The world’s largest flower show opens its doors this week as the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show gets under way.
Hampton Court Flower Show
There’s a new category this year, ‘Gardens for a Changing World’, with designers taking as their theme how gardeners can meet the challenges we face in our ever-changing world. Among the big subjects they tackle are extreme rainfall, the healing power of plants, and the use of plants to regenerate urban wasteland.
The main show gardens feature a woodland play garden, a seaside garden complete with beachside railway, and a travel-themed garden featuring a triple-arched wall inspired by Constantine’s Arch in Rome. The Floral Marquee is as dazzling as ever, with 98 specialist nurseries and National Plant Collection holders from across the UK showing off an amazing selection of plants. And then of course there’s the Rose Marquee, full of scent and colour as well as this year’s Rose of the Year.
For veg-growers there’s a huge edible garden created by designer Juliet Sargeant, packed with simple and creative growing ideas. And the ever-popular Butterfly Dome is back, filled with thousands of exotic butterflies and surrounded by a wildflower meadow. The RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show runs from 4-9 July: for more information and tickets visit www.rhs.org.uk/hamptoncourt.