Welcome to Hampton Court Flower Festival!
Green fingered types, now is the time to head to Hampton Court. Until Saturday, one of the world’s largest flower shows, RHS Hampton Court Flower Show, is open for business!
You can visit every day between 10am and 10.30pm, and it’s really worth making a full day of it, as not only is the Show highly educational and inspiring on all things gardening, this is also a fantastic place to sup up a relaxed, summer atmosphere in London.
On arrival you are greeted by turf sculptures and seven model gardens on the themes of the seven deadly sins. Do try and guess them before you check! You may be surprised.
The Garden of Wrath. Watch out for the geiser!
The Garden of Gluttony.
Then explore gardens by organisations such as the NSPCC, the Royal Botanic Gardens of Australia and Hedgehog Street.
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Garden.
There are also plenty of marquees filled with floral displays, including my favourite the Festival of Roses and Floristry Marquee. Look out for a sneak peek of Rose of the Year 2015 ‘For Your Eyes Only’, and enjoy all the fragrant scents.
‘Nostalgia’ Roses for sale.
There are also talks from well-known gardeners and demonstrations on flower arranging and gardening techniques. In the ‘Growing Tastes’ tent you can watch demonstrations on cooking what you grow and also peruse the stalls of foodstuffs for sale, all of which offer generous free samples! Yum, yum.
A feast for the eyes!
You can also buy almost everything you see on display here, plus all manner of gardening tools, decorations and equipment. Many companies will thankfully also ship to your home address. Phew.
If you still have some energy left then head up to Hampton Court Palace itself afterwards for a little British history and a stroll round the stunning Palace Gardens.
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Megan Donnelly is a writer and former Londoner, currently residing at London-by-Sea, or Brighton as it’s otherwise known. You can read more about her travels at:
www.postcardstomysister.wordpress.com.
