi 'Album' on the stand, I always feel a little bit smug when I spot something on an exhibit that I have in my own garden, it's not quite show standard, more a work in progress lets say!
Enjoying my gentle nose around the marquee, my eyes were drawn to what I can only describe as a horticultural sweet shop, Philip Tivey and sons (Silver-gilt) grow alstroemeria and this stand is sure to be a real crowd pleaser,
the colours are amazing and with over 900 stems on the table it's impressive to say the least. Chris Tivey explained "Alstroemeria make great cut-flowers, they are very long lasting, so much so, the leaves will fade before the blooms!"
Onwards to my botany lesson for the day, a one-to-one with Howard and Sally Wills of Ferndown nursery (Gold) who grow sempervivums or house leeks. Their display is crammed full of information and it's well worth stopping to have a good look. It's divided up into four really useful sections, interesting garden sempervivums, species sempervivums, plants related to sempervivums and plants that are commonly confused with sempervivums. There is something pretty special on the stand, Howard has never even seen it shown before, it's Sempervivum pittonii,
Howard told me a bit about it "It's very rare in the wild and tricky in cultivation, we are very pleased to have this in flower because yellow flowers are very unusual. It grows on serpentine rock in the wild so we've put a little piece in the pot with it, that piece is from Kynance Cove in Cornwall." I was very impressed that a tiny piece of my homeland had made it to Tatton and was helping such a special little plant to grow. I've got several house leeks in my garden and not surprisingly they look nothing like Howard and Sally's so while I had their attention I thought I'd pick their brains, Sally gave me a few cultivation tips "We give our succulents fresh compost every year, they have full sun, good drainage and there's no need to worry about watering them if they're outside, they won't need any watering at all." Right, after my succulent masterclass I know where I've been going wrong so there's no excuse.
After being reminded of home with the mention of Kynance Cove, what should I spot but a stand of agapanthus, more Cornish associations! Lady Skelmersdale of Broadleigh Bulbs (Silver-gilt) kindly had a few minutes to talk to me while she was watering, "With milder winters, more and more agapanthus are proving hardy for the open garden, there is a huge range from the smaller flowering ones like Agapanthus 'Profusion'
which give you masses and masses of flowers to the larger plants that'll give you fewer more stately blooms." Right, top tip alert "Grow them at the front of a border, you'll have the low dome of glossy leaves throughout the summer and then six weeks of flowering, it is lovely to veiw a border through the flowers of an agapanthus and of course they make wonderful pot plants."
The sun is shining and it's smiles all round as the exhibitors savour the moment and their awards.
I'll be talking more about that later, but in the meantime I thought you'd all be interested to see how Sue Beesley and Bob Tridgett's garden, , turned out.
The lush sub-tropical planting makes a bold statement in the showground and the banana in the centre provides some welcome shade, which we can certainly deal with today! You can definitely see the Great Dixter influences in the planting and the judges thought so too, awarding the garden a Silver-Gilt medal.
Well done both of you it's good to see you've put your Gardener of the Year Skills to good use.
I was invited to ' last night by the designers of a .
I spent an idle 10 minutes or so, reclining on a steamer chair, mulling over the merits of the garden. Harry Levy and Geoff Carter have put a lot of work into getting it just right. They have created a garden full of interest with cascading water, a pool and colourful, mediterranean planting, as well as providing somewhere to relax and entertain. All I needed was a bottle of Barolo and a couple of glasses and I would have been there a lot longer.
The sound of voices filled the floral marquee this morning as the exhibitors setting up their stands, were treated to a wonderful performance from the ladies of the Weaver Valley WI Choir.
They were there to launch their rose 'Jam and Jerusalem', a delightful apricot coloured bloom that was bread by Fryers roses to celebrate the Cheshire Year of the Garden.
I'm no connoisseur of choral music myself (apart the odd trip to Mum's choral concert) but they sounded pretty good to me as they spurred on the nearby exhibitors with a rousing chorus of Jerusalem. As an added bonus they also were also giving out scones and slices of cake, the perfect treat for a day at the show.
After a very early start this morning, we arrived at Tatton (pleasingly ahead of schedule and after encountering no traffic jams...No doubt we'll pay for it on the way home at the end of the week!) and set off for a bit of an explore. Map in one hand and camera in the other.
My first thought was that the floral marquee is huge! It stretches out for miles, a real visual feast. I couldn't walk past Medwyn Williams' incredible vegetables without having a chat.
"It's our first time at Tatton and we've never had anything less than a gold medal anywhere we've exhibited, we had 10 in a row at Chelsea so we're hoping for the best."
I asked Medwyn to point out any new varieties and to be honest I lost count! There are so many unusual and interesting vegetables on his stand that I couldn't write them down fast enough! From the tiny little cucumber (Cucumber 'Cucino'), ideal for childrens' lunchboxes, to an unusual red aubergine and practically everything inbetween.
"I like the long carrots the best, it's important to know that although these are exhibition standard veg they are perfectly good to eat, we eat them and get our five a day from veg alone!"
It's a beautiful setting and I can't wait to get back out there and have another look, there's so much happening and it's still only press day.
"I feel at home at Tatton and that's because I am at home here! It is so laid back and proper everything about it is proper. The quality of the stands here in the floral marquee is outstanding, I would say that they are at least as good if not better than at any other show. When you consider that many exhibitors have been to several shows already it's as if they've saved the best 'till last, they know these northerners are discriminating!"
This is the 1st show I've done without Rob but he's certainly here in spirit. We're just too busy at the nursery to both be away at the same time. We argue like a couple of girls over these exhibits, I plant close together and he likes to give the plants more space, he's always saying "Open it out! Open it out!" so I'm imagining him sitting on my shoulder keeping an eye on what I'm doing but it doesn't feel quite right without him.
Tatton is so close to Hampton Court that we've barely had time to unload the lorry before it's time to turn around again! The bananas are looking great this time around, they've really come into their own. This is a bit special, it's the first time we've shown it
Amorphophallus 'Konjac', it's related to lords and ladies and it'll grow about 10 feet tall with this amazing black and green mottled stem.
I hope Rob likes what we've done...
Kris Hulewicz, show manager, is on site preparing for the big event next week. He says,
"Adrenaline is running high during the lead up to the show as there is so much to accomplish in such a short amount of time. Designers are working around the clock putting the finishing touches to their gardens while the operations team are making sure the showground is ready for the hoards of visitors. There's a great atmosphere here and whatever people's specific roles on site, everyone lends a hand to each other in true team spirit."
Well Tatton's nearly here and I have to admit to being quite excited.
It's one of my favourite shows because despite the fact it's a large show, it still retains a very friendly, intimate feel, which is just like a local show. This is probably helped by the people of Cheshire who always extend a warm welcome to all visitors.
The weather is heating up nicely and I'm hopeful that it'll be a really good show with some cracking exhibits. I'm particularly looking forward to the back to back gardens as they are always of the highest quality and offer plenty of ideas that I can try out myself in my own garden. There's a lot excitement on the
gardening message boards at the moment as well because Sue Beesley, a regular board member is designing a garden. It will be really interesting to see how it turns out as it's inspired by the amazing gardens at Great Dixter.
