Hampton Court Flower Show 2009 Part 3 The Show Gardens

I know I am milking it now. I just loved it - there were so many things to see and so many lovely images to capture.

I think I have saved the best till last, but I guess it is all a matter of taste.

There is a part of me that understands why this won 'Best in Show', but then there is also a mystery, because I had two completely different front runners.

'Enchanted Escape', on the Garden Walk, which I felt looked better from the side, when I tried to peep in the sides, trying to avoid the crowds:

Than it did front on, although it captured something beautiful and somehow of its time:

The colours and the planting were just sublime, and the overall feel was one of contentment and escape.

The other garden that captured my heart was a small garden 'A teenager's escape'. I could empathise with the innocent heart that it was trying to capture:

I think the colour combinations are the thing that makes the garden for me. Not the landscaping or the clever concept, although I also appreciate these things in smaller measure.

There was something incredibly harmonious about these two gardens, that I think struck a chord with me. For me, they share something of the romance of gardening.

Finally, a parting shot of a garden whose name I can't even remember,but it did make that first visual impact where I noticed that they had matched the colours very carefully....

Hampton Court Flower Show 2009 Part 2

One of the best things about the flower show is the Floral Marquee, where specialist growers set up displays to exhibit their latest varieties. What is interesting is that there is a nursery somewhere specialise in every sort of flower you could imagine, from fashionable plants like echinacea to old favourites like chrysanthemums.

I was particularly drawn by a display of lilies. The frangrance was so strong that it literally filled the whole marquee, and at each door, there was a strong current of warm, lily scented air coming out.

There were colours I had never seen anywhere before, and I am determined to get some in the plot for next year.

One of the great things about gardening is that your garden is never complete - you can always add something else, like a never finished work of art. If one year doesn't work out as well as you had hoped, you can always look forward to the next one.

I am already thinking that next year might be a cut flower year, where I try to cultivate enough flowers to keep the flat supplies with gorgeous flowers all year. Now there is a new challenge.

Hampton Court Flower Show 2009 Part 1

WOW. This is the third year that I have been to Hampton Court, and I just love it more each year. It's just so full of inspiration and ideas.

The growing tastes area was a great mix of exhibition plants and suppliers of seed and edible plants. The girls really enjoyed the children's part of it, with sand.

This picture doesn't look too impressive unless you know that the cabbages were bigger than beach balls. Giant veg aside, there were some lovely inspirational allotment gardens.

All very nice to see what the world would be like if there were no weeds, no insects and no stunted vegetables, but actually I prefer the real world, where there is more challenge.

I just can't wait to get back to the plot to see my own little corner of the horticultural world, but with more motivation.

New ideas to put into the allotment were as follows:

• Amaranth as an edible and ornamental plant.
• Growing squash and courgettes over a frame like an archway or pegola.

Will post more tomorrow on the ornamental and garden theme.