Sun shines on Hampton Court

With the lovely summer weather in full spate the gardens at this year's Hampton Court Flower Show were just magical. To celebrate the centenary of Girlguiding a special garden was designed which seemed to attract half the population of guides throughout the UK. Packs of happy and excited youngsters enjoyed the flower show on press day and were no doubt rightly proud of their own dedicated show garden as well as the container competition especially devised for guides. Some really zany ideas for planting schemes placed into the most unlikely containers entertain visitors all down the long water. An old toilet bowl, a wheel chair, odds and bits of kitchen equipment, you name it and they used it.

The sight of happy sunny sunflowers was also a welcome one on the Home Grown feature (Fields of Gold) as were the gardens where cosmos was planted. This year these elegant and long lasting flowers seemed to be everywhere and were a pure delight. One garden which used cosmos very effectively was the 'A matter of urgency' garden which also had a large tap fountain feature which really was a double take because you immediately wondered how the tap was being supported. Very clever.

The rose festival is another highlight of Hampton Court and once again this year there were excellent exhibits. The smell of the roses as you enter the tent is the best in the country and there is no other show I attend where the smell is as intense as in the Hampton Rose Festival Marquee.

I was particularly impressed with young Jack Dunckley's garden. At only 17 Jack produced a stunning design. A typical cottage garden absolutely packed with all manner of plants. He was awarded a Silver but I felt his garden deserved higher. I am biased because I love dense colourful planting but his was one garden which drew me back again and again. I feel sure that visitors to the show this week will find his garden one of their favourites.

The Conceptual gardens are getting better and better each year and there was one garden which really caught my eye, mainly because it reminded me of the iron men on Crosby Beach and I could see its functionality as a beach attraction.  A Fable for Tomorrow, designed by students from the University College Falmouth, illustrates our native flora under pressure. The garden is an old Cornish seed bank which has been split in half to reveal its treasures, held back by great rusty steel walls with some seeds spilling out to germinate around pools that reflect light from the bank's copper core. 

The Girlguiding Garden UK was clever in that designer Philippa Pearson wove together a lot of different strands representing the role of guiding earning a Silver Gilt medal and a lot of attention from visitors. Planting is inspired by Jekyll and the garden is walk-through so there is a lot of see and take in. Well done to everyone on this imaginative and exciting garden.

I spoke about the lovely cosmos on several of the gardens. These graceful plants, gently blowing in the breeze, are typical summer blooms and make lovely additions to any garden.

I particularly liked the way Jill Foxley used them on her 'A matter of Urgency' garden. Next to the stunning sunflowers these were my favourite. Jill also used Agapanthus africanus, Sidalcea,  Geranium, Heuchera and Salvia and Lychnis in her palette.

 There was a point when I was approached by a jolly group from the Staffordshire Society who have had a rose named after the County. One lady kindly gave me her rose because she thought I had been 'abandoned' - nice thought and welcome gesture but I felt somewhat a fraud because I hadn't been 'abandoned' merely decided to take a short rest before pressing on to other matters! Hope you all enjoyed your trip down for Staffordshire and got home safely.

It is now only a few weeks to Tatton Park and the north's own special flower show so preparations are underway to  start  coverage. We always eagerly await Tatton at Reckless Gardener and so hopefully, fingers crossed, for some more stunning summer days so that visitors can have a great experience and enjoyable day out.