This week I was lucky enough to be able to visit the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park. It was a hot (hot) day so it was a hat, sunblock and take lots of water sort of day.
I am such a fan of this show, I have written previously that in most years the show conflicts with work commitments that mean I cannot attend. This year the work commitment has been postponed due to the pandemic, which meant I had an opportunity I knew I had to grab. Luckily a friend was also going on the same day so we wagged our vaccine certificates at each other, did a lateral flow test and drove there together.
It is a large show-site so once we had arrived and acquainted ourselves with the show's layout, we headed for the Floral Marquee. Our logic was it was already a hot day and due to get hotter, so we needed the marquee 'done' before the heat really picked up in there.
We admired displays,
and admired plants (bought a few - more of that later) and thoroughly enjoyed all there was to see. It was warm in the tent though and whilst we thought we would be glad to get back outside into the fresh air, the heat of the day mean that fresh air was a misnomer.
We wandered over to The Plant Hub, which is where various specialist societies such at the Cottage Garden Society had displays. These displays are always worth seeking out as they are run by passionate experts who love to talk to you about their plants of desire.
We wandered around the school displays, this one from Whirley Primary School called 'Hope' was very colourful and very powerful.
This might be a flower show, but this image is probably the one that struck me the most and the one I will take away with me.
Though the plates of currants and gooseberries were also something rather special.
The gardens were very special too. I love the structures in this garden 'Petrus: Full Circle' designed by Rachel Bennion in partnership with service users and volunteers from the homelessness charity 'Petrus'. This is an excellent example of how the right features will set off a garden to perfection. I say perfection, it received a bronze medal, (which is not a bad result) and I loved it.
This delightfully pink garden, 'The Dreamscape Garden', was a Young Designer garden and was designed by Ellie Edkins and also was a bronze medal winner. I clearly have a thing for bronze!
The Macmillan Legacy Garden designed by Rob Hardy was very powerful and beautifully designed. Not only did it win a gold medal, it was also awarded the Best Tatton Garden award.
This cool courtyard, part of the Earth Garden designed by Max Parker Smith, with its simple but effective water feature, won silver-gilt. It felt like a moment of cool on this warm warm day.
I always like to seek out the big RHS letters, and I loved seeing the people seeking shade around and within them.
It is against the law to visit an RHS show and not say hello to the bee.
and spare a thought for the hottest job of the day, the people dressed as bees, who added much fun to the day.
Then it was time to wander over to the 'Shop and Drop' to collect our plant purchases. I love plant creches, whilst thinking they are the devil's plan to make me buy more than I can carry, I adore looking at what other people have bought. The plant creche is where you can see which plants are trending - which are the most popular buys of the day.
Hang on a minute I hear you mutter, what did you buy?
Well....
Flossy felt quite protective of the purchases. There were two clematis: Princess Diana who I have been coveting for some time and today was the day and florida sieboldii, again onc I have long lusted after. My neighbours have just replaced the fence that divides us and I looked at it and thought 'clematis'. (here I feel I should whisper and say that I pronounce it clem-ay-tis so in my garden when I show them that is what you should say. You can pronounce your own in your own gardens however you wish(.
There is also this delightful 'nodding salvia', Salvia nutans, which apparently will get to a height of 4 feet tall. I was after something tall so this plant is perfect.
and these three coleuses (coleuii??): Jupiter (front), Prince Bishop (back) and China Rose (left of centre). I have written before about my long-standing love of this plant. I take very little encouragement to make me buy some and these jumped into my hand very quickly and easily.
It was a fabulous show, I loved being outdoors even on such a warm day (did I mention it was warm?).
The next RHS show on the list will be RHS Chelsea Flower Show - I can hardly wait to see what a September Chelsea will be like, I am excited already.
Until then....
I just watched the first episode of Tatton so was interested to read your review. You had to have a Covid test or was that just your choice for travel? We went to Tatton a few years ago just as they were preparing for the show and said we must go there in the future if we can ever get back to England. I feel I would prefer the low key approach to Chelsea. I imagine it was less crowded than either Chelsea of Hampton Court with the pandemic. Yes, those marquees are hot in the sun. I also liked Ellie's Dreamscape garden and thought Joe Swift was quite critical about the bench and planting. It is my kind of garden. I'm looking forward to seeing part 2 after your post. Who could leave a garden show without plants and yes, I have C. texensis Princess Diana. It is beautiful and really loves our Texas weather. But after all the one from which it was bred is a Texas native.
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