Florals and Royals at this Summer’s RHS Events

Kate Middleton at Hampton ourt Flower Show copyright RHS

While the Duchess of Cambridge wowed visitors to Chelsea and Hampton Court flower shows with the Back to Nature garden she helped design there’s one more RHS floral bonanza to look forward to: Tatton Park, which puts the emphasis firmly on youth.

Not quite as young as Prince George and little sister Princess Charlotte, but certainly the next generation of garden designers to inspire us all, even if we have little more than a cramped patio, three window boxes or a fake lawn to our names.

Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine (known as Kate) and Chris Young, the RHS community outreach advisor, show children her "Back to nature garden" during press day at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival 2019 in south west London Monday July 1, 2019. The flower show has rebranded as a festival to better reflect its character as the "Glastonbury of gardening". The festival runs until July 7..RHS / Luke MacGregor
Credit: RHS / Luke MacGregor

New talent and design is a fundamental part of RHS Flower Show Tatton Park, which prides itself as pioneer of young talent and has helped many previous finalists go on to establish extremely successful careers.

This year alone four previous RHS Young Designers featured at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival, including: 2013 winner Tony Woods with a garden highlighting the importance of water; 2016 – 2017 winners Caitlin McLaughlin and Ula Maria, who promoted the benefits of green spaces and planting for pollinators; and winner of last year’s title Will Williams returned with a garden for show sponsor Viking Cruises.

The Duchess of Cambridge brought her two elder children to Chelsea to admire the Back to Nature Garden.

George, who turns six on July 22, suggested stepping stones over a waterfall-fed mini pool and Charlotte, aged four, collected pine cones for a treasure hunt among dens, hollow log, bee-friendly wild flower meadow, rolling hill hidden burrow and a fabric-covered den.

To enjoy Tatton Park you don’t have to know your hydrangeas from your hops, wisteria from weeds or lilies from lupins.  Just immerse yourself in glorious gardens from the grandeur of Baroque and Tudor formal design, to elegant, romantic and wild planting and a Caledonian Coastal Garden inspired by rugged Scottish landscape with pines, pebbles and boulders.

So pack your antihystamine to avoid sneezing among the antirrhinums. That’s snap-dragons to you and me.

  • RHS Flower Show Tatton Park near Knutsford, Cheshire, will run from 17 – 21 July.  Tickets can be purchased at www.rhs.org.uk/tatton   will run from 17 – 21 July.
  • Gill Martin

    Gill Martin is an award winning travel writer and former Fleet Street journalist – Daily Mail reporter, Daily Express feature writer and Sunday Mirror Woman's Editor. She is a freelance writer for national newspapers from the Financial Times and Daily Telegraph to tabloids, magazines, regional newspapers and websites. After a six month career break after the Indian Ocean tsunami where she volunteered as a communications consultant in Banda Aceh, Indonesia for Plan, the children's charity, she is now focused on travel. From skiing everywhere from Kashmir to Argentina, Morocco to Turkey, North America and all over Europe; snow shoeing in Canada; captain of the GB team of the Ski Club of International Journalists; whitewater rafting down the Zambezi; electric mountain biking in Switzerland and cycling in Portugal; Kenyan and South African safaris; riding elephants in India and horses in Brazil; paint balling in Romania; opera and archeology in Serbia; Caribbean snorkelling; sampling food and wine in Italy.

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