Claudia de Yong's Hampton Court Flower Show report

Regular Landscape Juice contributor, Claudia de Yong as been to Hampton Court. Claudia tells me that there is a lot to see so if you go, leave enough time.

Hampton Court Flower Show may never have had the prestige of Chelsea but many people have always it enjoyed it more as a show not only as an exhibitor but also as a visitor. Indeed they call it the show for real gardeners, writes Claudia de Yong.

This is due partly due to the wonderful setting with the Palace behind as a vast backdrop and the long water with sprouting fountains and also for the fact that many gardens have been created using plants that are in season,they can be bought in the plant marquees and stands and , people seem to glean more with them in terms of ideas for themselves.

Despite the economic climate and the lack of excitement of Chelsea this year, I was worried how Hampton Court would cope especially as the Daily Mail were no longer sponsoring the show and there would be a large hole in the show ground.

My fears were however short lived as I found a more interesting show this year even though there was also a downturn in the number of show gardens and the lack of a water garden section which had always set Hampton Court apart from other shows.

Going as a visitor and not an exhibitor also felt a bit odd but when Robert a fellow Landscape Juicer offered me a preview ticket , I couldn’t refuse. He also offered to drive!

Arriving at the showground, we gently persuaded the parking attendants to let as close as possible to the entrance. Actually we just ignored the waving and carried on driving lifting up a rope to park nearby!

Once in , I noticed was how many school children there were. The RHS is allowing children in free for the first time to the show but many of today’s children were there either for their scarecrow entry, which featured Tudor outfits, or to look at some of the show gardens which had been designed by schools.

There were also many new features that on paper seemed a bit dubious but in reality proved quite successful. The main theme of the show this year was to commemorate the 500th Anniversary of Henry VIII’s accession to the throne and hence a Tudor theme pervaded through many entries. Notably the six gardens which represented the six wives were all individually designed and backed onto the railings of the palace.

Apparently these wives are coming each day to visit the show so if you are afraid of ghosts or Tudor women be warned! The garden designed for Katherine Howard was overshadowed by a large four poster bed planted with thyme. Four Silver Birches representing the four previous wives hovered in the background.

The garden designed for Jane Seymour had a large wooden pergola in the middle with the words ‘Bound to Obey and Serve’ carved into it representing her faithfulness and obedience to her husband.( Hmm!) The garden was cool in colour and neat.The four other gardens all represented different aspects of the wives either inspired by paintings or personality and their relationship with Henry.

Opposite the six gardens was the large exhibit by Whitgift’s school featuring the Hidden Treasures from the Mary Rose.A Tudor style garden was laid out with parterres of box, herbs and plants and at the back two marquees showed images of artefacts that had been found from the warship. There were two huge topiary Galleons as you entered framing each side of the garden.

As I walked round the show I headed next to see the Small Garden section and immediately noticed Jill Foxley and The Healing Garden which I loved. A lovely backdrop of a clapboard house had a clever use of copper drain pipes and beautiful oak complimenting a soft planting scheme. Well done Jill. A Teenage Sanctuary used a modern cedar tower as a hideaway with a retro swing in it and which is probably far too nice for any teenager I know!

The Chefs Kitchen although been ‘done’ many times before as a show garden theme was well executed with reclaimed materials and a wonderful wood burning stove in the corner to cook from the elegant allotment of home grown produce.

The Owlsmoor Primary School Garden featured an outdoor classroom surrounded by raised beds which are for experimenting with using peat or not and watering or not.The no dig system of raised beds is to provide easy access to young children to grow the plants and therefore see their efforts and these were cleverly designed as large Tudor boats.

The Dark Side of Beauty was quite different highlighting poisonous plants but all essential in today’s medicine.A willow coffin represented the possible fatal effect some plants have on people and on the other side of the garden had an apothecary filled with old artefacts such as a pestle and mortar, medicine bottles and scales.Many of the other small gardens featured clever ideas useful for the visitor to include in their own small spaces.

Moving on there was an interesting section featuring edible balconies. Well they planted up edibly the balconies themselves were not edible! Lots of cans and odd implements used to show how even on the smallest space you could grow your own larder. Behind this was an interesting row of three front gardens with a Georgian facade.These had been designed round an edible theme again all part of the Mayor of London’s Capital growth Scheme.Three very different designs each designed by well known designers, Adam Frost,Mathew Biggs and Chris Myers.

