Kevock Garden Plants have staged one of the most exciting exhibits at this year’s show, featuring cascades of Trillium, Meconopsis, Primula and Glaucidum. If there was a platinum medal on offer, Kevock would have deserved it, but they seem pretty chuffed with gold.
Of all this year’s Chelsea gardens, Roger Platt’s design for the main sponsor, M&G Investments, is easy to love. Some may describe it as timeless, others as slightly dated, but what it lacks in new ideas it makes up for in crowd pleasing features and planting. In some ways it displays all the lack of resolve and bravery that many of us exhibit in our own gardens; hanging on to plants and features we know have reached their sell-by date but can’t bear to part with, hoping that their time will come again. The excuse, if one is needed, is that the aim of the garden is to capture the design trends and themes of shows past and present. A near impossible task which could have resulted in design schizophrenia or, as it turns out, a reasonably harmonious if pedestrian scheme.
The guiding idea is to incorporate both garden features and planting from across the last century. Interestingly, the plants achieve harmony with much greater ease than the features, which lack any kind of synergy. A mullioned window at the end of the garden provides a backdrop to a thatched oak garden building (a bit too reminiscent of an Hawaiian tiki hut for my liking). In the foreground a very attractive rusted metal sculpture by Anvils Blacksmiths really steals the show, providing the frame for a thousand photographs.
The plant list is one of the most extensive at the show, with hollies, laurels, cornus and rhododendrons representing the tastes of the early 1900′s, oodles of roses taking us through the middle of the century and Cirsium r. ‘Atropurpureum’ and the ubiquitous Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Ravenswing’ bringing us firmly into the noughties. Roger Platt is one of many designers to incorporate the tantalisingly tricky blue poppy, Meconopsis betonicifolia (below) into his scheme. This Himalayan beauty would have found conditions yesterday much to its liking – damp and cool. A plant to admire rather than covet, unless one lives in the north or west. Conversely Iris ‘Deep Black’ (above) would have been shivering its timbers in the inclement weather, yearning for a decent spell in the sun, like the rest of us.
As the pole position garden, ‘Windows Through Time’ establishes a mood of reluctance to genuinely move Chelsea on, despite its centenary year. A pretty and pleasing composition, but providing no real vision for the future. In the shelter of the great pavillion, where horticultural excellence still reigns supreme, I can live with that, but in the show gardens I expect a whole lot more.
Much excitement at Chelsea as I came face to face with a brand new Fritillaria named ‘Garland Star’. Regular followers will know I’ve pledged allegiance to ‘William Rex‘, but I may be persuaded to have a treasonous dalliance with a commoner next spring. ‘Garland Star’ is without pronounced smoky purple flashes on its bells, but the allure of a strong looking bulb with copious tangerine flowers may be hard to resist! Available from Living Colour Bulbs.
This year’s Chelsea Flower Show was awash with lady’s slipper orchids, or cypripediums. There are some 65 species of cypripediums, all found within the northern hemisphere, ranging from Mexico to Siberia. Despite being tricky to grow, hybridisers have been at work creating a myriad of new named varieties. The stand-out hybrid for me was large flowered Cypripedium ‘Kentucky Maxi’ – tall and fresh looking with voluptuous primrose slippers and nicely punctuated curling petals.
As the clock ticked around to 8pm on Wednesday evening, we finally reached the Arthritis Research UK Garden, winner of a gold medal and the People’s Choice award for best garden. After a cold and drizzly day, the sun finally emerged from behind the clouds, accentuating the many contrasts in this inspiring garden. Designed by Chris Beardshaw, the garden featured planting and sculpture reflecting the disease and its impact on the lives of sufferers.
The space was divided into three key areas, each reflecting a different stage in the journey of someone diagnosed with arthritis. The Veiled Garden, an enclosed and shaded woodland area, represented the pain described by those who suffer with the disease and the confusion felt following initial diagnosis. From the Veiled Garden, a stone pathway lead into the Lucid Garden. Here the planting opened up into a more formal space representing understanding and security, as sufferers begin to learn about their condition.
Finally, in the Radiant Garden, the space between structural hedging was filled with exuberant planting, highlighting a sense of liberation as the person with arthritis learns to manage their condition and enjoy their life again. The planting was vivacious and optimistic, employing a palette of pinks, purples, oranges and blues and featuring striking specimens such as Iris ‘Supreme Sultan’, Lupinus ‘Masterpiece’, Lunaria ‘Corfu Blue’, Tanacetum parthenium, Escholtzia californica, Echium pininana, Geranium palmatum and Anchusa ‘Loddon Royalist’. The rich tapestry of colours and textures gave me lots of ideas for our own garden.
