RHS Flower Show At Tatton Park

Don’t miss the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park

The glorious tree-lined estate of Tatton Park in Knutsford, Cheshire, will play host to the final major RHS flower show this summer with the magnificent RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park (19-23 July).

This year the show takes on a ‘Manhattan’ look, incorporating a grid layout that will make it even easier to navigate as well as enabling the event to display more gardens than ever before.

Designs to watch out for amongst the show and back to back gardens include a collection that is distinctly Victorian in style and influence, from Charlesworth Design’s celebration of the versatile fern, ‘Pteridomania’, to the stumpery in Cheshire Wildlife Trust’s garden and Clive Scott’s tribute to Tennyson’s ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ poem.

Victoriana has also taken hold of other parts of the show. In the ever-popular RHS National Flower Bed Competition, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council’s design pays homage to its recently restored Victorian gardens, featuring a richly ornamented cast iron structure to represent the park’s conservatory in Corporation Park.

A number of designers have taken their source of inspiration from other continents. Louise Ward and Lucy Hunter are teaming up to create ‘Out of Africa’, an art deco show garden inspired by the film, while Tatton Park’s very own back to back garden;Into Africa; Lord Egertons Legacy,will resemble a Kenyan school garden,complete with Masai shields and spears.This project has brought two continents together,as pupils from Egerton School in Knutsford have worked on different aspects of the garden, in an exchange project,which has taken their Head Teacher on a visit Egerton School in Kenya, to forge a lasting relationship for the future.

One of Tattons RHS Gold Medal-winning designers,Peter Tinsley,will be creating a modern Japanese water garden,Oak Tree Nursery will be introducing some Australasian plant varieties, Lomandra and Stylidium in the Floral Marquee, and Vale Royal Borough Council will present a Costa Rican ‘Fairtrade feature garden,boasting a banana plantation and a South American hut.
Eating healthily will also be the order of the day at Tatton with Jacqui Brocklehurst ;Eat my Garden; back to back showing how a grow-your-own garden can have an attractive, modern design.It will show produce such as sweetcorn, chillies, oats and broad beans as well as edible flowers like marigolds grown in a contemporary setting.

The Northwest Regional Development Agencies show garden will have 5-a-day on the menu with a design that will eventually become the garden for two merging inner city schools in Salford.Here, a greenhouse and terraces of fruit and vegetables will be grown in what is effectively an outdoor classroom, teaching youngsters about healthy eating, the environment and sustainability.

Show favourites the British Bedding and Pot Plant Association will be back with another show-stopping bedding bonanza after memorable past performances with the ‘Snakes and Ladders’ and ‘Jigsaw’ displays. This year its feature is entitled ‘Butterflies and Bubbles’, but the design detail is still under wraps.

With an extensive array of shopping opportunities, from plants and garden accessories to gourmet food and books, advice from the RHS Advisory Stand and packed pavilions to peruse, including award-winning displays in the Floral and National Plant Society marquees, Tatton reflects the true essence of summer.

The RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park takes place between 19 and 23 July, with 19 July reserved for RHS members, and is open between 10am and 7pm. (On the Sunday the show shuts at 5pm, with the sell off starting at 4pm). To book tickets call 0870 906 3311 (public) or 0870 906 3810 (RHS members) or online at www.rhs.org.uk/flowershows or click here

Learn how to prune your fruit trees and pushes with the GardenAdvice experts

Maximise Your Fruit Harvest and produce some of the best fruit you have ever tasted 

As the winter months approach, now is the perfect time to prepare your fruit trees for a healthy and abundant harvest next season. At GardenAdvice, we offer a comprehensive Winter Fruit Tree Pruning Service operates through the UK that not only takes the hard work off your hands but also gives you the chance to learn how to care for your fruit trees like a pro.