"It's getting closer to the finish line but there is still plenty to do but we are getting there! All the plants are getting a bashing because of the wind so we are doing our best to protect them. In fact it is very un-July like weather with it ranging from high 20s and sunshine giving people sun stroke to water running down the garden - all within one day. It's challenging but then show gardens always are!"
Here comes Tatton, another flower show and this time one I've not visited before so that'll be exciting. Tom and I are off up to Cheshire on Tuesday and hope to arrive by lunchtime. I'll have to learn my way around and then we'll get cracking on bringing you the best bits from the show.
I've heard a lot about the and am interested in seeing what the designers do with two sides, I have lots of vertical surfaces in my own garden and am always looking for inspiration.
Now, I'll be honest, I'm not sure that is one of my favourite horticultural disciplines but Tom assures me it's the best of the best at Tatton and I'll completely change my mind when I see it done properly, so I'm off to the show with my best 'open mind' hat on. Secretly I'm looking forward to it but it's fun listening to Tom trying to convince me that I'll like it!
The county of Cheshire is celebrating and rightly so, you literally can't move for beautiful gardens, all of which you'll have heard of whether it's from magazines, gardening programmes or visits (if you're lucky). I've never been to Cheshire, having read about the stunning gardens in the area I'm wish I had time to stay a bit longer to visit a couple...
It's the Flower Show at Tatton Park next week, with the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show behind us there's no time to stop and smell the roses...including the ones I purchased in the Rose Marquee! I'll be at Tatton with my engineer, John Reynolds, providing more broadcasting facilities for 91Èȱ¬ local radio stations across England. There's been a real surge of interest in the show this year with more stations than ever coming along to broadcast their programmes from the two thousand acre deer park, near Knutsford. It's not surprising though as Tatton Park is a really great show with lots to offer and a friendly atmosphere too. Chris Beardshaw has designed a specially commissioned show garden to celebrate Cheshire's Year of Gardens '08 and he's kindly freed up some space in his diary to talk to 91Èȱ¬ local radio stations on Wednesday. One of my highlights will be meeting him again. Ooops! Do excuse me, I seem to have dropped a name...
The results of the first ever Hampton Court Palace Scarecrow competition were announced on Sunday and here is a list of the deserving winners.
1st Place
'Catherine Howard - The Ghost of Hampton Court!'
Claygate Primary School
2nd Place
'Mrs Metal'
Newnham Infant and Nursery School
3rd Place
'Joe Bay-Leaf'
Great Kingshill Church of England Combined
The winners were picked by visitors to the show, it can't have been an easy choice, the entries were ingenious!
I don't know about you, but watering is the only job around the garden which I find a real chore. And with the Met Office here at Hampton Court giving us dire warnings of low rainfall and scorching temperatures in the coming decades, any tips I can get for cutting back on the time I spend with my watering can are very welcome.
So I jumped at the chance to talk to the team in their cheerfully-coloured, busy show garden, right next door to the . Gardeners in Africa have a thing or two to teach us about growing plants in a drought, and this garden is packed with ideas.
"The idea of a bag garden is that you can grow more vegetables in a smaller space," Kirstine Dunhill, of Send a Cow, tells me. They are tiny, too - hessian sacks about the size of a supermarket carrier bag, yet bursting with healthy veg. There's a secret, of course, to their success.
"They have a central column of stones going down the middle," explains Kirstine. "So rather than the water getting stuck in the top layers, it actually filters all the way through." That means even veg planted through pockets cut in the bottom of the bag get enough water.
To get the column into the centre of the bag (or pot) take a plastic drinks bottle and cut off the neck and base, giving you a plastic tube. Put the tube in the centre of your pot, and fill it with stones. Pack the compost around it, then lift the tube up, leaving the stones in the soil, then repeat until you get to the top of the pot. Voilà : a stone column running through the compost, ready to take water right to the roots where it's needed.
Another fantastic idea I picked up - which could make its way onto my allotment before long - is the keyhole veg bed. This is a raised bed with bells on: it's about 1m (3'6") high, and the outer bed, where the vegetables are growing, slopes down from a central hollow column. There's an access path to the column (giving the bed a "keyhole" shape viewed from above) and inside it is what amounts to a compost bin, held in with hessian: you fill it with kitchen waste, stable manure, grass clippings - whatever you'd put on your compost heap. Then tip on water saved from your washing up, and that's it.
"The idea is that the water will drain through and take all the nutrients with it," explains Kirstine. "It's feeding from below the topsoil, so rather than watering on the surface and all the water evaporating, everything's coming up from underneath."
In Africa, this garden will feed a family of six through the three-month dry period, when crops in the fields simply dry out. In Britain, as we adapt to more hot, dry summers, techniques like these could make all the difference.
My wallet really didn't take too much of a battering this year, my head was turned by a very sexy indoor/outdoor beanbag but after much deliberation I managed to tear myself away.
I'm not a naturally nosey person but watching hundreds of people tugging little trolleys around the showground - each with a different selection of plants peeking over the sides, it's difficult not to look! There'll be a warm nod of appreciation when someone has a selection of beautiful perennials (my personal weakness) nestled together 'ah yes, a lovely combination you've got there', there's a cheeky little bi-coloured salvia I've seen time and again, Salvia 'Hot Lips' seems to have been a best seller. A madly floriferous red and white flowered perennial, that'll bring a bit of fun to any garden.
Sometimes I'll have a peek in a trolley and wonder how on earth a particular mix of plants will ever work together in a garden but hey-ho, each to their own! Then there's the trolleys themselves, when I've not quick enough to side-step, I've be rewarded with a swift knock to the ankle, word of warning there!
Echinacea 'Art's Pride is Hampton stalwart, a warm rusty orange flowering perennial from the daisy family, looks fab at this time of year, very tempting. Penstemons in every shade of red, pink and purple are not normally one of my favourites but they look almost edible at the show and are everywhere, I know I've got true Hampton fever when I start finding plants irresistible that I'd usually not give a second thought. Take heucheras for example, I found myself admiring an entire display of them in the floral marquee, the range of foliage colours is astounding and every year there seem to be more to drool over. You see what's happening? I've never admired heucheras before, just not to my taste, but maybe that's the point of shows like these, to make you think outside of your own horticultural box...it's working for me!
Naked lady anyone? I'm not talking about Colchicums or even autumn crocuses but the unusual coloured silhouette sculptures that have been catching my eye on the way to the press tent every morning.
They look strangely at home in this flamboyant setting but I think I might get a few raised eye brows if I took one home!
These are just some of the huge array of inventive garden focal points at Hampton this year. Many of you have commented on the high standard of the trade stands and how they are almost merging into gardens themselves. I have to agree, they put the extra space they are given at the show to great use and some of the most inventive displays are from the sculpture exhibitors. This year the variety is huge, I've even seen a performing skeleton in bronze on one of the stands.
For those with larger gardens and budgets to match, there's whole safari park of animals on offer. Near life-size metal giraffes will add a certain air of sophistication charging across the front lawn provided you don't live in a South London semi. And for those who were thinking of a water feature you can even get an elephant that spurts water from it's trunk in regular bursts.
Sadly for me I don't have the room for any of these things, and usually opt for a striking plant to form a centrepiece. I guess I'll have to stick to something more suitable for a small garden, has anyone seen any gnomes?
Series producer Sarah Eglin thanks her team.