Chris was inspired by his own personal journey with arthritis; from being diagnosed at 19 with a form of rheumatoid arthritis through to managing his condition by keeping active and doing the things he loves. I am sure that through this garden he has inspired a large number of people to follow the same example.
What everyone expects from Chelsea is massed displays of single flower types. Be it alliums, sweet peas, delphiniums or chrysanthemums, banks of mint-condition blooms are never in short supply in the show’s great pavillion. Love them or hate them (and the slugs and snails love them) these lupins from Westcountry Nurseries are what Chelsea is all about – horticultural perfection.
At a show on the scale of Chelsea picking out just ten plants which really get you excited is a tough job. Every year there are clear plants of the moment, which this time happened to be Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Ravenswing’, Enkianthus (a bit of a surprise), peonies (especially blousy white varieties) and Aquilegia in every colour and form. I’ve nothing at all against any of these; in fact it’s good to see old-fashioned flowers making a comeback. However I go to Chelsea to see plants I’ve never seen before and foremost to learn something new.
The ‘go-to’ stand for anyone in my position is Crûg Farm Plants, where the owners Sue and Bleddyn Wynn-Jones travel the world in search of new and undiscovered plants. Gems this year included Holboellia brachyandra HWJ1023, a deliciously scented vigorous climber (above) and Disporum longistylum, with powerful bamboo-like shoots. These extraordinary growths are later topped by greenish yellow flowers. Can’t wait to find a spot for this in my garden.
Disporum longistylum
So, two down, eight more to go. The Laurent Perrier garden contained many choice plants, but the stand out for me was the demure and low growing Anemone ‘Wild Swan’, Chelsea Plant of the Year back in 2011. Flowering May to November, the pure white flowers have an attractive slate-blue reverse. Ideal for small, shady gardens like ours and valuable for its long flowering season.
Anemone ‘Wild Swan’
Enjoying very different conditions was Zaluzianskya ovata, the night phlox. A mouthful of a name maybe, but named after Adam Zaluziansky von Zaluzian, a 16th-century Czech botanist who sought to separate the science of botany from medicine. Z. ovata is lovely fragrant plant, hailing not from Czechoslovakia but from the Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa. It is reasonably hardy in the UK, sporting dark green, aromatic, evergreen leaves covered by white flowers with red reverses. The blooms curl up in the middle of the day and come out at dusk, giving off an intoxicating scent. Used here in the B&Q Sentebale ‘Forget-me-not’ Garden.
Zaluzianskya ovata
Another plant which isn’t new to gardeners but was new to me was Semiaquilegia ‘Sugar Plum Fairy’ a delicate looking granny’s bonnet, with pretty mid-green leaves and bell-shaped dusky pink flowers. It will tolerate some shade and take over nicely when plants like epimediums start to fade.
Semiaquilegia ‘Sugar Plum Fairy’
Another flower with exquisite colouring was Rosa ‘Boscobel’ from the clever breeding team at David Austin Roses. This variety, new in 2012, was to be found in four or five show gardens, indicating just how quickly it’s established itself as a favourite. ‘Boscobel’ has delicious rich salmon blooms which emerge from red buds and open into a classic rosettes. The scent is described as “a myrrh fragrance with a hawthorn character and hints of elderflower, pear and almond”. I’d just describe it as “bloody good”!
Rosa ‘Boscobel’ from David Austin Roses.
For colour and interest later in the year, what better than the chic flowers of Agapanthus ‘Phantom’ from Hoyland Plants in South Yorkshire? I’m excited by the increasingly dark and smoky blues, but the subtlety of Phantom’s white, suffused lilac-blue flowers is more unusual. It should be evergreen except in the coldest winters.
Agapanthus ‘Phantom’ from Hoyland Plants in Yorkshire.
Having seem arisaemas growing wild in Bhutan, I was able to appreciate the natural effect achieved on Jacques Amand’s stand all the more. Diminutive Arisaema sikokianum, the Japanese cobra lily, can only be found in Japan, occupying moist, shady places. The flowers are unmistakable for their smoky-purple base, bright-white cup and arching hoods striped with purple, green and white. I fear our heavy soil would be far from ideal, so it will remain one of those plants I admire from afar.
Arisaema sikokianum, the Japanese cobra lily
I won’t dwell for long on plant number nine, but it’s a beauty, Fritillaria ‘Garland Star’. I’ll be trying it alongside ‘William Rex’ next spring to see which I like better, but ‘Garland Star’ seems like a strong contender.
