Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

A watery, sustainable end of the line?

Jean Vernon — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:42:00 GMT

Unless you've bought a railway cottage you wouldn't expect to have train track in your front garden. But as a reclaimed material it creates an interesting effect when used within a garden design.

'The Rain Chain' is a garden that addresses many of the issues facing today's gardeners and home owners. Garden Designer Wendy Allen told me, "In the brief, I set the garden in a flood risk zone. It's in a small railway town by the coast, so the railway track ties in with the railway and the pebbles with the coastal theme."

Wildlife friendly and attractive?

Jean Vernon — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:53:00 GMT

One of my favourite parts of this year's Hampton Court Palace Flower show is the group of sustainable gardens. Surprisingly, well for me anyway, it isn't a display of 'Grow Your Own' plots of vegetables. Instead there is great innovation, vareity and intrigue.

One garden that really took my eye was the London Wildlife Trusts 'Life Cycle Garden'. It is an absolutely beautiful mix of soft pastel colours, wildflowers and much, much more. Within this tiny space there are masses of ideas and inspiration that can be repeated in garden plots all over the land, even in the city.

Rachel's Organic Gardens

Rachel's Organic Gardens — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:31:00 GMT

For more behind the scenes information regarding the Rachel's gardens builds and Rachel’s 25^th anniversary garden party celebrations visit: www.gardenforrachels.co.uk

Tuesday 8th

Rachel's Organic Gardens — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:36:00 GMT

The heatwave that stayed with us from the beginning of the Garden build to the end was incredible. Every day the weather report raised the expected temperature, and everyday the sun obliged. We had to water the plants at least twice a day and still many, in particular the fruit trees, were clearly stressed. Martin announced his phone was telling him it was 35 degrees one day and my car said 33 degrees. We would slap on the factor 30, drink gallons of bottled water and knuckle down to creating the two gardens and the sampling area. And it was a joy because your working alongside the best gardeners in the country at one of the premier flower shows in the world, in a stunning setting with the Palace as our backdrop.

We laid the recycled plastic interlocking grids for the public pathways quickly and dressed them with white and black gravel bands to match Rachels colours. We were able to include the number ‘25’ within the grids cells in recognition of Rachels 25^th Anniversary.

Hampton Court!!!

Rachel's Organic Gardens — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:32:00 GMT

The time has come! Its Friday 25^th June, Im back at Hampton Court again and Rachels ambitious display is underway. Let me take you on the Hampton Court Flower Show Garden build experience! Firstly you get there at 7:30 am latest. You will have checked the previous day that everyone is going to arrive/deliver everything that was agreed. You come into Home park through a small gate near Kingston bridge. And you enter another world. It’s a sudden escape from the impending rush hour traffic snarl up. There are fields, willows swaying beside ponds, acres of knee high long grass and everywhere herds of fallow deer really close up to you. You arrive at the far end of the long water and it’s a tremendous view along it to the Palace in the distance. Also you get your first sight of the giant white marquees that have grown over the last week and which will house the indoor displays of the Hampton Court Flower Show.

At the security gate we are checked to make sure we have our passes, safety boots and yellow hi viz safety jackets, then its on to stands C/93 that will become Rachels Passion for Taste Garden, and C/94 Rachels Stylish by Nature Garden.

A week before the show

Rachel's Organic Gardens — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:29:00 GMT

Rachels Organic Passion for Taste Garden is all about FRUIT. People dedicate their lives to growing fruit and we’ve got a fantastic bunch of experts at Ken Muir Nurseries in Essex bringing on the specimens that bear the fruit we take for granted when we enjoy Rachels delicious tastes. I took time out last week to check out how the plants were getting on and I wasn’t disappointed. I had planned to visit a day earlier, but got stuck in the dreaded M25 car park, gave up and decided to go the next day. That meant I missed Roger and Kevin Muir, but Sue Muir was there to show me round – this is a proper Family business!Actually this was something of a trip down memory lane for me. The Muirs’ Nursery is in Weeley near Clacton. Back in the 70’s this was the site of a Woodstock size Rock Festival and friends and I camped there for the weekend. The bands that played were the pick of the Rock world at the time, including Rory Galagher, King Crimson, Lindisfarne, TRex and weirdly the Groundhogs who I saw last year at our own concert hall in Falmouth. The pick of the bunch was a young Rod Stewart and the Faces which remains one of the best sets ive ever seen. Sue told me she had camped there as well so we were able to reminisce! Im acutely aware looking at the trees and bushes that there is really relatively little point in me deciding what individual plants should be set aside for the show. The reality is that 24 hours is a long time in the world of fruit. Blackcurrants dripping in dark bunches of fruit now will be well over by the time we need it – strawberries and Raspberies that look green and uninspiring now will be laden in ripe fruit the first week in July. So im told anyway! And to be honest ive just got to rely on this family team that have 12 RHS Gold medals and over 40 years of growing under their belt!Ive given them a list of the type of plants that go into Rachels products and most of them will appear in our display, apart from the exotic ones like bananas - which would look a little out of place in combination with gooseberries!So in short we are going to have fine blackcurrants, strawberries, peaches and cherries. Will the gooseberries be over? Will the Rhubarb grow a bit more? Will the blueberries actually be blue?The Muirs are delivering the plants on Monday 29^th and Ive realized I had better get a net over all those fruit bushes before they are eaten before judging!

I had a classic nightmare dream about building the garden last night! The digger had broken down and couldn’t be repaired for 2 days, my digger driver Martin was drunk and wouldn’t listen to me, and the site for the garden had been changed by the RHS to a position next to children’s play equipment where it would be impossible to build it. I was in despair and was relieved to wake up. Opposite to dreams?

