RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

 Surrey exhibitors this year are making their mark on RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower show (9 – 14 July) as the counties’ talent shines.

 Surrey Heath Borough Council have lent their support to Army Wives with their garden ‘A Moveable Feast’. Situated within the Escape Zone the exhibit is a representation of the Flourish grow your own course and the reality for army family’s that relocation is a constant consideration. The garden uses colourful containers planted predominantly with bright colours and species which will benefit insects.

Within the conceptual gardens ‘The Clints and Grykes Garden’ created by Benedict Green aims to encourage an alternative to water worn limestone in garden settings, the flat pale surface hides the planting until you are directly over it: a metaphor for how often beautiful things are in life what we fit between the cracks. The garden will involve students from Merrist Wood College who are enrolled on a course taught by Benedict to Garden Design diploma students.

It was at Merrist Wood Collage that exhibitor Mariko Naka began her gardening career in 2011, her garden ‘Spirits of the Land’ this year includes the dotted pastel colours of a flower meadow and is inspired by her native culture and reflective of the theme ‘the continuity of all living things’

Landform Consultants, of Chobham, are also exhibiting in the conceptual category exploring the two phases of forest fire in their garden “Desolation to Regeneration”. Inspired by the forthcoming film ‘The Desolation of Smaug’ the garden will include visual and auditory stimulants associated with fire combined with a planting scheme of ‘hot’ coloured plants representative of the fire and fresh lime green plants to demonstrate recovery of the area after the disaster.

Fisher Tomlin and Bowyers ‘The Garden Pad’, within the Inspire Zone is a showcase of the benefits of an outside structure within the garden, it includes an outdoor fire, sculptural light boxes and plants specifically chosen due to their evening fragrance. The Chobham team are working with Streetscape on the project, who provide apprenticeships in landscape gardening for 18-25 year olds who are long-term unemployed.

Raine Garden Design of Haslemere’s are also exhibiting at this year’s show with their garden ‘Layers and Links’ which celebrates the diverse and dynamic nature of modern Britain while drawing on influences from around the world

Alongside the gardens, also representing the horticultural talent in the Surrey area is family company W & S Lockyer of Riddlesdown who will be displaying unusual grasses, summer flowering bulbs and hostas in the Floral Marquee, McKinlay Gibson are entering the forestry display with an exhibit named ‘Was it Bill or was it Ben?’ and Merrist Wood Collage who are entering the Floristry Collage category with exhibit ‘Saturday Night – We’ve Gone Dancing’.

The Secret Garden within the Inspire Zone is the creation of Surrey resident Jens Haendeler, a playful combination of a traditional garden with state of the art technology that will deliver a fully immersive experience to visitors. Within the Escape Zone the Bee Garden; designed by Rachel Parker of Surrey based Soden Design, is a haven for pollinators and highlights the crucial importance of gardeners encouraging bees through their planting. Demonstrations of honeybee husbandry throughout show week will increase the attraction of the exhibit.

The Country Living marquee is also playing host to a number of exhibitors from the Surrey area. Fig cashmere will be displaying their knitwear, wraps and accessories, Sylvia Hague a selection of homewares and Anna Knight a collection of modern botanical watercolours to name but a few of the eleven exhibitors from the county.

Plant Heritage is again well represented by the county with designer Selinas Botham, of Designs for all Seasons, having created the centre feature of the marquee; The Jewels in the Crown, which features plants from some of the country’s National Collections.

Plant Village allows for nurseries and growers to create a striking display demonstrating horticultural excellence but also highlight the range of plants they grow, both Kights Garden Centre of Woldingham Road and Van Amham Nursery of Godalming will be displaying in this area.

Surrey trades people will also be exhibiting at the show, varying from Hayhoe Designs stained glasswork for the garden to Corti Dei Signori’s oils in the Guild of Fine food tent the exhibitors are sure to showcase some of the best that Surrey has to offer.

With all these attractions related specifically to the area as well as all the other exhibits and show features, including the UK’s largest butterfly rainforest experience, spread over the newly created zones: Inspire, Escape and Grow visitors are sure to have a great day at this year’s Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.

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