RHS Tatton, some musings

Best in Show - Save a life, drop the knife

I love RHS Tatton Park Flower Show. I love it because it is held in the North-West and is our very own little piece of Chelsea - well not quite but as good as. It gives northern designers and growers the chance to show their talents and you don't have to travel to London to enjoy it. There is space and fresh Cheshire air, room to tootle about and (apart from those blasted plant trolley things) nothing in your way to prevent you getting a good gander at the gardens.

I felt rather smug this year that I correctly picked the winner of the RHS Young Designer of the Year. The odds on this were not that great because there are only three finalists, but nevertheless, I was so impressed with Daniela Coray's lovely 'A Stitch in Time Saves Nine' that I just knew she had to be the winner and so she was. Daniela specialises in environmentally aware approaches to garden design and her lovely, peaceful garden really drew me in. It was designed as an engaging and restorative place and so it was and certainly met with approval by the visitors to the show.

There were some challenging gardens this year, or rather gardens with challenging messages. The Best in Show went to 'Save a Life, Drop the Knife' and the Best Visionary Garden went to the Design Charity on behalf of Survivors Fund (SURF). Not so much a garden really but a metaphor for a Rwandan refugee's flight to freedom. Those brave enough to go inside the 'jungle' certainly came out with a stark impression of what it must have been like to experience those terrible years in Rwanda during the war. Quite moving in fact and not easily forgotten.

I love the Flower Bed competition and always marvel at the quirky ideas that the different local authorities and community groups come up with for this category. Bournemouth's 'A Novel Approach' was a worthy winner. My personal favourite was Birmingham's Iconic Mini and I also liked 'Arthur's Waterloo' by Partington Parish Council. This type of bedding is not to all tastes but there is a lot of hard work that goes into these displays and I think its great that our municipal gardeners get the chance to show their talents and get some praise for a change.

There seemed to be a lot of purple and blue on gardens, with one garden - Black and Blue - designed by Clive Scott winning a Gold. I like colour, so black and blue doesn't really do it for me, but obviously the judges thought Clive's clever quirky garden did it for them, hence the Gold. I have to hand it to Clive that designing a garden with a colour palette of black-purple-blue is no easy ticket and the effect was nothing if not stunning - just not for me.

Sue Beesley's 'Grasses with Grace' was easily a contender for Best Show Garden. It was absolutely delightful with a graceful colour palette and stunning early flowering ornamental grasses. Sue is rightly chuffed with her Gold - well deserved.

Finchale Training College's 'The Schedule' was excellent and if I was feeling a bit down with the Knife Crime message and the Rwandan jungle experience, now I was propelled into a paroxysm of unsurpassed joy by the sight of this lovely allotment. Well done to all the Finchale Students who produced this great and interesting garden.

Oxfam's 'When the Waters Rise' (Gold) highlighted their 'Grow' Campaign for better ways to grow, share and live together. I really liked this garden and felt that it achieved all its aims in making us understand the various methods being used to adapt to climate change.

The show site has been redesigned this year and seemed much easier to get around than in previous years. The weather on the day of my visit was reasonable, sunny periods and thankfully no rain. Tatton can be unlucky with the weather, although having said that I have sheltered from the odd thunderstorm and gales at RHS Hampton too!

Below are a few more of the gardens for your delectation:

Colourful and cheerful NSPCC Garden

 

 

A Stitch in Time Saves Nine - Winner of the Young Designer of the Year 

 

 

 

Iconic Mini 

 

 

 

 

 

Serenity, Russell Watkinson Landscapes

 

 

 

 

Bournemouth's winning Flower Bed

 

 

 

Pip Probert's Chocolate Orange

So until next year ........ 

Tatton party

The North's great garden party, RHS Tatton Flower Show, kicks off next week and I can only hope that the weather improves before then. Today in Cumbria it is wet, windy and quite cold, so no gardening this weekend. Hopefully it will blow itself out before Press Day on Wednesday. Tatton is our own Flower Show and we always look forward to it because its a chance to meet up with all the northern nursery owners, gardeners and designers. Its our own showcase for northern talent and each year has gone from strength to strength. So, no matter what the weather does, I have packed my bags, notebooks, camera and pencils and I am ready for a great party.

It's seven years since the Trentham Estate was taken over by St Mowden with the aim of completely restoring this once magnificent estate which originally belonged to the Duke of Sutherland. I first saw Trentham in that first year and there was much to do but already a lot of progress made. After seven years you can appreciate how the gardens have matured and a visit today is highly recommended. Trentham's dramatic resurrection has been led by renowned garden designers and Chelsea gold-medal winners, Tom Stuart-Smith and Piet Oudolk, who along with Trentham Gardens Manager, Michael Walker, have revitalised the Italianate grandeur with a stylish modern interpretation, to create one of the largest examples of contemporary naturalist perennial planting in Europe.

They are a lovely team at Trentham led by the energetic Michael and I am sure that the garden will go from strength to strength in the coming years. To find out more about Trentham, ticket prices, events etc log onto their site at: www.trentham.co.uk/trentham-gardens

If you are in to Chilli then you might like to go along to West Dean's Chilli Fiesta between 5th to 7th August at West Dean Gardens, Nr Chichester, West Sussex. Three days of Chilli madness from farming food, live music and salsa dancing, with an array of over 200 peppers to spice up your day. There is also a Treefest at the National Arboretum, Westonbirt, between 26th and 29th August, with four days of woodworking, music and camping, crafts and of course fab trees. Westonbirt is home to the National Japanese Maple (Acer) Collection and is run by the Foresty Commission. So two good venues there if you are in those areas.

Congrats., to two young men who will be representing Team Uk at the WorldSkills London 2011 in Landscape Gardening this October. Simon Abbott and James Cuffey, have been chosen to take part in a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent the UK. Simon comes from Doncaster and is self-employed and James comes from Downpatrick, N.I., and works for a landscaping firm. WorldSkills 2011 is the world\s largest international skills competition for young people with 1,000 competitors from over 50 countries taking part over four days. There are some 37 skills ranging from Obile Robotics, Electrical Installations to Graphic Design and of course Landscape Gardening. So good luck to Simon and James as the make their preparations for the competition.

You will be able to see a full report on RHS Tatton on our website: www.recklessgardener.com
but in the meantime, happy gardening.