Fifi and the Flowertots Hampton Court Debut

Jean Vernon — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:31:00 GMT

Kids accompanied by an adult get in for free at this year's Hampton Court Palace Flower show. This year there's a huge surprise in store for budding gardeners and Fifi fans, as the charasmatic Forget-me-not tot will be at the show this weekend. There's a whole Fifi zone for little greenfingers to play in all week, but the star of the show will be posing for pix and helping them plant this weekend.

I caught up with Greg Lynn, Executive Producer and Managing Director of Chapman Entertainment that creates the show on Monday. He told me,"We've got a Fifi zone here today. Fifi and the Flower Tots has been one of the most successful preschool television shows of the last 4 years. One of the core things about Fifi in the show is her gardening, she lives in this beautiful garden, where everything is huge and that she is a very keen gardener. She grows all her own vegetables and fruit. She will pick one huge apple and make a massive apple pie for all her friends. So we espouse the virtues of gardening, healthy eating and I think Fifi has been a real boon to mothers to be able to encourage kids to get stuck into their vegetables. We've had lots of emails over the last four years from parents saying. "My daughter ate a blueberry for the first time today because she saw Fifi bouncing up and down on one like a space hopper." And although that's not why we made the show, we're here to make a piece of entertainment, we wanted to give it a nice organic feel and so we are here at the show to allow kids to come in and play in Fifi's world, to meet Fifi. Fifi is here, they can plant seeds, take away a pot and grow and nurture a sunflower, or go through the little assault course picking up vegetables and fruit from Poppy's market stall with a little wheelbarrow. It's just something for kids, something to introduce kids into gardening."
We have Fifi here today and then she is back at the weekend. But during the week we've got all of this for the kids to do from planting seeds to learning about fruit and vegetables."

The Therapeutic Power of Gardens

Jean Vernon — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:51:00 GMT

Garden lovers don't need to be told that plants, gardens and gardening is therapeutic, it's inherent knowledge in us all. Just a few moments spent in nature lifts energy levels, rejuvenates tired minds and feeds our souls.

One garden at this year's Hampton Court Palace Flower Show takes this concept and uses it as part of its message. 'Hope Begins at Home' has been designed to highlight and support the work of Combat Stress, which helps ex-servicemen and women suffering from Psychological injuries.

Three cheers for Plant Heritage

Jean Vernon — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:25:00 GMT

The Plant Heritage Marquee at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show is always an amazing place to visit and this year is no exception. There are 18 exhibits from National Plant Collection Holders showcasing some of the amazing collections from the UK. I was particularly enthralled by the display of rosemarinus from Downderry Nursery/Simon Charlesworth.

The Plant Heritage Marquee was formally opened on Monday by BBC Gardeners' World presenter Toby Buckland. I caught up with him at the Hoyland Plant Centre stand, a fabulous exhibit of agapanthus and tulbaghia. I wanted to know what delights he had seen at the show. "I haven't looked around the show yet," he said, " I've just been in here but I would say I think the Plant Heritage Marquee is really fabulous and I just salute really the great work that everyone the NCCPG does. I think that they are the reason our land is green and pleasant, they are the gardeners working in the gardens up and down the land and I'm just humbled to be asked to work for them today."

going for gold

Jean Vernon — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:50:00 GMT

Jack Dunckley is possibly Britains youngest Garden Designer. He's certainly the youngest designer with a garden at this year's Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. It's been a busy year.In February he was invited to design a balcony garden at the London Plant and Design Show where he won a silver medal. In early May he built a show garden The Malvern Gardening Show, where he won a Silver Gilt.

At this year's Hampton Court Palace Flower Show he has created A Desert's Delight, it's the largest show garden on site this year and his very first at Hampton Court.

I'm Henry VIII I am, I am

Jean Vernon — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:10:00 GMT

Having had a little trouble getting in to the showground this morning, Henry VIII was prancing around the showground this afternoon, mounted on his trusty steed.

Too busy to talk

Jean Vernon — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:01:00 GMT

I usually get to speak to Joe Swift at the RHS flower shows. In the past he has blamed me for the bad weather and even shied away from some garden hens. At this year's Hampton Court Palace Flower Show he was too busy to chat. Already late for his filming he waited very patiently while I took a mug shot, the only words he uttered to me were: "Hurry Up!". Sorry if I made you even later Joe. Thanks for the pic though.

The other RHS

Jean Vernon — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:46:00 GMT

If you're on this website you are probably well aware that RHS stands for the ROYAL Horticultural Society. But did you know that there's another society that uses the same abbreviation?

Productive City Spaces

Jean Vernon — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:23:00 GMT

We are always reading in the gardening press that you don't need a big garden to grow fruit and vegetables. It's an easy claim to make but sometimes it's hard to get people to take the first step and have a grow.

At this year's Hampton Palace Flower Show there are three small gardens and six balconies designed to show urbanites that anyone can grow food, no matter how smalal their outside space is. Children from local primary schools have come out of the classroom and helped create the 'Edible Spaces with Capital Growth' garden.

The Good Life

Jean Vernon — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:05:00 GMT

Grow Your Own has it's own momentum this year. Just take a look around this year's Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and you'll see masses of ideas and inspiration to support your own efforts at self sufficiency, how ever large your garden.

The Growing Tastes Allotment in area C of the showground is a blaze of colour and texture. There's plenty of planting combinations, techniques and creativity to absorb and it looks fantastic too. "It doesn't take a huge amount of expense to grow your own anyone can have a go at it, you can grow in a tiny site and it's just as effective. We are trying to show really good quality horticulture and our brief was to they wanted a traditional allotment and a cutting garden," explains garden designer Mary Payne. "You have to have a bit of drama and make it look attractive to the public, I am chuffed to bits with it."