HAMPTON COURT RHS SHOW 2010

What a picturesque setting for this great if not the greatest garden show.

These are just a few of the small gardens.

After a while I realised that in fact what interested me with the gardens was the planting. Surprise surprise. The focal point in most of the gardens was usually some structure or folly mostly things I wanted to avoid taking photos of in preference for the plants.

See what I mean, although it would have been difficult to capture any of this lovely planting without including those ugly seats.

The other thing problematic at shows is the people, thousands and thousands like ants crawing everywhere. So to get any photos without people in was quite a feat in itself. I included the above plus people as it was something Rachel rather liked. I am not sure it would fit in her garden though.

Just the odd shot in the Marquees crowded as elsewhere. The day was so hot the hottest this year and really uncomfortable in or out of the Marquees.

I couldn't miss posting a photo of the roses.

or two.

And Rachel who accompanied me to the show, rather well covered due to the fact she is on Doxycycline which can have a very bad photosensitive reaction to sun. Yes some of you who follow my blogs have guessed, she had a tick bite recently and despite all my constant warnings she removed it incorrectly and as it had been attached probably about 24 hours we are not taking any chances. One member of the family with Lyme disease is more than enough.

DELPHINIUMS AND STUFF

This is the first time my Cornus Kousa Chinensis has flowered. She is a lovely tree and as mentioned in my last post seems to do better in a more shady spot than I have chosen, so suffers from the heat and needs to be watered regularly in our current hot dry weather. Her bracts didn't get pink tinges on the edges as I had expected not sure why not. Yes I know not the best photo but it does give an idea of what a lovely tree she is.

Delphiniums in the front border by the wall, not the most expected place to grow them but as I had some going spare and no where else to put them I decided to try them here. They have been lovely and very much admired by passers by.

Years ago when I had an allotment the guy who had the plot next to me was a Delphinium grower, he was well known for his plants and won lots of prizes for showing them. Can you imagine the joy of working next to half an allotment full of Delphiniums. Dreaming Spires I think was the name of one and that always comes to mind when I see Delphiniums. Bill Hancock was his name, I think and I remember him telling me that they were easier to grow in groups because they liked grit around them to keep the slugs off. He was quite right Delphiniums dotted in a mixed border rarely survive a second season if a first even, but grown in a group they are much easier to look after and look wonderful together.

A riot of colour or some such thing.

I am rather proud of my Hostas they look spectacular in large pots and they were grown from seed so even more satisfying. My one weakness is using slug pellets but the slugs and snails do win in the end. I have some in large galvanised buckets and wash bowls and they seem to be less prone to slug attack, unless I stupidly have them so close to other plants so that the slugs and snails slide across from the neighbouring plants. I think I have too many plants. Can you have too many?

I adore lilies but the Regale Lily is my favourite, you just can't beat that perfume. I grow them in pots so they can be placed near the house when they are at their best and the perfume wafts indoors, gorgeous.

My Delphinium bed in the back garden hasn't quite come into full bloom in this photo and now I have missed their best and the wind took a few stems down which we are enjoying indoors.

This is where I spend a lot of my time, I love taking cuttings and have been busy these last few days doing cuttings of Rambling roses and clematis, not that I have any room for more but my daughter may like some for her garden.

Yes a bit untidy in this photo, it was tidied a little more for the Galloping Gardener's visit but I confess it is back to it's untidy state again now. I really am running out of space wherever you look.

WISLEY WITH THE GALLOPING GARDENER

I had a glorious day yesterday visiting Wisley in the company of the Galloping Gardener or Charolette to fellow Blotanical followers. It was lovely to spend the day with someone who shared such an interest in one of my passions.

I make no apologise for a photograph of the rose garden, rather a different perspective than one Charlotte posted, but as Roses are one of my passions I needed to post one photo of the Wisley rose garden at it's best.

The Country Garden is looking delightful with it's informal planting even though displayed in formal beds. I confess to being very disappointed years ago when this was first re developed with my love for cottage gardening, but I have to say that once the plants settled in after about a year it has been a delight for me to visit ever since.

One of several small town gardens which I always enjoy visiting because they are easier to identify with, with my own small garden.

Here the Cornus Kusa Chinensis is looking rather sickly, there used to be a very large tree of this where the Rambling roses used to be but it developed some disease and eventually died. When I saw both these trees some years ago I was so taken by their beautiful appearance with their bracts that I decided to buy one for my garden and this year was the first year it flowered and produced the lovely bracts. Of course I did what Wisely had done and planted in an open site in full sun. It was a mistake I do not think it enjoys full midsummer sun and mine needs a regular watering to perk it up. I notice that in the woodland area at Wisley the other side of the stream the Cornus trees do much better, perhaps a combination of some shade and damper ground.

Again in the small town gardens.

and another town garden

This is the Herb garden which again is planted in a formal setting but of course herbs are informal in their nature and the combination is very pleasing.

One last photo of Charlotte in the Herb garden. What a lovely interesting lady she is. I have so enjoyed her blog as she Gallops off to all sorts of gardens all over the World and am quite in awe of her achievements with the The Raven Foundation - a project to build a hospital for rural villagers in Rajasthan. I am sure that any donations to the Raven Foundation will be appreciated as I am sure any good publicity for the Foundation will be too.