A few highlights from Hampton Court Flower Show

Term has finished, I am now in Brighton doing some work experience and have found a bit of time to look through the masses of photos I took at Hampton Court Flower Show. Here are some highlights, particularly from the small gardens which provide great sources of inspiration:

This is the Burgeon & Ball 5-a-day garden, basically masses of fruit and veg crammed into a tiny garden in lots of innovative ways.

I rather liked the table centre salad and edible flowers (so did Gardeners' World as they presented some of it from this table).

These pouches mounted around the walls look pretty but I'm a bit sceptical about how they'd do over any prolonged period, particularly if dry. They use the same principle as our Ladder Allotment though (lots of tiers and using a geotextile fabric) but just on a tiny scale. I can vouch for the continued success of the LA but I just think these pouches could succomb to lack of water unless looked after very well indeed.

The pictures below are of two small gardens I thought were great: on the left is called Wild in the City and was designed by the winner of a student garden competition run by Wyevale nurseries. Look at the wall of sawn logs at the back - these are just packed together between uprights. These could look great in an urban back garden or courtyard and I was assured that they would last! I love the chairs too, not too keen on the deck below but overall a beautful garden. 

The picture on the right is of the Heathers in Harmony garden. Unsurprisingly the planting was all about heathers but it is the design of the garden with sunken levels which really stood out. The heather highlight was the chequerboard effect heather hedge running along the back of the garden - it could look a bit crazy when flowering but this foliage effect is great.

 I have masses of photos from the Floral Marquee which features scores of nurseries displaying, and selling, thousands of different types of plants. I loved it because the plants are displayed with labels and it is possible to get right up close to take photos and look at planting combinations. I won't bore you with many, but here are a couple of my favourites from within the giant (and it is absolutely huge) tent. Three very different perennials:

And so a quick glimpse at the Conceptual Gardens, or rather just one because this post is starting to get too long! This section of the show presents gardens which present a concept and which do not aim to be workable, practical gardens. They are to make people think and display gardens in different forms. By far the most popular and publicised garden this year was Excuse Me White I Touch the Sky, designed by Anoushka Feiler who was a diploma student at KLC last year. She cleaned up in terms of public appeal - I spent an afternoon helping her out hold back the crowds so I can vouch for that. The garden is about pursuing ideas and asking whether the sky is the limit - with upside pots and mirrors for reflection, visitors could wander about inside looking at plants 'in the sky'. It was certainly a success! My pictures (complete with thundery skies and my reflection) don't really do the garden justice but if you click on the link you'll see more about it. 



That will do for now - there were quite a few other gardens that I really liked and perhaps I'll add a few more when I get the chance. Thats it for me and flower shows for the year, I think. Now I just have to think about when, whether and how to get an entry in for one of them myself...