Friday Flowers at Tatton Park Flower Show

A Three hour drive got us to Tatton Park at midday on Tuesday. The cloud was low with a promise of rain, the ground was rather muddy and waterlogged.....so glad I bought some rubber boots.

The forecast was for a lot more rain on Wednesday, not a promising start.
Tatton Park sits on top of a hill, sheltered on one side by a thick band of mature trees, open on the other to views of distant hills. A dramatic spot but open to the elements. It was windy, but the showers held off and the sun made brief appearances through the cloud.

After a walk round the place that called me back was an architectural salvage stand (surprise surprise) they had very pretty plantings and were using interesting containers......but oh that chippy peeling paint.

Up the next morning at 5.00 for an early start, I think it had rained during the night, but it was dry if overcast when we arrived at the show. I found the produce tent and was transported back to a stay at my Grandfathers when I was a child. Their local summer show was on at the end of the week and I entered one of the classes with a felt Humpty Dumpty.......oh the excitement on winning first prize and receiving a certificate.
Competitors were carefully arranging their home grown fruits and vegetables in the hope of winning a coveted R.H.S. award.
All that concentration deserved tea and a chance to calm the nerves.

And then the sun came out! It was hot, too bright to take photographs but just right for sitting and watching the world go by......this felt just like a summer holiday.

I took a few more pictures as the sun was sinking, on a stand that sold mature trees, it was the background I loved a huge carved wooden panel flanked by columns topped with bowls of silk flowers.

I hope you have enjoyed just a glimpse of Tatton Park Flower Show.
Next week we are off to France for a few days visiting friends who live the Mayenne region. It is their local Vide Grenier or Attic Sale while we are there.......I can't wait, I'm sure French junk is much nicer than English junk. We are taking the car....it holds a lot.......oh the temptation! I'll let you know if I succumb.

Have a lovely weekend
Georgie

Friday Flowers at Hampton Court Flower Show. Part 2

And so to continue.......the planting on one of the Conceptual Gardens was beautiful, silver birches, and below a haze of grasses, Gypsophyllia and delicate summer flowers blowing in the breeze. Leading the eye to the outside wall of planks of weathered wood and rusty corrugated iron.

And from there into the marquees, it rained rather a lot over the time I was there and I spent a good few hours in the marquees sheltering from the downpours.
Again some very quiet pictures of the Floral Marquee, usually it is impossible to walk easily between the displays due to the crowds. I think you can see how wet the ground is......and that's indoors!

It was here I found a stand selling Air Plants, not something that usually attracts me and indeed they had the usual type of display with the plants wired to pieces of wood. But what I loved were the regimented lines of the plants for sale displayed on old fruit frames with wire mesh bases. They took on a new dimension en-masse and I'm wondering if I could grow some on an old garden sieve and hang it on the wall?

Between downpours I made my way to the Growing for Taste marquee, where I found Garlic! Oh the colours, the smell.......see what I mean (without the smell unfortunately).

And now because my photographs seem to be rather monotone and quiet in colour I'm going to leave you with a wall in a garden that added much needed sunshine to my day, and another idea for plants in a frame!

See you next week with some photographs from Tatton Park Flower Show......it's a hard life  being a photographer!!
Have a lovely weekend
Georgie

Friday Flowers at Hampton Court Flower Show

This flower show must have the best setting in the world, covering several acres of parkland just behind Hampton Court Palce. The showground is bisected by a canal (The Long Water) over which are placed pontoon bridges so that visitors and exhibitors can cross and have wonderful views of the Palace and the fountains along the canal.
Each side the tents hold restaurants and seating areas for lunch and tea.



The bandstand area eerily quiet at 7.30 in the morning, the huge Floral Marquee in the background.

This view made me think of distant mountains, the white peaks of the show tents just catching the early morning light.

On one side of the canal was the Floral Marquee, the Scarecrow competition and the Summer Show Gardens. As well as some small stands selling everything you might need for your garden, needless to say the Garden Brocante was one of my favourites with their piles of galvanised containers and various statuary and decorative items.

Across the Long Water was the main part of the showground with the main Show Gardens, the Rose Marquee, The Growing for Taste Marqueeand again a myriad of stands selling everything you might need for your garden.
A French company Arrosoir and Persil selling garden ornaments from recycled metal caught my eye, I loved their chippy shabby daisies, the arcs of dangling hearts and most of all the swallows perched on a wire above their shed.

And another company selling stone and metal garden antiques, these were seriously expensive and seriously lovely with the moss, lichen and the patina of years.

Your scrolling fingers must be seriously tired by now, plus blogger is not allowing me to look at what I'm doing whilst writing this so I'm going to call it a day for now. I've more to show you from Hampton Court next week, some views of the Floral Marquee, Garlic, Air plants and more!
This coming week I'm off to the Tatton Park Flower Show for three days, so it's more early mornings and hopefully not so much rain.....I'm taking Wellington Boots just in case!

In the meantime have a lovely weekend, and if the sun isn't shining on you I hope it makes an appearance soon.
Georgie