Every summer, in early July, the Royal Horticultural Society presents a celebration of gardens and flowers at the Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival. It's a magical collection and I jumped at the chance to catch up with my friend Bonny when she invited me to go.
We met bright and early on Saturday morning at Hampton Wick rail station and walked down Kingston Road and Hampton Court Road to Hampton Court Palace. On arrival, we pottered around the craft market and then made our way to the Floral Marquee where we saw the most divine array of flowers and plants.
The Floral Marquee at the Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival
Lilies
I took a long time to admire the lilies. I sadly can’t have lilies in my house as they are toxic to cats but I do like to admire them when I can.
Fuchsias
Fuchsias are one of my favourite flowers and will be the next purchase I make for my fledgling garden. My father was an incredible gardener but I am not and can count the number of plants I’ve kept alive in my garden (currently 18 with 3 cat mint plants in a critical condition due to every cat in the neighbourhood rubbing up against them).
Bougainvillea
Bougainvillea grew everywhere in Johannesburg. I miss the flora of South Africa a lot.
Dahlias
One of my favourite cousins is called Dahlia and I just love their spiky petals.
Alliums
I only discovered alliums this year but I enjoy looking out for them now.
Dahlia varieties
I never knew there were so many varieties of dahlias.
As you pass through, ask yourself, how do you feel today?
Clematis
Also known as Italian leather flowers for their big floppy petals.
Baby Sage
Also known as Salvia. I like these flowers a lot and think I will add them to my garden too.
A Break for Lunch and Pimms
It was hot and humid in the Floral Marquee and we stopped to enjoy a glass of Pimms and some lunch in the outdoor eating area. We were lucky to get a table and even luckier to do so undercover because it soon started pouring with rain. We met a fascinating couple who had travelled down from Yorkshire for the festival and who told us all about their lives, grandchildren and travels abroad.
The minute it stopped raining, we took the chance to admire the glorious show gardens. These were my favourite sights.
Show Gardens at the Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival
RHS Resilient Garden by designer Tom Massey
Oh, how I wish my garden was big enough to feature a walkways leading over a pond.
I coveted this giant apple sculpture a lot.
The Lunar Garden by designer Queenie Chan
I loved Queenie Chan’s homage to the Moon.
I loved this giant bee sculpture, dedicated to our bee population in the United Kingdom, although I did mistake it for a giant ant at first!
The Landform Mental Wealth Garden by designer Nicola Hale
This is my idea of a perfect garden layout with shade, seating and abundant greenery. I hope Ms Hale doesn’t mind if I use this as a blueprint for the future design of my garden.
Festival of Roses at the Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival
You can't visit the Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival without seeing the exquisite Festival of Roses. This small marquee featured scores of different rose varieties including several prize winner. It is not surprising that it was so busy!
Roses are my favourite of all flowers and I love the scent of them. Two of my plants are climbing roses and I’m delighted to say that Rose no 2 began to climb this year after a very reserved first year.
A Long, Beautiful Summer Day
It was a long, beautiful summer day out in London and to be honest, I’m glad it rained as it cooled down and otherwise hot and humid day. We arrived early in the morning and were among the last to leave in the evening and managed to walk over 18,000 steps by the time we got home.
Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival
East Molesey
Surrey
KT8 9AU
Booking opens in Autumn of each year. Our Saturday tickets cost £36.85. Entrance on Thursday and Friday was £28.85 for the public and RHS members pay £23.85 for weekday tickets and £31.85 for weekend tickets.
I cannot believe this is only my third post of 2023. This year has not gone the way that I anticipated and I am trying my best to slow things down. In addition to being busy, I struggled to find my muse. I’m going to try my best to start posting on a schedule again but I also might dig into my archives and try tempt my muse into creating some exciting posts.
The garden festival looks fabulous and I love your photos. I have never visited Hampton Court, although it has been on my 'to do' list for a while.
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean about things not going to plan...
My last few years have been difficult and over time caused me to lose my get-up-and-go. In the last few months I have made the effort to blog more regularly and that has lifted me up a little. I still have a way to go to get back to my inner sparkle :-)
Thank you - definitely recommend the festival!
DeleteI'm pleased blogging has helped. It definitely helps to remember the good days out, the days in between every day life. I hope your sparkle returns <3
The bourgainvillia are gorgeous, surprising to me since Britain is neither hot nor dry. In Australia, it is one of my favourites.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, I very rarely see them 'in the wild' in the UK
DeleteI went years ago and the show gardens were my favourite - a lot of inventiveness and ideas there. I think the RHS Resilient garden would probably have been my favourite this year. I'm appreciating how nature works more and more and love to see that used in a garden design.
ReplyDeleteI must admit, I like the RHS resilient garden more and more each time I look at the photos of it and read up on it
DeleteOh wow. The bougainvillea looks magical.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely worth a visit. Do you remember if they do student discounts? I checked the website but couldn't see it.
The RHS offers a hugely subsidised student membership for £10 which allows students to take advantage of the member rates for the flower show
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