"I have to say a huge thank you to the team, the camera crews who worked tirelessly in the pouring rain, the picture editors who did a sterling job, Joe and Rachel who were not grumpy for one single second through the adverse weather conditions and were a joy to work with and the stars of the show, the horticultural researchers who worked brilliantly.
I'm looking forward to the first day in 8 without wellies, I'll feel like I'm wearing ballet slippers!
I'll be back at Hampton this weekend as a visitor this time, I'm bringing my 2 little girls to the show, they want to see the gardens and what I've been up to all week"
For some of the show gardens here, the show ain't over when it's over. Five of the show gardens have new homes lined up and will be dismantled and reconstructed again - one, the gold-medal winning conceptual garden ,
is even going to a private art collector (look out for this one in a future Turner Prize line-up). Three more are on sale to the general public, so if it's ever been your ambition to own a piece of Hampton Court, now's your chance.
Two schools will be getting an instant school garden over the summer holidays: one lucky primary school in Dorset will even have the Best In Show garden, the , reconstructed in its grounds, complete with potting shed. The other will have the conceptual garden, (silver-gilt), re-built in its grounds to encourage children think about looking after their environment.
Two other gardens will be going back to horticultural colleges: the (silver-gilt) will be rebuilt at Capel Manor College in Enfield, while Plumpton College horticultural students will reconstruct their small garden, (silver-gilt) as a demonstration garden on the campus.
The ones you have a chance to buy are the small gardens , which won a silver medal for Down to Earth Partners Ltd, and , for the Samaritans (bronze), which is currently up for online auction with charity auction site Buy Once Give Twice.
"I think someone's going to get a bargain, actually," says Wendy Allen, who co-designed the garden with Catherine Kenny. "In total, the garden's worth about £25,000 - so far the bidding is up to £1,500. People do wait till the last minute, but I think whatever it comes to it's not going to be the full value."
For your money, you'll get a unique steel arch sculpture with twin seats, bespoke paving and a water wall - plus a large silver birch tree and hundreds of pounds' worth of choice plants. And if you're wondering how it'll arrive - well, they'll deliver it on a lorry and leave it on your doorstep as part of the price, or if you pay a bit more, they'll install it for you.
"We'll recreate it exactly as it is here in its new space," says Wendy, "All the elements you see here will be included."
The sale ends at midnight tonight, so you're still in with a chance - the proceeds go to the Samaritans, so you'll be contributing to a good cause, too.
There are two water gardens at Hampton Court this year and they're always something I look forward to as this category is unique to Hampton.
This year they are slightly different in that they both have large raised ponds within a garden setting. The Dorset Water Lily Company garden, (Silver) is a real corner of the Mediterranean, I had a good look at it on my way across the showground and with the early morning sunshine on it (yes the sun has made an appearance!) I felt as if I could have been in Tuscany! The lavender, thyme and santolinas are really shown-off by the crushed stone mulch, the ancient olives and Italian cypress add a true sense of classical drama. The raised pool, planted simply with water lilies, adds to the calming atmosphere of this convincing Mediterranean style garden.
The (Silver) also sports raised ponds but this time they surround a sunken patio area which you have to walk through to reach the timber shelter, the perfect spot to view the garden. This garden has a distinctly traditional lay-out that is cleverly is relaxed by the pretty mixed perennial and shrub planting around the raised pools, I think you'd have to invest in a pair of waders to maintain this one but it'd be well worth it.
(Silver-gilt) is a show garden but has water as part of its design, this time it is formal but works well in this modern setting. by Libra school (Silver) even brought us a canal complete with authentic narrowboat, quite an achievement.
(Silver) watery element is not what you might expect but it just goes to show there's something for all tastes, it's a bath! On a glorious sunny evening I can't think of anything nicer than an alfresco dip in the tub, don't know what the neighbours would think though!
It's one of the things I love about this project...everyone thinks working in radio is glamorous, yet I spend most of my time at a computer, making phone calls. Working at the flower shows means I get out of the office and even though it's raining I'd rather be here than chained to a desk.
It's not glamorous being a radio producer either though - it's all about being dry, warm and comfortable and for me that means sturdy boots, old jeans and a T-shirt but more importantly this week, a waterproof jacket and hat.
Lots of visitors to the shows like to dress up for the occasion and around every corner is a gentleman in a cream linen suit or a woman in a floral dress. I've even seen handbags in the shape of watering cans! I'm certainly not going to win any prizes for sartorial elegance...
"It's been quite an experience at Hampton Court this week, especially in terms of the weather. Luckily the plant marquees are stunning as always and there's plenty to see and do inside so you can still have a great day.
There are some lovely show gardens, I love James Wong's Burgbad Sanctuary and the Traveller's Garden is gorgeous. I met with the children from Challock primary school who helped to design the Literacy garden, it's a really beautiful garden with amazing attention to detail.
Of course one of the main highlights for me has been just wallowing in the plants, I've spent a lot of time filming with roses so have been in my element, I could have stayed in there all week!"
The first port of call for all fashionistas should be the Floral Art marquee, which this year is themed around 'Followers of Fashion'.
All the displays have a fashion theme and there are some really unusual exhibits including floral spectacles and hats that you wouldn't normally associate with flower arranging.
Chairman Tina Wallis from NAFAS Surrey Area talked me through the displays.
"This year our theme is fashion because we wanted something to catch the publics attention. We have 9 classes, all of which express an aspect of fashion or a theme relating to it."
"One the most striking classes is the group classes, in which each exhibit represents a different fashion icon from Elsa Schiaparelli to Jean Paul Gaultier each one is created by two people from our different Surrey groups."
"I've given a special chairman's award this year to an exhibit in this class inspired by Vivienne Westwood. It's really clever, when you look closely it's made of thin layers of seaweed like you use when you're making sushi. I think it's wonderful the way they've created the design on the skirt, it's such a bold exhibit you can't miss it."
While we're on the subject, it's very difficult to be fashionable around the showground with all this mud and rain, wellies and plastic ponchos are certainly the order of the day. I have spotted more than one visitor wearing a pair of white shoes and feel very smug stamping around in my work boots.
I've been plant-hunting today - and there's no better place to do it than Hampton Court. With almost 100 exhibitors spread over , selling everything from acers to zebra grass, you're sure to find the perfect plant for your garden - and there are always new plants to discover, too.
I
'm planting up a jungle area in my garden at the moment, so I was on the hunt for rich colours and sumptuous leaves. First to catch my eye was
Colocasia esculenta 'Black Leaf' on the silver-gilt medal winning Trevena Cross Nurseries stall - utterly gorgeous velvety near-black foliage with almost luminous bright-green veins.
Also on Trevena Cross's stand were some of the spectacular new strain of dahlias everyone's talking about this year. These have the sultry, dark foliage of 'Bishop of Llandaff', but with pale, clear flowers: Trevena Cross had 'Knockout' in clearest yellow, while I spotted the equally lovely 'Twyning's After Eight' in the charming mini-show garden from the Botanic Nursery in Wiltshire (also silver-gilt). On this stand I also loved the little marjoram tumbling along the pathways:
Origanum 'Pagoda Bells' is a dainty thing, its large, flower-like bracts like petticoats tinted dusky pink.