Fritillaria ‘Garland Star’
And so to number ten. So many plants to choose from and so difficult to leave any out. It’s too easy for me to keep including bulbs, so let’s go full circle and return to another white flowered climber Clematis ‘Lemon Dream’. A new introduction from Thorncroft Clematis, it was smothered with double lemon-yellow flowers and gave off a light grapefruit scent. If you prefer single blooms, then C. ‘Lemon Beauty’ is a better choice for you.
I thought I’d never get there, but here we are at the end of my Top Ten. What do you think of my choices? Have I missed anything you loved at Chelsea out?
Clematis ‘Lemon Dream’.
H.W.Hyde & Son was founded in 1926, the year the first woman swam the English Channel. In honour of the 100th Chelsea Flower Show the specialist lily grower showed 100 new varieties, some of which still awaited naming. Among them were a glorious array of martagons, a woodland species which requires a humus-rich alkaline soil to grow well. One of my two favourites was L. martagon ‘Tobacco’ with marmalade coloured flowers liberally splashed with russet. Better for your health than smoking and smells sweeter too!
Having moved on from primulas, my new plant of the moment is the humble hosta. Hostas are one of those precious foliage plants that really enjoy being in a pot, where the leaves dangle like carrots above the heads of passing slugs and snails. New acquisitions this year include three ordered at Chelsea from Bowden’s Hostas: H. ‘Fantasy Island’, H. ‘St Paul’ and H. ‘Guardian Angel’. Pricey and still small, they’ll be pampered in pots until strong enough to fend for themselves.
Looking for all the world like neatly groomed Victorian moustaches, these eccentric flowers belong to Paphiopedilum rothschildianum, Rothschild’s slipper orchid. They seem a fitting choice for Father’s Day, with their masculine good looks. Discovered by an Englishman abroad, these exotic blooms are a long way from their home in the rainforests around Mount Kinabalu in northern Borneo.
About to leave for the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. Look out for posts and tweets from The Frustrated Gardener throughout the day!
Today, I’ve been sweltering in the heat at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. So many exciting plants to see, but one of the first that caught my eye was Salvia ‘Amistad’. Tall, purplish stems are topped with large, tubular violet-blue flowers emerging from almost black buds. Combined with fiery orange and yellow dahlias it would make quite a statement in a summer border.
Like a horticultural fashion show, Britain’s flower shows provide the launch pad for new ideas in gardening and the latest introductions from breeders and plant hunters.
The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show is the world’s biggest, and after Chelsea one of the most prestigious. Unlike Chelsea, exhibitors can sell their wares direct to the general public, making it one of the biggest plant buying opportunities of the year. With up to 70,000 visitors each day, this must be pretty lucrative and a good way of mitigating the high cost of staging an exhibit.
In my humble opinion this year’s show was a classic – great weather, intriguing conceptual gardens and classy summer gardens, topped off by some top notch exhibits in the floral marquee. The addition of a separate marquee for roses and floral art was inspired and offered visitors something new and original to enjoy.
My top 10 show plants this year have an unashamedly tropical bias. I’m loving hot colours and lush leaves in both gardens at the moment and was on the hunt for new additions to my burgeoning plant collection.
First to catch my eye on Tynings Cimbers‘ stand was Thunbergia gregorii, a giant, tangerine-flowered beauty with equally attractive hairy buds. Alas it doesn’t photograph particularly well, but what a stunning plant.
1. Thunbergia gregorii
The plants on Hewitt-Cooper Carnivorous Plants‘ gold medal winning exhibit illicited strong reactions from showgoers. Carnivorous plants are not everyone’s cup of tea, but I’m always surprised by the delicacy of their flowers compared to their fearsome pitchers and sticky flytraps. Demure and nodding, the blooms of Heliamphora elongata from Venezuela were as pretty as any alpine, placing it firmly in my top 10.
2. Heliamphora elongata
Norfolk-based Amulree Exotics payed homage to history’s great plant collectors with their jungle-like collection of foliage plants. Brightening up one corner was a large specimen of Erythina crista-galli, the cockspur coral tree from South America. Sadly not hardy outdoors in the UK, but according to the RHS it will get through the winter in a unheated greenhouse, or outside in very mild parts of the country.
