We came, We saw, We thought ….
I was so excited this year to receive my first-ever Press Pass to this years RHS Hampton Court Flower Show! So I and trusty photographer friend H, (whom you will all soon meet in the next series of podcasts from ‘The Plotting Shed‘) rose at the crack of dawn to drive to the flower show. The absolute best part was being able to wander around and look at all the displays, show gardens and flowers before the show opened, so I hope you like the images of my favourite elements from the show.
I will be writing a series of posts over the next few weeks about the show, from a different perspective to the norm. Our mission is always to find ways of making gardening easier for you. Hence what I try to do is translate the ‘show’ elements into methods and ideas YOU can actually use in the garden. It’s a bit like the horticultural equivalent of the high street fashion retailers converting what they see on the catwalk shows into wearable affordable garments!
So follow this blog and don’t miss how you really can take inspiration from the best garden designers and horticulturalists in the world! In the meantime here is some wonderful eye candy of the best bits of the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show 2021 or some best bits from the Chelsea Flower Show
Best ‘Bits’ of the show
The overriding feeling from this years show was one of transition, there is a very definite shift from the displays and gardens showing how we can create ‘our world’ outside to showing how we can and should live in a natural space.
Neatness is out, Naturalness is in – a very welcome shift!
The Coolest ‘Stuff’ for the Garden
Gardens are meant to make us feel something, whether it is happy, relaxed calmed or soothed, the main purpose of any garden is to change our emotional state. Now, flowers, plants, trees and shrubs all do that, but because gardens are our interpretations of nature and they belong to us…. we can add bits to the garden that make you smile too. However, garden objects don’t have to be super cool works of art, anything can be popped in a garden, as long as it makes YOU feel the way you want to feel.
Plant Colour Combinations
Now one of the hidden dangers in any flower show is copying the plant displays in your own gardens. This is because you have to remember ‘its a show!’ not a garden. Having said that, there were some stunning colour combinations and these were the best ones….
Then there were our favourite plants:
Now you may think – what only a few pictures, well that’s because these are dead easy to look after, self sufficient plants that every gardener can grow. Like everything if you pop the right plant in the right place, it will happily grow all by itself, in the way it naturally wants to grow. Which translates as: Happy plants look after themselves – so you won’t have to!
And, there are those bits….
These are the elements of every garden festival or show, that we would all secretly love to have in our gardens. But we can’t, because it’s too big, too wacky, too expensive or too much agro to look after! But it is lovely eye-candy!
Which garden got our vote for Best in Show?
Well there was one garden that stood out from all the rest. One garden that did something really different. One set of designers who realised most garden owners have lots of boundaries and fences – so made those part of the garden. Ok some of the plants might not grow brilliantly in our wet winters, but for a complete rethink of what gardens are and how we should use a garden… AND creating a garden anyone could make… Our vote went to:
The Garden of Solitude by Laboritorio S. Rocco
For more amazing garden advice – buy our book. Written to help make your garden better.
Need some advice with your garden design, book a design consultation
This could be the best garden book you’ll ever buy… just click the image to order the book. Thank you
Get 3 amazing garden guides
Stuck for ideas for planting the garden? Try here
