The RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival is underway, bringing ideas and styles to help inspire you in the garden. We take a look at some of the trends and see how we can translate this into our own outdoor spaces.
Show Gardens
The winner of Best Show Garden was awarded to America’s Wild, an immersive experience spanning the main three landscapes of North America: forest, desert and prairie. With succulents and cacti for the dry desert, various ferns and textural foliage in the woodland area, and drifts of grasses and pollinator plants in the prairie, it features planting adaptable to a range of garden environments.
Elsewhere, many gardens showed how hard landscaping, using natural materials such as uncarved stone and reclaimed wood, can be softened with foliage planting nestled between rocks, creeping plants spreading out of nooks and gravel paths, low-lying plants to soften path edges, and using flowers in pastels and white shades to bring a tranquil feel. Achillea made an appearance in a number of gardens, being versatile as a plant for pollinators, drought resistance, textural foliage and offering a range of colour choices across the genus.
Popular Plants
As well as white, there was a trend for flowers in shades of yellow and purple, both of which are attractive colours for bees and pollinators, as well as the white tones being beneficial for nocturnal moths. Some of the popular plants on show include:
- Achillea - Flat heads of many flowers are easily accessible for many pollinators, and are drought tolerant once established. 'Yellow Terracotta' brings colour and foliage texture in a compact form.
- Alchemilla mollis - Wonderful soft foliage for adding textural interest to underplanting, and pollinator friendly yellow flowers in spring. Self-seeding and drought tolerant.
- Astrantia - These starbursts of flowers are great for pollinators, add understated elegance to cut flowers and happily self-seed in the garden. 'Star of Billion' has wonderful white flowers with a hint blush pink.
- Geranium 'Rozanne' - Beautiful perennial for groundcover or spilling over raised planters, with purple-blue flowers and dissected foliage.
- Salvia - Another pollinator champion, and has the ability to cope with dry summer weather. 'Caradonna' made an impact in the show gardens with it's deep purple spikes.
- Grasses - Many planting arrangements throughout the show feature at least one or two varieties of grass, adding height and movement, as well as being desirable for their drought tolerant properties. The warm colours of Festuca 'Sunrise' pair well with flowers of purple and yellow, while Hakonechloa macra brings rich green to underplanting of shrubs or for softening path edges.
Festival of Roses
RHS Hampton Court Festival is synonymous with Roses, coinciding with the time of year when these English garden staples are putting on their best display. With an array of colours to choose from, many variations of flower shapes and fragrance notes bringing sweet, classic, spiced or fruit scents and many in between, we think there is a rose to suit all tastes and garden styles. The Floral Marquee showcases the beautiful blooms perfectly.
Have you seen a plant at the show which is now on your wish list? Or want to know how to create showstopping results in your own garden? Our friendly team are always happy to help with guidance and advice!