3. Erythina crista-galli
One of the obvious plants of the moment was violet-blue Salvia ‘Amistad’, closely followed by magenta S. ‘Wendy’s Wish’. These are both touted as hardy perennials, although I suspect they’d prefer a bit of winter protection. Tall and flowering from May to October above glossy green foliage, they are drought tolerant and attractive to bees. Judging by how many I saw poking out of bags and trolleys during the day, these salvias will be gracing many a garden this summer. Try Hayloft Plants if you’d like to track this beauty down.
4. Salvia ‘Amistad’, (meaning friendship in Spanish)
At number five, a lily that could make an interesting companion for Salvia ‘Amistad’, Lilium ‘Tiger Babies’ from Avon Bulbs. Orange, rust, peach and coral-coloured flowers again played a big part in Hampton Court’s show gardens. Bred 30 years ago by an Amercian called Judith Freeman, L. ‘Tiger Babies’ combines peach petals and a darker throat with a scattering of fine russet spots. Those of you who don’t like the scent of lilies will also be happy to know that L. ‘Tiger Babies’ has a lighter, more delicate fragrance than most hybrids.
5. Lilium ‘Tiger Babies’
Next an orchid which quite simply blew my socks off, the improbably named Epilaeliocattleya ‘May Bly’. Try saying that with a boiled sweet in your mouth! Again, I know orchids are not for everyone, but what a storming colour combination – bright lime green and lipstick pink. These exotic blooms would grace any Mardi Gras celebration and really appeal to my flambuoyant side – thanks to Chantelle Orchids for displaying this remarkable plant and literally making my day.
6. Epilaeliocattleya ‘May Bly’
Taking me back to the 90′s and my clubbing days, when clothes, bags and ears were frequently adorned with neon spikes, was the porcupine tomato, Solanum pyracanthum, from Madagascar. This is where my willpower finally gave way, and the friendly chap at Plantbase managed to part me with my cash. Like most things from Madagascar it’s weird and spiny, but the mauve flowers are unmistakably those of a member of the potato/tomato family. I was advised to treat my new acquisition exactly like a tomato plant, with copious food and water, but not to eat the fruits which are poisonous. Not hardy during our cold winters, I was recommended to let my plant die down and rest at the end of the year, before waking it up again in spring. S. pyracanthum can also be grown easily from seed.
7. Solanum pyracanthum
Just three plants left and it’s getting really hard to narrow it down. Before I move on to some temperate plants, I’m going to choose one final tropical treasure, Musa lasiocarpa, the Chinese yellow banana. This was presented in fine fettle by Desert to Jungle having been believed to be extinct only a decade ago. Thankfully, it was rediscovered growing in a remote part of the Himalayas in southwest China and is now back in cultivation. Mature plants produce long-lasting yellow flowers in summer, after which the whole thing will start to die. Offshoots are normally produced so that the plant lives to bloom another day. Hardy enough to surive outside given a bit of TLC.
8. Musa lasiocarpa
Lest I be accused of putting together a list which is completely impractical for the average gardener, choices nine and ten will be a little more sensible. At number nine an unusual Campanula named ‘Pink Octopus’. It appeared in a number of displays, but looked its best with Barnsdale Gardens (best known for its late owner, the great and much missed Geoff Hamilton). I’m not always fond of split-petalled hybrids, particularly the foxgloves I’ve seen, but somehow this one works both in colour and form – a little reminiscent of a trailing begonia.
9. Campanula ‘Pink Octopus’
And finally, plant number ten is Hydrangea arborescens ‘Invincibelle’, beating a couple of other contenders because it was shown by a local, Kentish nursery. Madrona Nursery of Pluckley, presented this antique pink form of H. arborescens amongst silver foliage and lemon yellow evening primroses. It would make a fantastic backdrop for C. ‘Pink Octopus’, enjoying similar conditions, and perhaps planted with yellow-edged hostas and lime green ferns in part shade.
10. Last but not least, Hydrangea arborescens ‘Invincibelle’
I really hope you enjoyed my selection from this year’s Hampton Court and found something to excite and inspire you. I’d love to hear what you think and which plants would have made it onto your list. More on Hampton Court and the show gardens coming soon…..
Like the red playing card soldiers from Alice in Wonderland, the scarlet flowers of Disa uniflora ‘Red River’ marched across Dave Parkinson’s incredible exhibit at Hampton Court last week. They were joined by an army of other disas in dayglo shades of pink, yellow and orange, fighting with one another for floral supremacy. These fascinating little orchids are from Table Mountain in South Africa, where they grow near streams and springs with their roots in the water. What they lack in stature they certainly make up for in sheer flower power. Marvellous!