There was a robust display of restios and other South African delights on silver-gilt medal winners Churchtown Nurseries' stall, and here the extraordinary
Berzelia rubra really caught my eye. At first I thought it was a miniature conifer: it has needle-like foliage and there are cones nestled in among the branches. But then I touched it, and realised it was soft as a feather: a lovely, tactile plant with a graceful movement about it. Nurseryman Christopher tells me it's a new addition to Churchtown's range, but is looking really promising - it's evergreen and its only special requirement is for a damp soil.
Back to my passion for purple, though, and I was very taken with the
Perilla frutescens var frutescens stealing the show at Jekka McVicar's stand. This packed display won gold and best exhibit this year, and it was doing a roaring trade with eager customers snapping up everything from purple basil to one of the dozens of different thymes on display. Perilla is a Chinese herb, used against bacterial infections in Chinese medicine, but you can grow it just for its wide, generous deep green leaves, deeply textured with purple undersides.
Other plants I added to my 'must-have' list:
Heuchera 'Mocha' from Solva Plants, with the most truly bronze-coloured leaves I've ever seen; the glorious purple grass
Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum', to be found at Foxgrove Plants; and the fabulous dark purple-leaved chilli, 'Chill Out', on the Cuckoo Box Nurseries stall. This had black fruits and red ones on the same plant, making a gorgeous contrast with the leaves: Ali, from Cuckoo Box, tells me the secret with chillis is to treat them mean - don't water them till they're wilting, keep them potbound and don't feed them too much. That's another great thing about the floral marquees - you're talking direct to the experts, and they really know their stuff.
Looking back at our time at the show, it was hectic at times but well worth it.
The alarm went off at 5.45am on Wednesday but I was already awake and John, the engineer, and I arrived on site at about 6.30. There weren't many people around at that time so we had the almost to ourselves as we made our way to the local radio OB vans.
The scents, as you walk through, are absolutely wonderful, no more so than when we walked past an exhibit of lilies. There wasn't much time to stop and admire them though as we had to get ready for our first broadcast. It had started raining before we had even left the hotel...and it didn't stop. It wasn't like the heavy deluges that we had had on Monday - at least the sun had come out occasionally then. This was a ceaseless downpour and it was grey and overcast all day.
We were due to talk to
91Èȱ¬ Southern Counties Radio's Fred Marden at 7.50am and I went along to the show garden to meet the exhibitor there. Unfortunately he was stuck in traffic and wasn't going to make it so with two minutes to spare I turned around and spotted Neil Lucas of Knoll Gardens. Neil is an expert in ornamental grasses, from Wimborne in Dorset, and a seasoned broadcaster, so I trotted over (...you don't run anywhere when you're on the radio or you end up sounding like you're having an asthma attack!) and stuck a pair of headphones on his head, telling him I needed an 'emergency' guest. Good old Neil took it all in his stride.
Series producer Sarah Eglin talks about tonight's programme.
The big shock for me this week was having the show to ourselves over the weekend and through Monday running around in our day-glo jackets and then on Tuesday I popped out of an edit suite to meet up with a film crew at one of the show gardens and I couldn't believe the sea of people!
I was pleased that the Four Seasons Garden won a gold medal, it's one of my favourites, I felt that I could really use it.
On tonight's show you'll meet Jack Dunckley who is one of the UK's youngest garden designers, next year he'll be designing a garden here so he's been looking for inspiration and ideas this week. We were filming with him yesterday in torrential rain and he was a real trouper.
We're really interested to hear what you think of the show and what you'd like to see more of, so if you've got any suggestions leave me a comment.
Walking into the rose marquee this year you can't fail to be impressed. There's the beautiful fragrances vying for your attention and the stunning blooms, from old English, cabbagey favourites right through to the more delicate single flowers, there are roses everywhere! And even if they're not top of your shopping list I challenge you to walk around and not spot a stunner that you'll mentally place somewhere in your garden...
I caught up with a very busy Marilyn Stevens who is the project manager for Roses UK and ultimately in charge of the Festival of Roses.
"The marquee this year has a new look, it's Romanesque and every single one of the exhibitors has entered into the spirit of the theme. It's been lovely to develop a theme in the marquee and it's a real departure for us, I think it's been a real success.
We have nine new roses on display and everyday we hold talks and demonstrations with rose experts. The rose of the year
Rosa 'Lucky!' is on display and it more than lives up to the hype, it's a very unusual lilac-pink, really healthy and has a lovely fragrance. We have a display of 300 of them and it looks stunning!"
The rose of the year this year not only looks beautiful but it sounds like a reliable, no-trouble plant, it's a floribunda so will be just as at home in a mixed border or bedding display and it boasts disease resistance too, what more are you looking for?
If a hybrid tea rose is more your style have a look at R. 'Isn't She Lovely' another new launch at the show this year, creamy, pointed buds open into that classic rose shape that last and last.
Something for the patio? Don't feel left out, R. 'Lavender Ice' will do just fine in a border or container, it's lilac blooms are clustered together and are weather resistant, just as well with the summer we're having!
The rose marquee looks gorgeous this year and having a theme obviously suits it. It keeps the displays fresh and inspiring which is no mean feat when working with such a traditional group of plants. I wonder what next year's theme will be...
The enthusiasm and friendliness of the show-going public always amazes me. Due to transport problems I ended up getting on a train that was packed to the scuppers with flower show visitors. Normally packed trains aren't my cup of tea but this was a refreshing change.
Everyone was friendly and chatting together, sharing their tips and talking about the plants that they were going to buy and how they were going to get them home. If only all journeys to work were as much fun.
Continuing the transport theme, today I've been admiring the Inspiring spaces container displays alongside the Long Water, which this year include a small car filled with plants. The exhibit entitled 'British Racing Green' features a small car filled with plants is this the 'green transport' of the future?
Somehow I don't think it will catch on, but it's clever nevertheless. There are plenty of ideas in this small area that you can use at home, and the striking colour combinations give you plenty to think about. I particularly like the warm tones of the Best in show exhibit, 'Lazy Days of Summer' from Pound farms, featuring dark leaved pelargoniums, coleus and
Ipomea lobata. Brilliant for brightening up a dull spot.
'91Èȱ¬ and Dry' from Creative Containers was another one that I liked, although that's probably because of the giant agave in the centre which I'm coveting for my own garden. Again it features ideas for people with gardens in drier areas of the country. Slightly ironic really given how much rain we've had this week.
It's interesting looking around Hampton Court, it all seems a lot more seasonal, designers are less inclined to force plants like they do at Chelsea so you get a more realistic impression of how all gardens are looking at this time of year, not just show gardens.
I've noticed a lot of wildflower style planting and plenty of exotics which is great for us, it raises the profile of the plants we grow, look you could take home 1ft tree fern trunk, already unfurling, it looks like a little pet!
I'll confess it now - I'm a veg-growing addict. I have an allotment, and more and more edible plants are finding their way into my garden as well. So I was already looking forward to Hampton Court, which has spearheaded the renaissance of veg-growing in recent years.
This year, though, they've really pushed the boat out. Not only is there the - don't miss the Isle of Wight Garlic stand, it's whiffy but spectacular - there's also a , dedicated to showing us just what wonders from around the world we can grow for the pot these days.
