Hampton Court Garden Show

Sunday was a beautiful day for my trip out to Hampton Court so armed with sunscreen, sun hat and shades to avoid sunstroke.  Who would have thought that I would strike such a lovely summer spell of weather. Great to make the most of it.
It took me about an hour and a half to get there by train but there was no queue to get into the show so that  was a bonus. My memory was that last time there were large queues snaking back to the road but maybe a Sunday is not as busy.

I enjoyed wandering around the displays and I listened to a couple of talks by experts, one a scientist talking about the  decline of people's consciousness of plants around them and a decline also in how people understand the health benefits of plants. He was very interesting as he talked about the experiments they were undertaking at Wisley to bring better understandings to communities about planting and preserving gardens and parks. I also heard a rosarian talk about pruning and care of rambles and climbers and old roses.

It was a change this time as it seemed much more commercial than I recall. The stalls and food areas were mixed up with the gardens and it was not easy to find them. I think there were less displays too but it was still fun to be there and it was mind boggling all the lovely garden decorations,furniture,tools and accessories that are available to gardeners.
It was interesting trying to gauge the trends but the big thrust seemed to be environmental and conservation concerns. Bees,butterflies and endangered  species all had displays featuring habitats and plants to attract bees and butterflies into gardens so there were more wild spaces, bug houses and scented plants.

The top garden was a very natural garden suitable for exploration by children with natural features. It could be the average back yard in a garden at home (with some additions).
There were some great scarecrows exhibited by local children and well worth having a good look around them. Many featured bug houses and bee homes.

The gardens seemed to be more colourful this time around,reds and orange ruebeckia plants,yellows and deep blue agapanthus with grasses for texture. Usually pinks and pale colours feature more.Sedums,yarrow,coleus, huchea and daisies were also in evidence in many garden designs.
The Rose Pavillion was  a riot of colour and Peter Beales stand was eye catching but with more modern roses than I expected.
2017 Rose of the year was Rosa Lovestruck.
Anyway it was great to be there and check out the displays and plants available to gardeners here.

I decided mid afternoon to have a trip back on the river so I set off for the four o'clock sailing. It was such a lovely warm afternoon,perfect for sitting out on the deck.
I really enjoyed the trip,there is so much activity going on the river and along the river  banks there are walkways and picnic places. People were fishing and some were even swimming although the water looked pretty murky,not sure I would be keen. There are some pretty smart houses along the way and many had tables set up for dinner,the barges and house boat residents were making the most of the day too. Lots of sunbathing and picnicking evident.

It took two and a half hours to travel from Hampton Court to Westminster Pier.  The Queen's ceremonial barge passed us too, that was a sight not usually seen according to the captain.
Anyway it was a good day out and the evening was lovely too as Lou had prepared a special meal featuring NZ lamb.
It was pleasant sitting around having a wine or two and eating lamb.