Nikki Tibbles, the creative talent behind florist ‘Wild at Heart‘, designed a special bouquet for this year’s Hampton Court Flower Show. It combined Peony ‘Coral Charm’, sweet peas, peach and yellow roses, Asclepia, Alchemilla and Rudbeckia. Despite the heat, Wild at Heart’s display looked fresh and sophisticated ….. and that included the chilled-out staff manning the stand!
It was a hot, dry and dusty Hampton Court Flower Show this year. I returned home with my blue suede shoes looking more like I had crossed the Sahara than the City of London. The summer sun made recording the show gardens on camera hard work, everything looking more or less bleached out. A bit of adjustment on the computer has corrected that and the blue suede shoes are brushed and ready to tread the streets of London again.
As I mentioned in my previous post, Britain’s Flower Shows are a great place for spotting gardening trends, and the show gardens didn’t disappoint. Dining à deux seemed to be de rigueur, with many show gardens making a focal point of pretty cafe sets or outdoor snugglers. The advances in outdoor buildings for people, animals and insects were also much in evidence, so once again I found myself lusting over the contemporary garden studios and period greenhouses that I have no space for.
’Willow Pattern’, designed by Sue Thomas
However, it’s the show gardens which take centre stage and here the trend was split between cool and hot planting, some designers combining the two. Perhaps it was no coincidence then that several gardens paid homage to Gertrude Jekyll, who through her work and books such as ’Colour Schemes for the Flower Garden’ put her imprint on modern uses of warm and cool plant groupings. I’ll return to hot colours in a later post, but for now, I’m chilling out with a succession of especially cool compositions.
The ultimate cool garden was also my favourite. Entitled ‘Willow Pattern’ and designed by Sue Thomas, the scheme recreated a scene we’re all so familiar with in two dimensions. A story of unsuitable love, the tale involves a wealthy Mandarin’s daughter who runs away with a book-keeper, escaping from her palace across an oriental bridge. This was a garden I could not imagine wanting to escape from, especially on a hot day, surrounded as was was by lush hostas, hydrangeas and delicate clematis. The silver medal seemed to me a little harsh, but the standards were incredibly high throughout this year’s show. Sue, you got my vote anyway.
Two gardens in the conceptual category took cool to a new level. The first was The Ecover Garden designed by the very talented Matthew Childs. Whether or not you liked the strips of recycled plastic leaping like dolphins through the flowers, or the toilet cleaner fountain, it was hard not to appreciate the planting. Even at the end of a long day, the delphiniums, Perovskia, Stachys and Agapanthus still sparkled brighter than crystal among a froth of white Gypsophila paniculata. The garden’s aim was to reinforce that water is life and that pollution is an ever present threat to our natural environment. It was this message, along with the quality of design and planting, that secured The Ecover Garden a coveted gold medal and ‘Best Show Garden’ award.
The Ecover Garden designed by Matthew Childs
If The Ecover Garden wasn’t quite cool enough for you, the Tip of the Iceberg garden took the temperature down a notch or two. Designed by John Esling and Caroline Tait it gave old fridges a new lease of life as building blocks and planters. Each of the 36 fridges, complete with amusing fridge magnets and internal fittings, represented an alpine habitat filled with blue, purple and white flowers.
Tip of the Iceberg designed by John Esling and Caroline Tait
The designers were inspired Japanese gravel gardens, replacing traditional materials with clear glass chippings. The fridges for the construction were supplied by Zanussi, having had all the harmful gases safely removed. It’s perhaps not the garden feature of my dreams, but a darn sight more attractive than seeing them dumped unceremoniously at the tip.
It’s always intriguing to see what Hampton Court’s garden designers can come up with on a budget of £15,000. This show garden category is know as ‘Low Cost, High Impact’. Mark Harvey certainly came up trumps with ‘A Room with a View’, his sloping garden which rose up reclaimed wood stepping stones to a viewing platform. The tufts of rusty coloured grass you can see below belong to Carex buchananii. When combined with Eryngium zabelii ‘Big Blue’, E. bourgatii, Perovskia ‘Blue Spire’, Gaura lindheimeri, Cupressus sempervirens and tiny Myrtus communis the effect is perhaps more macchia than tundra, but refreshing nevertheless.
’A Room with a View’ designed by Mark Harvey
Finally, lest there be any mistake, Ruth Marshall named her design ‘A Cool Garden’, comfortably winning in the summer gardens category. Here, the combination of cool planting alongside rusty foliage and metal was practiced again, in a design which will ultimately be picked up and recreated in a private spa complex. Ruth’s inspiration came from the bomb-formed dells in her local woodland. She anchored her complex scheme with four large Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’ (Corkscrew Hazel), providing welcome shade and an air of maturity.
