RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show opens on 30 June 2015, with gardens, flowers, food, talks, shopping and birthday celebrations
From 30 June to 5 July, The RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2015 will return to the grounds of the spectacular Tudor Palace to celebrate the best in gardening and the home, as well as the show’s own silver anniversary.
A special maze made from almost 300m of hedge will mark the 25th year of the show, including rose scents, smoke machines and tunnels. The maze is inspired by the labyrinth of bedding plants which appeared in the very first show, in 1990, to celebrate the Queen Mother’s birthday.
Other anniversary displays will include a giant floral birthday cake courtesy of VertiGarden and a silver anniversary turf sculpture, in partnership with Rolawn.
Elsewhere, in the show’s Inspire, Grow, and brand new Feast zones, visitors will enjoy:
Flowers and Gardens
World-class gardens will range from the large-scale Show Gardens and inspiring Conceptual Gardens themed on ‘sensations’, to the compact Summer Gardens and an exciting new category – World Gardens – which will transport visitors around the globe all the way from the USA to Monet’s garden in Normandy. There will be 32 medal gardens at the show, as many as at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. In the RHS Celebrity Talks Theatre visitors will be able to hear from gardening experts Christine Walkden, Pippa Greenwood and Simon King. And of course, visitors can buy plants to fill their own flower beds and gardens at home!
Food for thought
In the show’s brand new Feast zone visitors will enjoy edible and grow-your-own exhibits, an array of artisan food stands, and the Cookery Theatre, where speakers will include top food experts including Rachel Allen, Alys Fowler, James Wong, Greg Wallace and Thane Prince.
RHS and Gardener’s Question Time Community Street
Designed by Nigel Dunnett with the Landscape Agency, this interactive and informative Show Feature will replicate a real Bristol street and demonstrate how grey spaces can be turned green, in line with the RHS’s Greening Great Britain campaign, demonstrating the importance of urban regeneration and how derelict areas can be transformed through the use of plants.
Fun for all the family
The scarecrow competition is one of the most popular parts of the show, and this year pupils at 35 schools across the South East have created scarecrows with the theme of history to tie-in with the show’s silver anniversary year. Visitors will encounter historical figures including Anne Boleyn and Winston Churchill, and a scarecrow trail will guide visitors across the showground, culminating at the scarecrow competition with a giant 7m high scarecrow as its centrepiece.
Families will also enjoy two of the historic gardens, celebrating the 150th anniversary of Alice in Wonderland and the 90th anniversary of Winnie the Pooh, and the Henri le Worm children’s garden, overseen by Blue Peter gardener Chris Collins aimed at teaching children about the importance of gardens. This year the Cookery Theatre will also host a pop-up Children’s’ Cookery Class to teach children the importance of a balanced diet.
Festival of Roses and Floral Design Studio
Continuing the historic theme, the Festival of Roses will showcase a wide range of beautiful, colourful and scented roses within an authentic walled garden setting. A programme of talks and events, with speakers including Simon Lycett and Jonathan Moseley, will complement the beautiful visual displays, and the prestigious Rose of the Year 2016 will be announced. Next door, the Floral Design Studio will display professional florists’ creations alongside the up-and-coming talent emerging from the UK’s top floristry colleges.
Floral Marquee
The Floral Marquee is ‘The Place to Buy Plants’ including 90 award-winning nurseries from around the UK, with stunning colourful displays and the best advice from the expert growers the Floral Marquee is a plant lover’s paradise. RHS Gardening advice is on hand and there will be demonstrations throughout the week at the popular potting bench.
The RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show will run from 30 June – 5 July. For further information or to buy tickets, please visit the RHS website at www.rhs.org.uk/hamptoncourt.
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