I got Alessandra Valsecchi, of RHS Wisley, to show me around and pick out her favourite veg for a taste of British, Mediterranean and Oriental foodie heaven.
"Potatoes," she says firmly, without much hesitation, when I ask her for the pick of the British crop. "You can't really go wrong with them. They're great for beginners, and they grow really easily." She picks out cabbages as the other quintessentially British veg - a little trickier as they suffer more pests and diseases, but they relish the damp climate ("this is cabbage weather," Alessandra comments about the relentless downpours this week).
With spuds and cabbage as the British national veg, it's perhaps not surprising that we turn to foreign shores for a little excitement. The Mediterranean corner of the kitchen garden is undeniably more dramatic, with a gnarled fig tree centre stage, citrus and olives, and lots of brooding purple aubergines - which Alessandra picks out for her quintessential taste of the Med.
"You still need to raise them under cover," she says, "though there are some varieties which do well outside - 'Bonica', 'Black Enorma' and 'Ghostbuster', for example. It's a bit like growing tomatoes - they need a lot of feeding but they're reasonably trouble-free."
Finally, to the Orient, where soya beans, sweet potatoes and a pomegranate tree - all easily grown in the UK - look remarkably at home in their damp British setting. But the star of the East, according to Alessandra, is the loquat tree (
Eriobotrya japonica): with its exotic-looking evergreen glossy leaves, it lends a lush, tropical look to your garden, yet it's reliably hardy and will even fruit in the UK.
"You can plant it straight into the ground, just like any tree, so long as it has a sheltered position," advises Alessandra. "They can cope with a reasonable amount of frost - we've been growing them for some time in the north of Italy, and our winters are much tougher. We have frost for months on end, but they still crop, no problem at all."
It's all a taste of things to come. "Things are much easier to get hold of now, and the culture is changing," says Alessandra. "We're a little bit more adventurous with our food, and with climate change it's making certain kinds of crop easier to grow." British veg gardens will never be the same again.
"There are great conceptual gardens at Hampton Court this year; I was on the selection panel so you'd expect them to be good!
I would say that the show gardens have been judged fairly. What a year for Nick Williams-Ellis with the , gold and
Best Courtyard Garden in Show at Chelsea and now the Tudor Rose here, brilliant, I love it, there's so much detail.
I've spent a lot of time in the Growing Tastes marquee eating raw garlic, cooking Thai and making English salads, I've picked up some great tips for the allotment."
So many radio stations wanted to talk about the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show on Tuesday that I picked up one of our microphones to talk to 91Èȱ¬ Radio Solent's Adam Blackmore in the morning and didn't put it down until we'd finished with Charlie Crocker in the afternoon. 91Èȱ¬ Radio Solent is a station close to my heart - when I'm not at a flower show, I produce The Good Life - a gardening show every Sunday at 12pm with Georgie Windsor - so I enjoyed chatting to Adam and Charlie. James Stewart, Editor-turned-Reporter for show week, was kept busy too - he spoke to Fred Marden, Gordon Astley and Chris Warburton on 91Èȱ¬ Southern Counties Radio as well as 91Èȱ¬ Radio Oxford's Louisa Hannan and Luke Deal at 91Èȱ¬ Radio Suffolk.
Now that the show is open it takes much longer to get from one side of the site to the other and having been here since Saturday I've been used to having it pretty much to myself (not counting the exhibitors or RHS staff, of course) so it feels really busy now. We use a piece of kit we call a backpack to talk to all the different local radio stations but it's actually a belt with a battery pack, a microphone and a pair of headphones with a 12" aerial on the side - we get some pretty strange looks, I can tell you. The backpack means we can broadcast live from anywhere around the showground so local radio stations can talk to exhibitors from their gardens.
On medals day all the 91Èȱ¬ local radio stations want to know how their own local exhibitors have got on so it was an early start for us. Bob Sweet, RHS Shows Director, has the low-down on who's been awarded the coveted medals, as well as the highly prized Best in Show and he spoke to many of them from the Floral Marquee.
Another visitor on Tuesday was Sue Dougan from 91Èȱ¬ Radio Cambridgeshire. Sue came along with her producer, Heather Noble and the show's gardening expert, Peter Jackson, to present the afternoon show. She particularly enjoyed talking the Richard Reynolds a.k.a The Guerilla Gardener. Richard and his team turned up at the and used everyone's left overs to build his show garden.
It's reassuring to see how packed the Climate Change Dome is today. There was little complacency evident here as gardeners filed in to hear Met Office and RHS experts talk about this - quite literally - burning issue of our times.
Mind you, it's hard to have serious conversations about global warming when it's chilly and decidedly damp outside. If you're thinking Britain is more likely to be lagoon than Loire Valley in years to come, though, just take a look at the screens that greet you as you walk in. They project the path of temperatures and rainfall in the world over the next 100 years or so: red "extreme" areas spread like a virus over most of the world.
And if that's not enough, the Met Office has set up another tent next door, where you can try your hand at being a weather forecaster (though all the "forecasters" on this telly station were dripping slightly and wore definitely un-glamorous macs - I wonder if it'll catch on?) Ominously, the projected weather forecast for 2080 puts summer temperatures at 40°C in the south of England.
"It's not that every summer will be hotter than the last one," Dr Chris Prior, former head of horticultural science at RHS Wisley, explained to me. "We can have one or two wet summers, and the trend is still there."
Dr Prior thinks that it won't be easy for gardeners, but with longer growing seasons in prospect it's not all bad news. "Generally as the climate gets warmer, the opportunities are there to grow a wider range of plants," he says.
Water saving, and on the other hand coping with wet winters by raising beds and improving drainage, are top of Dr Prior's tips for helping your garden to keep pace with the change. Another RHS guru on gardening through climate change, Matthew Wilson, agrees, and adds that the gardener's mantra, "right plant, right place" is never more crucial than when you're gardening with a changing climate. In fact, he says, if you get that right and look after your soil, the rest follows naturally.
"My own garden gets the bare minimum of care - it's the horticultural equivalent of the plumber's dripping tap," he says. "But visitors say it looks lovely because I've used the right plants. So don't despair, it's absolutely possible to have a lovely garden that's sustainable too."
Just arrived back from the build up of Hampton court. The jungle stand looks great, and we have managed to place the giant Gunnera manicata right on the edge of the stand where visitors can stand underneath it, and best of all we've got the diminuitive Gunnera magellanica which is only 5cm high. Carol Klein mentioned it at Chelsea and since then we've been inundated with people asking for it.
Also finished planting the LIBRA school garden at the show. One of the big show gardens. its got a real canal boat, a thatched cottage, fruit and veg, aquatics, a planted tow path, everything even stinging nettles. We grew all of it to help the school out and I can honestly say its one of the proudest things we've ever done. It looks beautiful, and the judges awarded it a Silver medal. I know the visitors will adore it, especially when the kids are there telling everybody about it. It'll be really great.
Well Rob is up at the show now and then I go up on tomorrow night to take over. Doing a show together is a luxury we don't have time for these days unfortunately. I'm back at HQ thinking about Tatton Park and what we will take for that show!
It's a bit like Glastonbury here today, with a pair of Wellingtons the definite 'must have' item.
There's still plenty of people flocking to the show and the famous British wartime sprit is really kicking in with everyone determined to enjoy themselves despite the weather.