‘A Cool Garden’ designed by Ruth Marshall
This was a very articulate design which was greatly enhanced by the clever use of water and different levels. It looked good from almost every angle. One of the joys of Hampton Court compared to Chelsea is that many gardens can be viewed from every side, and in Ruth Marshall’s garden a beautiful gate at the back of the plot provided one of the most interesting views into the space.
Planting wise, great use was made of red-tinged foliage plants, including Athyrium niponicum var. pictum, Acaena intermis ‘Purpurea’, Angelica ‘Ebony’ and Actea simplex ‘Black Negligee’. The scheme was cleverly lightened using white umbel Cenolophium denudatum, dusky pink Digitalis x mertonensis and the creme caramel shades of D. parviflora ‘Milk Chocolate’.
If I’ve given you the chills rather than thrills with all these cool gardens, check back again soon for some action at the hotter end of the colour spectrum.
Above, ‘Mid Century Modern’ designed by Adele Ford and Susan Wilmott
We’re so accustomed to the British Summer being a wash out, it’s a wonder we haven’t all given up on creating that hot, Mediterranean garden of our dreams. We were promised global warming and were delivered a long series of soggy summers and boggy winters. But since the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show we’ve shared the same weather as Delhi. Our vain hopes of a barbecue summer have finally been realised.
When the sun shines, so do our gardens and nowhere more so than at Hampton Court where the fashion for hot colours continued. A new twist was the association with shimmering silver foliage and cool blue flowers.
The magic of this palette was plain to see in ‘Mid Century Modern’ designed by Adele Ford and Susan Wilmott. The design for this ‘low cost, high impact garden’ was inspired by a 1950′s advertising poster with its hand drawn typography and bold colour palette. The result was a thoroughly modern garden which cost just £15,000 to create, including labour, materials and plants. This may sound like a lot, but for a garden of this quality and impact it’s pretty good value.
Once you discover that Adele works at Great Dixter, it comes as no surprise that she felt confident enough to pair plants like Achillea ‘Terracotta’ (above) with the serrated foliage of Melianthus major. We grow the latter in more shade, where the leaves are paler, but it looks best grown in full sun. This was a bold garden which would surely appeal to a young, fashionable couple.
Two gardens in the conceptual category celebrated triumph in the face of adversity. The first was ‘Desolation to Regeneration’ designed by Catherine MacDonald of Landform Consultants. The garden illustrated the two phases of a forest fire through flower colour, foliage texture and abstract sculpture. The overall design was inspired by the next Hobbit film, ‘The Desolation of Smaug’.
It was not my favourite by a long chalk – more a walk-through than a garden, propped up by a photographic backdrop and unnecessary “auditory and olfactory stimulation”. Frankly, birdsong and the distant hum of a lawnmower will do me in this respect, and over the din of the crowd the recording was barely audible. The fact that any of this trickery was needed demonstrated the weakness of the design and the artifice of the planting. The RHS judges disagreed with me and awarded it gold. The Frustrated Gardener awarded it nul points.
Desolation to Regeneration designed by Catherine MacDonald
A second conceptual garden, entitled ‘Ashes to Ashes’ and designed by Bruce Waldock, explored a more specific catastrophe, that of ash dieback . For the second time in my life the UK faces the annihilation of a tree species which is synonymous with our countryside. Yet just as some cultivars of elm have survived, it’s possible that the disease may not wipe out our entire ash population.
‘Ashes to Ashes’ designed by Bruce Waldock
The curving garden portrayed an apocalyptic scene, complete with headstones for the disease causing fungus, Chalara fraxinea. From the devastation spiraled a glade of new growth, representing the future. This garden conveyed a strong, topical message and was far more deserving of its gold than the previous one.
The McCarthy and Stone Garden by Chris Beardshaw
No flower show is complete without a design by Chris Beardshaw. His collaboration with McCarthy and Stone, the UK’s largest builder of retirement properties, was multi-faceted. The garden’s aim was to explore the stereotypes of age, including the isolation, misunderstanding and the feeling of being a burden. Built around a circular structure, the garden featured three pathways leading to a hidden sanctuary, which signified not only the unique ways in which the brain processes memory, but also how it then utilises those memories in day-to-day life.
Far from being a negative space, the garden was bright, varied and easy to identify with, even for one not approaching old age quite yet. That said, I do often feel that my brain may have been replaced by a wisteria, so Chris got that bit right!
