Inside the Plant Heritage Marquee at Hampton Court this year, the hard work of our Collection Holders was on display. Six Gold medals, six Silver-Gilts; and Silvers and Bronzes abounded.
Best in the Marquee was awarded to Dr McIllmurray for his atmospheric display of
Maxillaria orchids, exquisite flowers originating in South America. Leaning close to the display you could catch a waft of vanilla from one - the potency of the aroma varies according to the time of day. These plants are scarcely known outside their countries of origin, and so endangered there from habitat destruction that many may be lost before they have even been recognised and recorded. Dr McIllmurray' planned book on the subject may go some way to making these lovely plants more widely known.
Other Gold medals went to: Derek Lloyd Dean for his enchanting display of Angel pelargoniums; Dibleys for a stupendous array of immaculate
Streptocarpus; the Haywards for their cannas, whose exuberant foliage rivalled the flower heads for traffic stopping colour; Winchester Growers
for dahlias of every shape and hue and the Hoyland Plant Centre's blue and white
Agapanthus, a cool and refreshing sight on a hot day.
Collection Holders also cleared up the Gold medals in the Floral Marquee, with Dibleys and Fibrex Nurseries rounding up two more Golds apiece; new Collection Holder Plantagogo presenting a charming array of
Heuchera; Downderry Nursery's lavender and Marshalls Malmaison carnations competing to scent the air and Bowden
Hostas and Tale Valley's
Rhodohypoxis all worthy of viewing. Winchester Growers staged another superb bank of dahlias and Hewitt-Cooper's display of very sinister carnivorous plants looked quite capable of accounting for small children and missing pets ...
Returning to the Plant Heritage Marquee, the Seed Shop did a roaring trade and members of the public and Plant Heritage alike were stocking up with rare and unusual plants at a
very modest price! Dawdlers by the Seed Shop were also able to enjoy a range of practical demonstrations - all week Collection Holders passed on their expertise - from root cuttings success to creating a box spiral.
Asclepias and
Rubus Collection Holder, Barry Clarke here demonstrates propagation techniques with the aid of compost provided by our sponsor, Vital Earth.
The Central Feature this year was Matthew Biggs's Vanishing Garden which illustrated the value of conserving cultivated plants for the biodiversity they support, their medicinal values, history and adaptability to climate change. The local fox took the biodiversity aspect a little too seriously - during the "build up" before the Show opened, Matthew and his helpers were startled to discover each morning foxy pawprints and excavations in the display! You can watch a video of Matthew talking about his design on the RHS website
www.rhs.org.uk