I have to confess I needed something to lift my spirits when I arrived this morning, but a short walk into the marquee gave me plenty to get me enthused for a busy day at the show.
In one corner a display of bright Disa orchids in a range of almost luminous reds and pinks is a complete show-stopper that really sticks out and grabs your attention. I've never tried growing this type of orchid but looking at the stand I'm definitely going to have to try.
Also in the marquee the bold displays of Dahlias from the National Collection exhibited by Winchester Growers and the giant begonias from Blackmore and Langdon, cleverly placed either side of the entrance together with a wonderful stand of perennials from Hardy's Cottage Garden plants was a great piece of planning to entice visitors in.
It's my favourite show because it's so family orientated, when the sun shines it's a great place for a picnic with the palace in the background.
The gardens this year are very open in their design, there's plenty of diversity, some are chic and structural and some are very informal.
The nice thing about Hampton Court is that the designers are prepared to be experimental, at Chelsea people tend to play a bit more to their strengths.
"My favourite peice of planting is on the Foxgrove nursery stand in the floral marquee, it's very soft and smokey and for me it encapsulates everything a garden should be at this time of year."
The main thought that struck me walking around the showground was about the small gardens and the fact that they seem to be much more modern this year, there's more colour in the hard landscaping, some very brave choices.
Andrea Fawcett-Philippart, a first-time designer at Hampton has created a Luis Barragan inspired space, (Silver-gilt), it's impossible to ignore the neon-pink wall, which, very cleverly doesn't overpower the small garden. The planting is subtle but still manages to pick up the colour of the walls.
"It's been a very steep learning curve, this is my first ever garden at a flower show, I graduated last year and it's a wonderful opportunity. I'm so excited to have received a silver-gilt on my first go!"
Andrea's rusted, mild-steel water feature runs from front to back through the garden and gently overflows, there's something mesmerising about water when it's used in this way.
I caught up with Helen Williams, the designer of (Gold); "I'm very pleased, an awful lot of work has gone into this garden, the construction team have worked particularly hard. It's surprised me how big the space looks, it's only 6m x 6m but somehow it looks much bigger, I think this is to do with the three different levels."
Helen has managed to create a beautiful garden with a restricted colour palette that is calming but not subdued, it's so inviting, one of those gardens that makes you wish you had a book and a glass of wine and that you weren't here to work!
Another small garden not afraid of colour is (Bronze). It's rendered boundary wall is a vibrant orange, not for the faint-hearted! The herbaceous planting is a veritable rainbow, delphiniums, kniphophia, hemerocallis and monarda seem to be all talking at once, I think it works because of the curved hornbeam hedge, it surrounds the planting, provides that little bit of green breathing space.
Mike Roberts, the design lecturer at Warwickshire College was impressed with the small gardens this year, "The small gardens this year are fantastic quality, I think that the plants and the workmanship is better than in some show gardens to be honest. The small gardens are where people come to get ideas and this year there are many ideas that visitors can take away rather than the big statements from the show gardens."
Warwickshire college brought a modern roof garden to the small garden category, (Silver) has a futuristic yet practical feel to it. Steel poles form a light-weight framework with planters attached, but the blinds are what did it for me (yes really!) they are made up of narrow strips which can be altered depending on where the sun is at anytime of the day.
While we're talking colour, I have to mention (Bronze) designed by Jonathan Walton with it's amazing coloured floor, blocks of eye-catching yellow, blue and green stretch like a large scale mosaic across the garden, a real statement!
The level of thought and detail which goes into the creation of these show gardens is often quite astounding.
I've been spending a lot of time talking to children, their teachers and all sorts of other people about getting gardening into schools - and that of course gave me an excuse to make my way onto the exquisite , by Nick Williams-Ellis, rather more often than perhaps I had to. This was another of my tips for the top - so I was delighted to see Nick and his team got a Gold medal and Best in Show
There was an ominous black cloud looming over the garden as I began one of my interviews, so we opted for the shelter of the potting shed - beautifully crafted from Dorset oak and a central feature of the garden.
The inside of this humble little shed is quite as exquisite as the garden itself. One wall of the shed was plastered with colourful pictures of vegetables, drawn by local primary school children. On the other wall was a display of antique gardening tools with a notice: "These are tools our grannies and grandpas used". On the table was not only a pile of compost and half-filled pot, but a few seedlings ready to go out in the garden.
Nick is inviting everyone who visits the show to walk right through the garden and peek into this little child-sized bolthole. "This is about creating intimate spaces," he told me, "and you can't do that if you keep everyone outside looking in."
And intimate it certainly is - this is a truly unpretentious garden, and entirely believable. You just wish you could take it home with you. The team had a few problems with the weather - a black plastic bag put over the scarecrow's head took most of her face off too when it was removed, so they had to do a quick rummage in make-up bags to restore her to her former glory. But they've come through to create a beautiful and entirely unpretentious space. And you should see the size of those strawberries.
We'd like to know what you think of this year's .
Everyone has an opinion at the show, whether you're eavesdropping (yes we all do it) in the press marquee or bumping into old friends around the showground, there's only one topic of conversation, but there are numerous contenders for best in show.
We're always interested to hear what you at home think of the show, what your favourite exhibits are and what you'd like to see more of. If you have a favourite exhibit tell us why by leaving your comments on the blog.
One of the many reasons why Hampton Court is unmissable is because it's a showcase for up-and-coming, ambitious designers - and they aren't afraid to buck the trends and try something really different
Sometimes it doesn't come off - 'Pulsations', an odyssey in black polystyrene and cactus plants, is a highly unusual small garden, but it didn't do much for me. Other times, it's revolutionary: everyone's talking about ''The Porsche Garden' by Sim Flemons and John Warland, which solves the problem of using front gardens as car parks by the simple expedient of using a lift to park the car under the garden, not on it. It's undeniably a garden for the boys, but you can't help thinking ideas like that might just catch on one day.
A few years ago the RHS recognised the show's tendency to break new ground by introducing the Conceptual Gardens category, and it's become a firm favourite - you always see something original, thought-provoking or both. You might understandably argue that 'Ecstasy in a Very Black Box' isn't really a garden at all: the only plants in it, after all, are tiny lettuces in a carpet across a black floor. But before you dismiss it, look closer: this is gardening as art, a visual representation of what it's like to suffer bipolar disorder. And when you understand it, you realise it's just right: glimpses of vivid brilliance - shards of coloured glass which of course harm as much as they attract - appearing tantalisingly through otherwise unremitting blackness.
More cheerfully, my favourite of the conceptual gardens has to be Forest², created by Ivan Tucker with the help of horticultural students at Merrist Wood, near Guildford. With just 30 trees and some clever use of mirrors, an entire birch forest springs up in an unfeasibly small corner of the showground. I had great fun peeking through the portholes in the side - the best way to view this garden without spotting your own reflection in the background. Though it was disconcerting to see a disembodied head floating in the nether regions of the woods - and realise it was your own face looking back at you...
This year the swans on the Long Water in front of the palace will be sharing their usually peaceful setting with a Thai Floating Market.
According to the organisers this is the first time that a floating market has been staged outside of Thailand and the 15 boats that will be selling to show visitors have been flown in especially. This was always going to be a challenge, especially today as the wind was doing it's best to blow the intrepid sellers off course.