As seen in Ruth Marshall’s ‘A Cool Garden’, rusty structures were complemented by silver foliage and blue, white and peach flowers. Meanwhile, at the front of the garden, three double deckchairs with digitally printed slings sat in the shade. I am not sure what they had to do with the theme but, boy, did they look inviting!
Finally, a garden which I couldn’t place as either cool or hot, ‘A Valley Garden’ by Sophie Walker. Perhaps this garden should have been entered in the conceptual rather than show garden category, as the silver gilt medal was a travesty.
The ‘valley’ was formed by mounding soil up on either side of central pool, bisected by a dagger-like path. The pool was dark and moody with steam rising from the surface, like a backwater of a slow moving, tropical river. The earth mounds were planted with rare and exotic discoveries from Crug Farm Plants in Wales, completing the sense of theatre.
This simple but stunning garden had more atmosphere and drama than all the other show gardens put together. Thank goodness common sense prevailed and the general public awarded it the ‘People’s Choice’ award. British gardeners might appear traditional, but they know great design when they see it.
I hope you enjoyed my trip around Hampton Court Palace’s gardens. Which were your hot favourites?
‘A Valley Garden’ designed by Sophie Walker
At a show on the scale of Chelsea picking out just ten plants which really get you excited is a tough job. Every year there are clear plants of the moment, which this time happened to be Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Ravenswing’, Enkianthus (a bit of a surprise), peonies (especially blousy white varieties) and Aquilegia in every colour and form. I’ve nothing at all against any of these; in fact it’s good to see old-fashioned flowers making a comeback. However I go to Chelsea to see plants I’ve never seen before and foremost to learn something new.
The ‘go-to’ stand for anyone in my position is Crûg Farm Plants, where the owners Sue and Bleddyn Wynn-Jones travel the world in search of new and undiscovered plants. Gems this year included Holboellia brachyandra HWJ1023, a deliciously scented vigorous climber (above) and Disporum longistylum, with powerful bamboo-like shoots. These extraordinary growths are later topped by greenish yellow flowers. Can’t wait to find a spot for this in my garden.
Disporum longistylum
So, two down, eight more to go. The Laurent Perrier garden contained many choice plants, but the stand out for me was the demure and low growing Anemone ‘Wild Swan’, Chelsea Plant of the Year back in 2011. Flowering May to November, the pure white flowers have an attractive slate-blue reverse. Ideal for small, shady gardens like ours and valuable for its long flowering season.
Anemone ‘Wild Swan’
Enjoying very different conditions was Zaluzianskya ovata, the night phlox. A mouthful of a name maybe, but named after Adam Zaluziansky von Zaluzian, a 16th-century Czech botanist who sought to separate the science of botany from medicine. Z. ovata is lovely fragrant plant, hailing not from Czechoslovakia but from the Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa. It is reasonably hardy in the UK, sporting dark green, aromatic, evergreen leaves covered by white flowers with red reverses. The blooms curl up in the middle of the day and come out at dusk, giving off an intoxicating scent. Used here in the B&Q Sentebale ‘Forget-me-not’ Garden.
Zaluzianskya ovata
Another plant which isn’t new to gardeners but was new to me was Semiaquilegia ‘Sugar Plum Fairy’ a delicate looking granny’s bonnet, with pretty mid-green leaves and bell-shaped dusky pink flowers. It will tolerate some shade and take over nicely when plants like epimediums start to fade.
Semiaquilegia ‘Sugar Plum Fairy’
Another flower with exquisite colouring was Rosa ‘Boscobel’ from the clever breeding team at David Austin Roses. This variety, new in 2012, was to be found in four or five show gardens, indicating just how quickly it’s established itself as a favourite. ‘Boscobel’ has delicious rich salmon blooms which emerge from red buds and open into a classic rosettes. The scent is described as “a myrrh fragrance with a hawthorn character and hints of elderflower, pear and almond”. I’d just describe it as “bloody good”!
Rosa ‘Boscobel’ from David Austin Roses.
For colour and interest later in the year, what better than the chic flowers of Agapanthus ‘Phantom’ from Hoyland Plants in South Yorkshire? I’m excited by the increasingly dark and smoky blues, but the subtlety of Phantom’s white, suffused lilac-blue flowers is more unusual. It should be evergreen except in the coldest winters.
Agapanthus ‘Phantom’ from Hoyland Plants in Yorkshire.
