A cold and rather grey, threatening sky greeted us as we loaded onto our bus for our drive to Tatton Park about forty five minutes away traffic permitting. Conditions did not look favourable for our anticipated day out but it eventually improved and the temperatures rose slightly during the morning. Good weather to keep on the go.
The trip to Tatton was lovely. Through lovely rural farmlands,cows,horses and lots of grain crops. We passed several canals with houseboats plying the canal. I have to say when I looked at the other side of the bus their views were of wind farms and industrial artifacts like towers and electricity pylons .
We arrived at the park ahead of the crowds,gates were open but just so no queues to get on after about a ten minute walk from the car park.
Tatton Park is a big estate and has been in the National Trust for about fifty years. There are large areas of deer parks and the house and gardens open for visiting as well.
The show?Yes I did get there and I did enjoy it. It was much more interesting than this year's Hampton Court. The layout was easier and I thought the gardens were more interesting.
The RHS themes this year are the same but it is how it is interpreted that gives each show its character.
The focus is on sustainability, greening townscapes and bringing back wildlife into gardens all were expressed in the gardens and featured in the talks on offer.
I loved the schools gardens sections. Very individual as you might expect but so much diversity in the entries. Children had taken a book and bought it to life in their displays on caring for the environment. Ratty and Toad, Jemima Puddle duck and others all had their habitats enhanced with bug houses and seed sources,nectar sources etc. A lot of work had gone into this section.
The Young Designers section was very strong. The gold medal winner here was Michael McGrath with his garden of the future. The metal structures and plantings draw attention to the need for plants to adapt and change for the future.
There were decorated small shed spaces, the one featuring music and dance stood out amongst the war themes on offer.
There were gardens for workers to take to the outdoors as a workspace and they were tempting.
Another section was about bus shelters and how to green them for the customers, everything from vegetables climbing up the frames to edible treats and flowery walls took the eye.
An award winning garden featured the use of water in the home garden and how to use it sustainably with porous materials to drain water away and store it for later use. The second photo is of this garden.
There were a number of medical research gardens which were lovely.offering peace and tranquility through their illness. Remember Me was a favouite of mine. It was designed for dementia sufferers and it was was quite special with circular pathways emphasising the nature of the illness bringing you round into smaller enclosed spaces filled with scented flowers. The journey became more chaotic as the illness advanced until the pathway ended with beds filled with chamomile plantings to soothe and scent the air. The metal panels around it had words stenciled into them of relevance to those who share the journey.
The same planting themes featured here too of perennials, strong colours and grasses with spikes of white,deep pink and lemons.
The floral pavilion was huge and plant sales booming. I would be a buyer under other circumstances but I stand and stare!!!!
There were lots of stalls selling an amazing array of gardening items,a garden art Marque which had some lovely things on sale,pity about the baggage allowance!
There were also excellent stalls of local foods. Cheshire Cheese is still number one cheese in the UK but there was plenty of competition.
Stalls sold garden arts,tools,clothing.infact anything needed for gardening could be found here. There were Pimms and Champagne outlets,music to sit and listen too,talks and Q&A sessions so nobody could say they did not have enough to do.
Before finishing the day I went to look around the Tatton Parks own garden too. Again a large expanse of parkland and farms but the garden is lovely.
The Japanese Garden here was excellent and so we're the walled gardens so by the time I walked back to the bus at 4.30 pm I was knackered.
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