The market will be here all week, so if you're coming to the show make sure you stop off at the Long water to sample the ambience of Thai music and culture as well as the authentic Thai gifts that they have to offer.
While we're on the subject of Thai, at lunchtime I had the pleasure of sampling some authentic Thai cuisine at the launch of the growing tastes section of the show. As I said in my blog earlier this was an area that I've been looking forward to seeing. It certainly doesn't disappoint.
The attractive design highlights the amazing range of fruit and vegetables that are now available to grow in the UK and also shows that vegetable gardens can be every bit as beautiful as those filled with flowers. The display features crops from different areas of the world and in the marquee next door there are some the countries top chefs on hand to tell you what to do with your produce once you've grown it.
Series producer Sarah Eglin talks about tonight's programme.
"We've got the preview show going out tonight which we finished by lunchtime. The team have been here since Saturday when we walked around and got an idea of the geography. No matter how well you do your research, there's no substitute for seeing the show in the flesh.
We're very pleased with the advanced filming we've done, tonight you'll see Amanda Patton with the Traveller's Garden, both Joe and Rachel are very excited about this garden so we hope it does well. Rachel, as a mum has been particularly touched by the Literacy Garden which has been designed by school children and their parents.
We managed to film the show gardens with the jib before the public arrived today but the biggest challenge is the weather!"
The build up has actually been ok, because we've been so involved with a garden this time we managed to finish the Desert to Jungle stand on Thursday and Friday last week and we even managed to get home for the weekend which was a luxury although we've got our hands full at the nursery with two new kittens, Desert and Jungle!
We're really pleased with how the stand is looking we've got lots of what I call our old favourites. The Gunnera manicata is looking stunning and our Wollemi pine, tucked away in there looks great. A Solanum quitoense gives the display a cutting-edge look and we're very happy with the Canna 'Stuttgart', it's not the easiest plant to show because the edges of the leaves have a tendency to burn but this one's perfect!
It's at times like these that it's definitely better to be a floral exhibitor at the . They're tucked up nice and warm - and, more importantly, dry - in the floral marquees, while the show garden crews are barefoot, having given up even on wellies, and sodden.
There are some advantages to a wet day at Hampton Court. This is the weather for showing off subtly-toned stone - the golden paving in 'Branching Out with Copella' was gleaming, setting off the gorgeous planting perfectly. This is one of my tips for Best in Show: designer Sadie May Stowell may be a first-timer but she's pulled off a real gem here. She picks up the rusty tones of perfectly-judged rusted-metal sculpture in sumptuous bronze, purple and orange planting, lightening the sultry tones with just the right amount of white from cow parsley-like Ammi majus and argyranthemums. The judges have already done their rounds and are no doubt making those all-important decisions as I write - but this one's bound to be a winner.
Gnarled wood also looks brooding and ancient in the rain, dripping with moisture and just as it should look. Designer Francesca Cleary must be delighted - her 'Magic Garden' has a sinuous wall of interlocking tree roots, and with harts-tongue ferns literally dripping from its crevices it's straight out of the Lord of the Rings. For all the talk of global warming, this is good traditional British weather - and if a garden can look good in this, it can look good anywhere.
Still, I found myself spending more time in the marquees than usual, which was no hardship. Amid frantic banging and the whine of screwdrivers - there's just a few hours to finish up now and last-minute panic has set in - the floral marquees are emerging in all their finery.
The Plant Heritage marquee is for plantaholics everywhere: however well you know your plants there's always something new. Did you know, for example, that there are cannas you can grow in a pond? Nope - nor did I, but the NCCPG has a tub full of them to prove it.
Saturday turned out better than predicted - I even got a little sunburnt and was worried that I'd pack the wrong clothes entirely. Fear not though, today it rained...and it rained...and it rained.
We borrow one of the OB vans from 91Èȱ¬ Radio Northampton and their Engineer, Richard Hunt, very kindly delivers it, helps rig it and then does the same in reverse at the end of our stay. John Reynolds, a freelance engineer, is here for the duration and gets 91Èȱ¬ local radio stations on air - and keeps them there as long as they need to be. Once he's ensconced in the van, he generally stays there for the rest of the day and one of my jobs is to keep him fed and watered. He is often monitoring several outside broadcasts at once and makes it look easier than it actually is - that's because he's been an engineer for over 30 years and has been engineering the RHS flower shows for 8 years. We're using the second OB van as a studio but it's also my office and very cosy it is indeed.
Despite Saturday being a rig day, we still managed to get Bob Sweet, RHS Shows Director on air, talking to 91Èȱ¬ Three Counties Radio's, Gill Gauntlett. However, our 'studio' wasn't quite ready so Bob had to stand at the back of the OB van instead - nowhere near glamorous enough for a man of his stature. It's a good job that Bob is happy to 'muck in'.
Sunday was much busier. We arrived on site at 6.30am in time for John Marshall, Designer of the Back to the Future - Lessons from Africa for the survival of the British Garden and Helen Kongai, an organic farmer from Africa, to talk to 12 different stations, one after the other, about their garden.
At the same time Trevor Tooth, award-winning Chelsea garden designer and one of 91Èȱ¬ Radio Kent's gardening experts was co-hosting their Sunday morning gardening show with Martin Buchanan, who was in the Kent studio. Then, just before 9am, Joe Talbot arrived in time for 91Èȱ¬ Southern Counties Radio's Dig It gardening show. Joe was helped by experts Jean Griffin and Nigel Boardman. Nigel is one of the designers of Hope - The Way Forward, one of the show garden's.
Whilst Joe was out and about around the showground, Jim Wheble from 91Èȱ¬ London arrived to do a report for Christopher Biggins and Lesley Joseph. Jim had had a puncture on his push bike so he'd only just made it. I met him, close to the Thai Floating Market, and being the professional he is, he was on air within seconds of arriving.
Tim Hubbard of 91Èȱ¬ Radio Cornwall got in on the act just before 10 to talk to James Stewart about this years show. James is Editor of the 91Èȱ¬'s Special Features Unit, which is responsible for the RHS project. He's also my boss, however the tables are turned during the show when he becomes my reporter and I get to tell him what to do...
The sun actually came out for a while on Sunday morning, in between the downpours, and Jekka McVicar of Jekka's Herb Farm and Mary Payne, one of the designers of the Winchester Growers Garden in the Daily Mail Pavilion, sat outside talking to 91Èȱ¬ Radio Bristol's Trevor Fry. Their timing couldn't have been better, it started to rain again just as they said goodbye to Trevor.
Soon after, Geoff Hodge, gardening expert for 91Èȱ¬ Radio Cambridgeshire turned up to talk to Sue Dougan for Dougan Does Gardening. Geoff spent the first hour in our 'studio' but between 11am and 12pm we gave him a backpack which allowed him to talk to Sue whilst roaming around the showground.
Our final broadcasting for the day was with 91Èȱ¬ Radio Solent's Georgina Windsor and her producer, Garry Green. Georgina presents The Good Life, an interesting mix of gardening and green issues - both subjects adequately covered at show. Georgina is a keen gardener herself and was like a kid in a sweetshop - she didn't seem to notice the rain at all in her excitement.
