Hampton Court 2018 – RHS Largest Flower Show

Hampton Court 2018 and Wimbledon 2018 both began on July 2nd.

Now that made south west London and the Surrey borders a busy place to be!

The element of competition and enjoyment of the crowds is shared by both events. You would find it tricky to watch both of those in one day. But it is possible to see the RHS Flower Show and visit Hampton Court Palace and Gardens.

Not sure what to expect at Hampton Court Palace Gardens? Check out the blog link below for one of Plews visits to give you a taste of the delights.

But let us away to the Flower Show, the largest one put on by the RHS.

Hampton Court 2018 – Garden categories

Show Gardens
Conceptual Gardens
World Gardens
Gardens for a Changing World
Feature Garden
Lifestyle Gardens
Flower and Vegetable Boxes

There were also other gardens ‘Around the Show’. These included the Royal Parks and Gardens garden, RHS and Raymond Blanc’s grow your own garden, Countryfile’s 30th Anniversary garden, Horticultural Heroes and a River of Flowers.

Hampton Court 2018 – Plants and Flowers

For florists, and those who love flowers; includes the

Floral Marquee
Festival of Roses
Floral Design Studio
Carnivorous Plants
Dig in Plants – edible gardens and unusual edible plants

Then for those who like their retail therapy, at Hampton Court 2018 there are: –

Trade Stands with plants, fountains, garden statues, garden furniture and more gardening sundries than would fit in most people’s gardens!
Plant Village
Country Living marquee

Plus there are plenty of demonstrations in the cookery theatre, workshops and talks. Family activities on the weekend and music from the bandstand to enjoy whilst you eat your lunch.

Let’s head for a round up of what took our eye: design and planting ideas for your garden at Hampton Court 2018

As ever, this is a largely pictorial blog and even more photos are around on Plews Instagram, Flickr and Pinterest for you to enjoy

Show Gardens

A range of styles in these gardens. Some looked more like a garden you might have back home, others were inspired by the landscape and had a naturalistic feel. There was a notable attention to detail in the carpentry in a few of these gardens. You know, the joinery that is just asking for you to stroke the wood and admire the finish.

The Royal National Institute for the Blind – RNIB – Community Garden deserves a special mention. There was a combination of plants and surface to enhance the pleasure of a garden for those who are visually impaired. But there was also the opportunity, by wearing glasses (like the 3D ones we had for films) to see how the garden would look without good eyesight.

World Gardens

I’ve picked out these two as the first is very different from a British garden yet shows how a small detail can add to the overall feel. The second has a pop of colour that would work well in many urban gardens, courtyard gardens and balcony gardens.

Gardens for a Changing World

This garden – entitled ‘A very modern problem’ we thought showed very clearly how the way our gardens really are differs from those we aspire to and possibly even claim to have on social media. (With a neat bit of photo editing, of course!) Perhaps there’s a moral here?

Lifestyle Gardens: real gardens for real people

A brand new category for 2018. And, marking 100 years since women first gained the right to vote, the designers are all female.

The Health and Wellbeing Garden

The Entertaining Garden – celebrating gin. We rather liked this one, and it inspired us to wander off in search of the gin vendors… Seriously, though, plenty of butterflies on the flowering plants and the idea of outdoor shelves as a design feature for the garden was one we liked here and in other gardens at the show.

The Style and Design Garden

The Family Garden

Other Gardens at Hampton Court 2018

The Royal Parks and Gardens created a wonderful piece of theatre for visitors to immerse themselves in replica trenches. Walking through the seemingly random collection of barbed wire and wildflowers is a timely reminder of lives lost. I will be looking at World War 1 gardens both at home and on the frontlines in a blog later this year, so you’ll see more of this garden then.

And some grow your own veg – lots of edible garden ideas from the RHS helped along by a master chef – Raymond Blanc. The use of coloured, painted wood for beanpoles is such a simple one, but think how it would cheer up your kitchen garden and allotment!

Flower Boxes and Vegetable Boxes

Often considered a fun section of gardens at Hampton Court Flower Show, but also one where you can glean some really useful tips and ideas. Fun alternatives to garden gnomes, and another example of using colour in plant supports.

Hampton Court 2018 – Plants and Flowers

Enter the Festival of Roses pavilion and enter a perfumed sanctuary. So many roses and too little space in this blog! I will mention the special Eirene rose. Named for the Irish goddess of peace and grown to commemorate the centenary of the ending of World War 1.

We finish with a view down the Long Water of Hampton Court and an evening shot of the Horticultural Heroes garden, where Piet Oudolf’s prairie style planting really comes into its own.

Flower Show Perspectives

eBooks for you to download from Plews website.

If you’d like to view previous years at RHS Hampton Court Flower Show this is a convenient and pleasant way to do so! Click here for RHS Hampton Court