Having seem arisaemas growing wild in Bhutan, I was able to appreciate the natural effect achieved on Jacques Amand’s stand all the more. Diminutive Arisaema sikokianum, the Japanese cobra lily, can only be found in Japan, occupying moist, shady places. The flowers are unmistakable for their smoky-purple base, bright-white cup and arching hoods striped with purple, green and white. I fear our heavy soil would be far from ideal, so it will remain one of those plants I admire from afar.
Arisaema sikokianum, the Japanese cobra lily
I won’t dwell for long on plant number nine, but it’s a beauty, Fritillaria ‘Garland Star’. I’ll be trying it alongside ‘William Rex’ next spring to see which I like better, but ‘Garland Star’ seems like a strong contender.
Fritillaria ‘Garland Star’
And so to number ten. So many plants to choose from and so difficult to leave any out. It’s too easy for me to keep including bulbs, so let’s go full circle and return to another white flowered climber Clematis ‘Lemon Dream’. A new introduction from Thorncroft Clematis, it was smothered with double lemon-yellow flowers and gave off a light grapefruit scent. If you prefer single blooms, then C. ‘Lemon Beauty’ is a better choice for you.
I thought I’d never get there, but here we are at the end of my Top Ten. What do you think of my choices? Have I missed anything you loved at Chelsea out?
Clematis ‘Lemon Dream’.
A beautiful autumn afternoon, perhaps the last for a while, so time to escape the office for delights of the RHS London Harvest Festival Show. Check back soon to discover who grew this year’s largest pumpkin, and which Duke won the battle of the grapes.
I never think of myself as especially tech savvy. However, as I embark on my 40′s I find myself more anxious than ever to keep up with advances in technology. I have no time for endless research, so have happily sold my soul to Apple – the iPad, the iPhone and now a gorgeous, sleek, new Mac Book Pro. Whilst I enjoy a love affair with my new gadgets Him Indoors is less than impressed, as for all they offer in terms of wizardry they take back in constant begging for my attention. A new equilibrium needs to be reached between genuine interaction and social networking. I don’t have the balance right yet, but I’m working on it.
A similar tension arises at work, which tends towards the all-consuming, so it’s a welcome distraction when the RHS hold one of their London shows, right around the corner from my office. There has been a fruit and vegetable show in the RHS’s Lindley Hall almost every October since 1900. Originally a stage for the aristocrats of Britain to showcase the produce from their country estates, the show is now dominated by the hoi polloi, with only the Dukes of Marlborough and Devonshire still engaging in this most genteel of competitions.
In this year’s contest the 11th Duke of Marlborough came out on top with three first prizes and one second in the grape classes. His magnificent bunch of white ‘Muscat of Alexandria’ grapes is pictured above. The Duke of Devonshire, the custodian of Chatsworth, managed only three seconds and a third, but regained his honour with a first prize for three Citrus x imperialis ‘Lipo’ for the second year running.
Although the show no longer enjoys its original aristocratic endorsement, it has evolved to meet the requirements of the 21st Century. The Lindley Hall remains the perfect venue for displaying fruit and vegetables, its arched glass roof allowing just the right amount of light onto the baize-covered tables. Each exhibit is judged by experts using the rules set out in The Horticultural Show Handbook. The book outlines exactly what the judges are looking for in each class. Apparently size isn’t everything, except when it comes to cooking onions, apples and, naturally, pumpkins.
Below, the splendid first prize winning exhibit of ten vegetables entered by the North East Derbyshire branch of the National Vegetable Society, complete with score card.
For complete novices like me, there are helpful tips on what to look for, neatly scribed onto smart grey tablets. The description of the perfect parsnip could also apply to The Frustrated Gardener’s finely cultivated form, up to the point where roots come into the equation!
Someone who clearly knows the rules is Sherie Plumb of Althorne, who won the Silver Knightian Medal for the best dish of vegetables, scoring 62 out of a possible 76. All four vegetables were immaculate, but the carrots and runner beans especially so.
The most popular classes at this show are for apples (with a small a) and pears, which are customarily shown in sixes displayed on smart white plates. The range of varieties is extraordinary, with special categories set aside for rare and unusual types, the trestles bowing under the weight of the fragrant fruit. The RHS fruit department had a huge range of fruit available for tasting and to buy, from crisp russet apples to sweet creamy pears.
However, my heart was captured by the classes that required an added element of artistry- the trugs and baskets of fruit and vegetables. The winning basket of fruit is pictured at the top of this post and the winning vegetable trug below. Too good to eat….almost!
Just an hour out of the office, away from any form of technology, had the desired restorative effect. My karma rebalanced, it was back to the grindstone, but with a new spring in my step and a greater respect for a different kind of apple.