It may still be 'build up' at the flower show but there's a great atmosphere here and everyone you meet is friendly and always willing to chat, in spite of any last minute pressures to finish show gardens and exhibits.
There are just a few hours left now until the judging begins and as the garden designers finish tweaking their displays and wait anxiously, I took the opportunity to catch up with Sadie Stowell designer of , a first-time exhibitor who's been putting the finishing touches to her garden for a while.
"This is the first garden I've ever designed not just my first for Hampton and it's been a great experience. I feel like I've really grown as a designer and I've learnt a huge amount. It's been a real rollercoaster but I'm really pleased with the final results, it's turned out exactly how I wanted it to be.
"The planting is themed on the colours of the different fruit juices, and when I put the plants together for the first time I wasn't sure about the scheme but now it's all in the garden I really like it, it's quite bold and definitely sticks out against the other gardens. The planting features three reclaimed apple trees at the back which I rescued personally from an old orchard."
Hampton has been a great experience and the whole team have really enjoyed it. If you asked me to do it again tomorrow I definitely would"
Series Director Andy Vernon shares his thoughts about the first day filming.
"We had an interesting start to filming today, when we realised that the tapes that we need to use for our gib shots were the wrong sort! (All footage for the show is filmed in high definition so that viewers with the correct TV sets switch to the
91Èȱ¬ HD channel to experience finer detail of all the plants and gardens.)
"This added an extra element of excitement to an already packed day and after a few moments of panic some additional tape stock was soon on the way.
"However we have a tight schedule to get everything shot and edited ready for
tomorrow night's preview show on
91Èȱ¬ Two, so we had to keep filming using what little tape we had left. In the end we managed to film the opening sequence for the programme using the 8 minutes of tape we had remaining. Luckily for us everything went well and we managed to film the entire sequence in one take.
"After a slightly shaky start the rest of the day has gone quite smoothly despite the best efforts of the British weather to throw us off course. We're all really enjoying ourselves, everyone's getting on well and we're really looking forward to the rest of our week at the show."
Preparations on site continue frantically today, despite the mixed weather, as everyone hurries towards the finishing post.
After a bright start the weather has deteriorated a bit today and I took refuge in the floral marquees in an attempt to get out of the wind and rain. The marquee's are always busy on Sunday as everyone unpacks but this year they seem to be extra busy as many of the exhibitors have come down a day early to beat the low-emission rules that apply to London during the week. Take note please Boris!
While there I chatted to Tony Devine of Devine nurseries who was busy arranging his dazzling display of chrysanthemums.
"Coming from the Hull area last year was a complete wash out for us with much of our stock was damaged in the bad weather. "Thankfully this year it's been much better and we've managed to create good display of both Chrysanthemums and also gladioli, which have really enjoyed the conditions in May and June. "We hope that by coming here we'll be able to make up some of the losses that we suffered during the floods."
Another exhibitor I chatted to (or rather I interrupted his well-earned tea break) was Aubrey Baker of Hopley's Plants. Their display of perennials reflects the changing way that we use plants in our back gardens now.
"Our display is divided in two with one half representing a cottagey display with lots of plants in pastel colours and the other something more modern with lots of grasses, bright perennials and contemporary materials. One plant that we're showcasing in the modern section is a new
Heuchera 'Georgia Peach' with very bright pinkish red foliage, we're hoping that will be popular with gardeners because it makes a bold statement in the border."
One thing that really struck me was that the floral marquee's offer something for everyone. Whether you've got a large garden or just a windowsill for a houseplant, there is something for you, all despatched with friendly advice. I'll be chatting to some of the other exhibitors over the week so if there's anything you'd like to hear more about let me know.
I came across this unusual concrete structure as I walked across the showground the other day. It was painted black and all wrapped up in plastic. Slits in the side revealed the contents to be millions of lettuce seedlings and at first I thought it was an attempt to create the world's largest propagator.
However on closer inspection I realised that was actually one of the conceptual gardens, entitled ' and inspired by Bipolar disorder.
Chatting with creator Tony Smith, he explained to me what the design is all about; "The black walls represent the dark lows that many people with the condition experience and the lettuce in the centre represent the peaks the brilliance and euphoria that they go through. We've used all different textures of black on the garden from glossy Tarmac and sandblasted concrete; we've even painted the surrounding grass black to represent the fact that the condition affects everybody slightly differently."
"The reason that the installation is wrapped up is not to protect the lettuce but the walls! They were becoming covered in dust with all the windy weather we've been having and we need to keep them clean.
"I've been allowed three weeks on site to get the exhibit ready as that's how long it takes the lettuce (which are sow in-situ) to grow." If anything the plastic has been a nuisance as all the hot weather we've been having made the lettuce start of damp off and we had to make holes in it for ventilation."
This is a really unusual design and it's bound to get people at the show talking. I'm really excited to see how it turns out on Monday, when the wrapping finally comes off and the giant present is revealed to the World.
The weather forecast is an important tool for any gardener and it is currently predicting 'light showers', 'heavy showers' and 'heavy rain' for the next few days. I may not be planning on doing any gardening, but I am planning a working week at - maybe I should replace my shorts and sun cream with Wellingtons and waterproofs...
I am heading to the showground tomorrow morning and meeting up with my two engineers, Richard Hunt and John Reynolds, stalwarts of the flower show season. They are delivering two
local radio outside broadcast vehicles (OB vans), which we will be using over the next week to bring the show to life for local radio listeners. Well, they do say that the best pictures are on the radio!
Richard and John will spend most of the day rigging the vans ready for broadcasting on Sunday morning - not a pleasant job when it's pouring down with rain. Note to self: remember to pack some biscuits for their tea break.
There are 40 local radio stations across England and myself, John and a rotating team of three (more of them later) will be on site to ensure they have everything they need to broadcast - whether it's a 3 hour programme or a five minute interview with an exhibitor.
Another string to our bow at Hampton Court this year is the Discovery garden. We've grown and sourced all the plants for this one and are helping to plant it up along with the two designers, Gill Lomax and Steve Pearce who are teachers at the Libra school and were inspired by pictures of the Tiverton canals.
Steve says "It's stressful because we are not garden designers and we've been here since day one of the build up, we've been very hands-on with the building and planting."
This is a real achievement from a little school in Devon, it's quite unusual because it's not a charity and it's not a commercial venture either. We've worked very closely with the school and even have two students who come and do work experience at the nursery, this garden is quite special, and the kids are great.
Tom and I went down to site yesterday to get our bearings, check out a few technical things and basically have a look around. The Hampton build up is well underway, as you'd expect. Through the sea of fluorescent vests there are some great planting combinations emerging and the hint of something beautiful where finished corners of the gardens are revealed.
I caught up with Nigel Boardman of Boardman Gelly and Co who are creating a show garden called Hope - The Way Forward. It's a highly symbolic garden inspired by the work of a charity called Combat Stress (The Ex-Services Mental Welfare Society). Every detail of this garden tells a story and earns its place.
Nigel said "It's coming together quite well now, it's nice to see it planted so early so that the plants have a chance to turn around and settle in. After so many years building show gardens, we try to use the last week of the build up for planting, you have more time to consider without stuffing, you get that chocolate box effect and everything is a little more polished."
| 12:16 UK time, Sunday, 27 July 2008
