Kent at RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show
PUBLISHED: 12:14 19 August 2016 | UPDATED: 12:14 19 August 2016
John Warland's World Vision Show Garden
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Kent Life looks at some of our Kent stars that shone at this year's RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, the largest flower show in the world. Words and pictures by: Leigh Clapp
Vicky Truman Gold and Best Capability Brown Garden Reflecting the LandscapeThe Show Gardens
- Congratulations to Victoria Truman, who won Gold and Best Capability Brown Garden in this special 300th anniversary year of the birth of the famous landscape architect, with her garden Reflecting the Landscape, a contemporary homage to his contoured landscaping of the countryside. The design featured serpentine mounds giving the illusion of a valley complete with signature trees. Victoria Truman, Tonbridge. www.victoriatruman.com
- Mark Whyte and Abigail Ferguson of Hythe Garden Landscapes won silver-gilt for their first time at Hampton Court with Our Lives in Time’s Hands. Mark told us: “We entered the Conceptual Gardens category as it combines our interest in art and gardens together.” Sponsored and built by themselves, it was quite a task to construct a large wave made from 500 pieces of steam-bent wood and a planted shingle beach, inspired by Dungeness and Shakespeare’s Sonnet 60. Hythe Garden Landscapes, Hythe. www.hythegardenlandscapes.co.uk
- John Warland, a former Tonbridge School pupil, won Gold for his eye-catching World Vision Show Garden that represented how vulnerable children are in disaster and poverty areas. It was a larger version to the one he created at RHS Chelsea and this time a sea of daisies shimmered under the undulating turf waves. John Warland, www.senselessactsofbeauty.com
Abigail Ferguson and Mark Whyte of Hythe LandscapesThe Plants
- Coblands Nursery in Sevenoaks supplied plants for the Gold-Medal winning Dogs’ Trust Show Garden, using blue and gold herbaceous under a canopy of sugar maples. www.coblands.co.uk
- In the Floral Marquee Paul Harris of Brookfield Plants, Ashford, added another Gold Medal to his tally for his display of hostas, as well as a silver-gilt for his Hemerocallis daylilies display. He introduced a new hosta at the show, the most unusual fluted leaf Let’s Twist Again. www.brookfieldplants.co.uk
Paul Harris won silver-gilt for his daylilies and gold for his hosta display- William Dyson of Dyson’s Nursery was awarded a silver medal for his salvia stand in the Floral Marquee. “Sales were very good, especially popular were Salvia patens ‘Cambridge Blue’ and ‘Love and Wishes’, and the pots of ‘Hot Lips’ drew people in,” said William. www.dysonsalvias.com
- Canterbury Cathedral’s head gardener Philip Oostenbrink’s National Plant Collection of Hakonechloa macra and Japanese forest grass took silver in the Plant Heritage section. His collection of these attractive iridescent grasses drew interest from the Joe Swift from the BBC.
- Madrona Nursery of Bethersden won a silver medal for its pretty display of trees, shrubs and perennials. Brightly coloured Echinaceas Orange Beauty and Delicious Candy drew my eye, as did the soft pink Annabelle hydrangea Invincibelle. www.madrona.co.uk
William Dyson gets the stand ready- Gold went most deservedly again to Downderry Lavender, near Tonbridge, for its always fragrant and glorious display of these July classic beauties. www.downderry-nursery.co.uk
Did you know?
•The show was first held in 1990
•It has become the largest annual flower show in the world
•It takes three weeks to build a show garden and two for a small garden, but just three days to be dismantled
Madrona Nursery's display•An average of 130,000 people attend the show every year
•During the show week visitors consume - 48,501 cups of fair-trade tea and coffee, 15,029 rounds of sandwiches and 1,500 baguettes, 14,274 glasses of Pimm’s, 14,868 glasses of champagne, 5,598 flower pot muffins and 4,357 slices of cake
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