So, what trends appeared at Hampton Court this year? Well, I think there's been a better balance of plants and landscaping; straight lines seem less prevalent (thank goodness). The collection as a whole felt less scolding, less inclined to bludgeon us to death with worthy messages, which I've found overwhelming in recent years.
Just about everything is kind to wildlife. If one more garden had said it was planted with bees in mind, I think I'd have screamed.
Having said that, a favourite was Bugs in Boots, one of the Association of Professional Landscapers' Low Cost, High Impact gardens (does that title give the public the wrong impression?). Designed and built by Caspian Robertson of Surrey Gardens in the £13,000 category, its aim is to direct rainwater to a lower part of the garden where it can safely drain away via the SUDS (sustainable urban drainage system) beneath, without causing run-off problems. (Silver medal, and I really should have managed a better photo angle!)
The curved metalwork contrasted with the upright foxgloves, and Caspian thought that raindrops would look attractive dripping from them.
I guess it's not surprising after last year, but drainage was also on the mind of another of APL's gardens, In at the Deep End, designed and built by Monty Richardson and Peter Cowell of Living Gardens. It made a lovely oasis costing £7,000 (Silver medal). The planting broke up the hard landscaping, softening the edges of the steps...
...though I do I wonder how easy it would be to keep it in check.
I really wanted to talk to Sue Thomas, who designed the Willow Pattern garden, or Richard Thomas who built it, but unfortunately my visits didn't coincide with their presence. Its position was in afternoon shade and the graduated blues added to its calming, cool respite on a hot and hurried afternoon. (Silver medal.)
And then there were the conceptual gardens...
Some were just daft. Actually Dual/Duel wasn't a show garden, but "a concept art installation concerned with human nature" by Tony Smith of Hortus Infinitus, but it's so much what we've come to expect of conceptual gardens that I've included it here.
"Why do we fight?" it asks. We're meant to ponder whether it's because of personal differences or our descent from aggressive tribal animals (animals have tribes?). I ponder what dark secret lurks in his past that his overwhelming desire seems to be to up-end wheelbarrows.
Tip of the Iceberg (silver gilt award) I was prepared to hate. A pile of fridges? Sigh. But designer Caroline Tait won me over to quite a degree, though I still think they're not the perfect representation of man's wasteful nature, as fridges might create a waste headache when they're dead, but also prevent a lot of waste while they're alive.
The decommissioned fridges themselves were actually rather lovely (go on, you know you want to touch white goods) - pristine white and smooth ("The secret is car polish."). They were planted with alpines (fridge mountain, see?). The plants stood out against the installation and so took on a starring role that is sometimes lacking in this type of garden.
Caroline has discovered an unexpected fascination with fridge technology, and I wondered if we might not see reconditioned fridge carcasses gain chic as modern planters.
Ashes to Ashes (gold winner), designed and built by Bruce Waldock of Outerspace Designs, draws attention to the possibility that some ash trees will survive the Chalara onslaught by highlighting the project to return elms to the countryside, using potentially resistant specimens. It had a drama and balance between the stark blackened oak (ash can't be moved around Britain) surrounded by red roses (flames, of course) and the green mound which rose in hope, carrying a spiral of young elms. The curves and contrast gave a definite yin/yang feel.
Bruce really enjoyed making this garden. "There aren't many opportunities to create massive oak tombstones for a client," he said.
Anything I hated? Valley Garden (silver gilt). The premise is good - a "pop-up" construction that can be assembled with different planting as desired on temporary sites. It's meant to bring landscape to a human scale, but felt cramped, gave you nowhere to contemplate it while others were waiting to journey up the 'V', and the black-dyed water looked mucky and dusty in the sunlight which showed up all the floating plant debris.
And finally, another I was surprised to like a lot. The Ecover Garden (gold, and Best in Show). Designer Matthew Childs used recycled plastic partly to draw attention to it as a material we should think about using more (something I've written about on several occasions). A great deal of plastic ends up in the oceans, so the theme of water covered many aspects.
You might question the desirability of a giant toilet cleaner bottle forming the fountain, but I think we can conjure glancing references to Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol in that, while allowing for Ecover's natural desire to advertise themselves... The planting itself was delightful, airy, swaying, evocative of water. In interview, Matthew explains a bit more.
For more pictures and comment, visit Down on the Allotment, Vegplotting, Out of My Shed, Dobies of Devon for Anne Somerset Miles' view of the McCarthy and Stone garden by Chris Beardshaw, In My Garden for a look inside the Rose tent.
If you'd like me to add another blog to the list or just want to opine on the gardens, do leave a comment below
...Landscape Juice Network
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