Hampton Court Palace Flower Show (Part 3)

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Posted by @NEILMUIR1 on
As the sun came out, my day at Hampton Court beside the River Thames was getting better, apart from the odd shower. Now I could at last get out and wander on this hallowed ground. Join me as I finish in the floral marquee and go for another trek.

Although there were still a lot of people in the marquee, the crowd started to ease in some places. This gave me an opportunity to get pictures without being knocked around, as there are no holds barred if there are cheap plants on sale. This display of Agapanthus was amazing.

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The next floor display had mostly perennials in it, apart from some ornamental grasses around the edges. I have no idea what that ball of artificial flowers is in the middle, though.

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These Abutilons were well displayed and of a high quality.

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Of course there were a lot of Clematis stands there but two of them really caught my eye. The plants themselves were of a superb quality, well presented, and easily labeled. The picture on the right had one Clematis that I really liked, on the corner. It has been named after Princess Diana, our fairy tale Princess. I got a little brochure off them, as I am tempted with this one.

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There were Hemerocallis or daylilies absolutely everywhere. Unfortunately not all of them liked the weather, and refused to open for the show.

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 Some more Hemerocallis, some that did open, and a lot that would not.

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Then I bumped into another lily stand and it was gorgeous. How great to see plants kept and shown in this wonderful condition.

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 This absolutely fantastic display was in the middle of the marquee, and it got a lot of attention. It was immensly difficult to get a picture of it, as the water off the fountain and the number of people made standing near it like a sauna, and not good for camera lenses. It even had a steam effect on this Clematis stand, which also was lovely!

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Now for an awe-inspiring collection of troughs! There was in fact everything from Alpines to Sempervivum, and indeed other succulents as well. Outside were some larger and older ones, which I will show later.

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These are really exquisite and the one on the right must rate as every Sempervivum fan's dream.

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Some of the best bonsai I have seen for a while. Let us start with this magnificent Japanese maple or Acer palmatum 'Osakazuki, what a sight this is! Then we have this European beech or Fagus sylvatica, yet another fantastic specimen.

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These two majestic and old single trees took my breath away. The first is Chamaecyparis pisifera or the Sawara falsecypress, Sawara false cypress, or Japanese falsecypress, whatever you so wish to call it! The beauty on the right is the European hawthorn or Crataegus monogyna.

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I love this Chinese juniper or Juniperus chinensis. I really do not know how to define the one on the right. Yes it is a miniature garden with bonsai trees, but a cemetery!

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I did not forget the cactus and succulent lovers; here are two more pictures for you.

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A rather amusing garden ornaments display. This is looking down the long water to the River Thames. The picture on the right is looking up the other side of the long water toward the Palace. You can see one of the temporary pontoon bridges they put in for the show, plus one of the majestic fountains.

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This first display was imaginative and showed skill. It attracted people because the sign at the top looks like a miniature of our pub signs. But looking closer most of the plants here were edible, it was extremely clever and well done. The next one had lots in it, and was pretty!

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Some nicely done garden ornaments, both for hanging on the walls and to stand. This is a children's dream house! It has its own slide, steps, rooms, and a sand pit underneath. Start saving up, though, as it is child safe and not cheap!

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This Dutch Arbor chair was lovely; I want one! After all the rain we had been through, this African shade display brought a wry smile to many visitors' faces.

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A lot of the Nurseries and Garden Centres had made displays to attract customers and most of them were nice to see. However in the picture on the left you can see what was a nice display, until the public started taking the unlabelled plants out of the display bed to buy them. The bare holes show you the damage that visitors can do.

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This was a slightly better idea with labels. But on the right is the best idea by far. Simply by making your display look like something from the floral marquee, and putting labels down in front of the plants, then visitors will not take the plants from it. Instead they will go into the stand or tent to buy what they are looking for, and hopefully find something else they like.

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When I saw this I was enamoured by it; when I went inside, I fell in love with it. No it is not a folly as you so often see at shows and in the big British gardens, it is in fact a very practical Garden room! You have a seating area in the far bit, a cooking area in the bit with a chimney, and a barbecue area as well. Plus it even has its own arrow slits built in the side, should you get any unwanted guests! A firepit would be a useful thing to have if you bought the last item.

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I had to go into the Grow Your Own marquee, as growing vegetables has always been a tradition in the UK but in these current economic times, has become even more important. There were some very nice displays and loads of useful tips for everyone.

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I love the classic British cane wigwam method of growing runner beans, as seen in the first picture. The other display was showing you what could be achieved just by investing in a packet of seeds.

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Outside were some remarkable vegetables, and who would not have been proud to grow these? In the UK we have Allotments, which are provided by the Councils, mostly to people who do not have their own gardens to grow vegetables in. These amateur gardeners are fiercely proud of what they can grow, whether it is for judging by someone in a show, or simply for their own use.

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What can one say about growing vegetables like these; all these from what is essentially some very inexpensive packets of seeds!

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These outside Show Gardens of edible, herbal and medicinal plants were outstanding. I think all credit must go to everyone involved in doing these quite remarkable gardens.

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This Show Garden was based on the same theme as above but was set in a mass circle. It was quite breathtaking, and the scents of it were heavenly.

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Around the lower sides of the circle above were many more plants like these. The next picture made my day, a vintage Ford was the first tractor I learnt to drive. This of course has been restored to its full glory and it was definietly worth the effort.

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Another Show Garden that must have taken a lot of work; it looks like an old crofters pond with a coracle and a garden, it even had geese and ducks!

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Then it just started to spit rain; unfortunately the people who had these on show had roped them off, so there was nowhere to shelter. Luckily the rain did not last  long, so I could move on.

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I do hope you have enjoyed the trip so far. There is a lot more to see, like the large show gardens, garden ornaments, and one of my obsessions, garden clocks. There are even more Gazebos and plants. I do hope you can join me in part 4.

Regards.

Neil.

Links.

Part 1.

Part2.

Hampton Court Palace.

Hampton Court Flower Show.

TFL.

 

For Nancy.

 

 
Comments and Discussion
Thread Title Last Reply Replies
Wonderful! by mollymistsmith Aug 3, 2011 3:52 PM 13
Very Nice by Ridesredmule Aug 3, 2011 9:19 AM 14
ok, that does it, I'm moving to England! by sandnsea2 Aug 2, 2011 5:37 PM 6
Jealous by marti Jul 31, 2011 3:12 PM 7
Amazing by kareoke Jul 27, 2011 7:19 AM 1
Good Grief!! by Happy_1 Jul 26, 2011 7:01 PM 5
The next best thing to being there! by Weedwhacker Jul 26, 2011 11:14 AM 3
hampton court by murielw1 Jul 26, 2011 11:02 AM 1

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