The Hampton Court Flower Show reflects the Recession

Set in the grounds of the historic Hampton Court palace, 15 beautiful Show and Get Started gardens will be on display for visitors, along with talks, demos, and workshops from horticultural experts who are on hand to offer expert advice and help you translate the inspiration into your green space. Particular highlights include a feature garden by this year’s Iconic Horticultural Hero Carol Klein, whose design boasts six different habitats, and Jo Thompson will be creating a wildlife garden which showcases ‘accidental’ landscapes that can be utilised to create green corridors in our urban spaces.

Just before Christmas, Clare Matterson, director general of the RHS, wrote to ask if I would be RHS Hampton Court’s Iconic Horticultural Hero for 2023, which was both shocking and flattering in equal measure! Because of that, I was able to design a garden for the Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival.

Iris ‘Benton Olive’ in Sarah Price's garden

RHS Hampton Court 2023 is short for The RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival. But that sounds far too grand.

If you want a houseplant that offers an eye-catching appearance with fancy foliage, then pick one out from the best Types of Monstera that we have for you in this article!

A former AIB banker-turned-gardener says he feels “like a five-year-old getting presents” after winning a major award as well as a prestigious gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show in London.

While there are many scientific ways and gadgets to determine your soil quality, they can either be a little time-consuming or expensive. But one quick and straightforward way to do this is to Bury 2 White Underwear in the Garden. Confused? Read more below!

We are firm believers in the positive power of plants – plants help us relax, but they also help us to focus, get more creative, and find inspiration. In our book PLANT TRIBE we have delved into the strong power of plants when it comes to being creative. We pledge that you surround yourself with nature in order to trigger your creativity and boost inspiration. Hence, plants in (home) offices are the way to go! And thanks to the new plant modules from Swiss design brand USM Haller you can now combine a piece of design furniture with your love for plants.

Gloves are always of interest to gardeners – I have an enormous collection, many of which have holes in the fingers, so I think it is time to cull the less than perfect and invest in a few more. I came back from the show with a pair of MechanixWear womens’ leather-palmed gloves (£22) which are soft, comfortable and washable as well as extremely tough. The sizing is on the small side though so it’s best to buy larger than normal. Burgon & Ball always have innovative displays on their stand – their Love the Glove range (from £12.95) were displayed under glass domes. These gloves are ultra-soft but hardwearing, have padded palm and a wrist strap to keep debris out. www.burgonandball.com Sneeboer, makers of fine garden tools have had fun with one of their garden spades that they have fashioned into a stool – it’s not for sale, but I best they get lots of enquiries about it – so who knows, in the future it may be added to the range. Just the sort of thing the hipsters love! Trugs come in every shape and size and the Trugmake

In my earlier post about Sir Paul Smith, I wrote about the role of green as the anchor that holds everything in place in a garden – so it’s unsurprising that the greenness was what I noticed as I looked at some of the drawings of this year’s Chelsea gardens. No doubt, when we get to Chelsea our eyes will seek out the excitement, and the actual gardens will be further enlivened by shape, texture and the play of light, but it is useful to see the contribution that green makes to each of the gardens and bear it in mind for the planting in our own garden. Jo Thompson’s Sylvan Retreat will h

The Chelsea Flower Show

I don’t think it was just the flat light, grey skies and chilly temperatures that gave the show quite a subdued feel. Of course, it was not helped by our never-arriving spring that has left many of the show gardens with flowers on the point of unfurling, but seemingly as reluctant to open as I was to remove any of the several layers of clothing I was wearing on Press Day.