It’s all about grow your own at this year’s RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show so if you love to use your garden to produce delicious fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs this is the show for you!
Held in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace in south-west London, the show is the largest in the world, packed with top-class horticulture, fabulous show gardens and a host of inspirational features.
This year, the show has teamed up with renowned chef Raymond Blanc to highlight home-grown produce, demonstrating simple, fun growing methods such as upcycled containers and vertical gardening. There’s a new community garden to inspire all ages to get gardening together, with a feast of edible plants, an urban forest, raised planters and a wormery.
Away from the kitchen garden there’s a rare appearance by iconic plant designer Piet Oudolf, creating a whimsical walk-through feature in his trademark naturalistic style with bold drifts of herbaceous perennials and grasses.
Show gardens promise to be as spectacular as ever. This year you can discover clever ways to manage excess rainfall; enjoy a Russian themed garden inspired by the writing of Anton Chekhov; and even visit Misterland, the home of the Mr Men characters! There are useful tips on keeping your garden secure, creating an outdoor al fresco eating space (including multifunctional bar and fire bowl) and see the new strain of disease-resistant busy lizzie (Impatiens), making its debut at the show in a contemporary reinterpretation of traditional bedding in the garden.
As if that wasn’t enough, there’s the sublime beauty and delicious scents of the Rose Marquee, and 85 of the country’s best nurseries and specialist growers exhibiting in the Floral Marquee. They include eight National Plant Collection holders from Plant Heritage, celebrating their 40th anniversary this year. The RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show runs from 3rd – 8th July (www.rhs.org.uk/hamptoncourt).