This year's Show in my humble opinion was the best ever and I like the Tatton Show because there are less crowds and it's a very relaxed atmosphere. This doesn't mean those exhibiting have been relaxed at all. First up is Sue Beesley's "Grasses with Grace" mixing ornamental grasses as her main theme with herbaceous perennials, trees, hard landscaping and trees.
Below, Geranium 'Patricia' softens the hardlandscaping by gently flowing onto the the brick setts.
The young trees chosen by Sue are Betula nigra (Birch)
These give height to her design and the papery bark complements the featheriness of the grasses moving in the breeze.
Next is Oxfam's garden, "When the Waters Rise" designed by Dori and Howard Miller, highlighting how climate change and changes in sea levels will affected living conditions and food production and methods used Worldwide to deal with these. The Millers have given this a "British twist", so there are plants that everyone in the UK will recognise.
Above you see willow baskets, which can be raised above the flood line during the rains.
I love this next Show Garden, "Inside Out" as it just exemplifies the ability we have to cook outdoors and spend more of our time in the fresh British air.
The designer John Everiss has used a very relaxed planting scheme around this external kitchen and and really deserves the Gold medal he won for his design.
This next garden is contemporary in style but uses traditional planting schemes to carry the message of, "Save a Life, Drop the Knife" and was designed by the inmates of HMP Everthorpe and Glen Jackson.
I didn't think I would like this at all but the use of hard landscaping with the planting is extremely clever and the colours all knit together beautifully.
"A Stitch in Time Saves Nine" is a city garden designed to give "urban dwellers respite" from the trials of living in town. It was designed by Daniela Coray, one of 3 deigners in this year's "RHS National Young Designers of the Year" competition.
For this she has won Gold and I think the judges liked her simple, yet practical brief using a "rural idyll" to allow a temporary escape from today's hectic life.
And finally, I know I said 5 gardens but want to squeeze in a 6th because this is something anyone could replicate easily in their own garden, however large or small:
"Black and Blue (all over)" has been designed by Clive Scott and utilises plants in the colour palette black-purple-blue (hence the title I guess). Clive has been less structured in his planting producing seclusion and privacy and a place to relax in.
Also all of the hard landcaping is recycled.
(If you want to see more photos or would like me to design a garden for you please drop me an e-mail: craigcbaker@btinternet.com. More details can be found at my website www.delightgardenservices.co.uk)
(c) Craggleprods 2011
