Two Royal Horticultural Society flower shows are to blossom this July in equally fabulous locations.
RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and RHS Flower Show Tatton Park are both launching brand new looks this summer.
Hampton Court Palace’s event – the UK’s biggest gardening show – comes first, from 9 to 14 July, and will focus on an ‘escape to the country’ theme. Four low cost but high impact gardens will be showcased, demonstrating how beautiful, striking spaces can be achieved on a minimal budget. There will also be a marquee offering daily demonstrations from the School of Artisan Food as well as advice on how to grow your own produce by the likes of The Pig restaurant in Brockenhurst. However, in keeping with popular tradition, the Rose Marquee will see the launch of Rose of the Year 2013 competition.
“The palace as a backdrop makes this event so special – not many shows have such an amazing view with the show spanning either side of the Long Water,” says the Hampton Court show’s manager, Mandy Almond. “The new show layout is very exciting this year. Apart from all the amazing gardens and interactive entertainment across the show, I am really looking forward to seeing the Butterfly Dome in association with the Eden Project, with 3,000 tropical butterflies. In addition, we will have a native butterfly display and a bee garden with bee husbandry and associated plants. I’m also looking forward to good weather this year.”
Meanwhile Tatton Park in Cheshire is offering an ‘escape to the coast’ theme for its RHS Flower Show. Four different zones including a dedicated ‘feast’ zone will be in full swing from 25 to 28 July. The show will also feature Galaxy Gardens, a quirky, offbeat display including some intriguing ‘black holes’, inspired by the Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, which is nearby. This will be the 14th RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park and will celebrate British allotments – showcasing the most simple, understated type of gardening that brings people so much pleasure. Visitors can see how easy it is to grow your own vegetables even with limited available space by using troughs or buckets to plant in.
“We want to bring people back to the basics of gardening,” says the Tatton Park show’s manager Kris Hulewicz. “A lot of people want to garden but they don’t know how to look after plants and make them sustainable or how to sew seeds properly or make compost, which can be made naturally. I am hoping that with all the experts we have at the show we can help make gardening easier for people. I just want to get across the enjoyment of gardening.”
On 26 July, there’s Ladies’ Day, giving visitors the chance to dress up for the day, which will include talks such as ‘Inspiring Women in Horticulture’ and a floral-inspired fashion show with collections from graduates of Manchester School of Art.
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