Crossing over the pontoon to one end is the vast Garden Energy Feature created by Sarah Eberle. There are three zones. The Met office examines climate change between 1950-2050 highlighting the disappearing lawns and the increase of the dry garden.

Zone 2 illustrates different energy –generating schemes ie. Wind power,willow and hazel copicing,bio-mass fuels, ground heat source pumps, water management schemes and solar power.In zone 3 green technologies are on show providing information on sustainable gardening and a large grow your own plot with wormeries and beekeeping schemes on show. Talks and demonstrations will take place throughout the show in this area.

Around this display are the Large Show Gardens and the Sustainable gardens. Of particular note in the Large garden section was the Beekeepers garden which featured wonderful mosaics created by Maggy Howarth with bees inlaid into the intricate designs.A productive show garden which highlights the plight of the humble bee.

The Sadolin Nature garden was unusual in it’s soft but colourful square planted beds framed by more naturalistic wild planting. The Thailand Garden featured the largest building in a show garden with a mixture of tropical planting and art with apparently Thai massages being offered but not when I was there. Typical!

A Dessert’s Delight was very clever and feature two gardens in one and I think it was designed by a young boy, Jack Dunkley, (well he looked about 14 but not sure !). One side was an arid dessert with mountains of sand and other side which you could access was a tropical , fertile oasis with bananas and palms. If he really is 14 god help us ‘older’ designers!

Moving further away from the long water were the Conceptual Gardens. These gardens are set to test our minds and provoke us like much modern art does.

There were a few odd sites but some clever ones too especially the garden entitled, It’s Hard to See which featured a sunken square box with mirror surrounding a planted area with Cyperrus and Zantedeschia .

Above was dark stone all around representing failure and collapse of an empty life while below is a vibrant lush society full of hope.

The Sustainable Gardens included an entry from St John Divine Church of England School which had been designed cleverly by students from year six. Using everyday objects and the must have car tyre, a pleasing garden with a funny side such as the overflowing postbox with water coming out .

The London Wildlife Trust showed the Life Cycle garden again using everyday objects which have become essential to wildlife and living windows showing the different stages of plant life cycles.

Further down the long water are the newly laid out Floral Marque Tents. In these are all the wonderful nurseries each with a fantastic mini display and with plants to buy too. The array of different growers and specialist nurseries is for me like being a kid in a sweet shop.

I get so excited and want to buy everything! I was very good and held back but also I had no cash so I had no choice! Nevertheless, I gathered as much info and brochures I could to pour over when I have the time.

The Growing Tastes area at the end of the Long Water featured more nurseries and large displays. The garlic from the Garlic Farm in the Isle of Wight stand was overwhelming and quite seductive.

The blueberries on the Dorset Blueberry stand were really yummy and I couldn’t tear myself away until I had virtually finished the punnet on display and the exhibitors gave me the daggers! Robert bought some hessian sacks for apples-don’t ask!

Outside the tent was The Growing Taste Allotments which featured a display from the Winchester Growers and there seemed to be every different possible version of an allotment from a child’s garden to chickens and beehives,fruit and vegetables,garden shed and a green roof.

Due the heavens opening several times it was a quick rush round some of the other areas like the Rose Marquee, Inspiring Spaces, Catwalk in Bloom (saw a few men in raincoats strutting their stuff),The Legends of Fiji and the Plant Heritage Marquee to name a few. I did nip in quickly to the Country Living marquee but that was to grab a few sausages being handed out in bite size pieces. You never get enough sausage do you!!

The show ground certainly did seen even more spread out than ever and I wasn’t going to be able to cover it all in a few hours but I got a taste of the show and the main displays whilst hovering in loos and tents to get away from the almost predictable Gala evening weather. As I left I felt so sorry for all the people dressed up carrying picnic baskets dodging puddles and torrential rain.

In all it was a productive day and that is what seemed to be the main theme for the show this year with many gardens featuring edible sections. I suppose it will all be a bit easier for us now as designers if everyone is going to eat their gardens! There will however be big gaps when all the produce has gone. The plasticine trend might become a trend yet!

Claudia de Yong
Claudia de Yong Designs

The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show runs from 7th-12th July.