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| A swan and her three cygnets on the water at Hampton while we ate our picnic |
The absolute last place you want to be standing in England in humid 25 degree Celsius heat is in a packed flower tent, especially when one still has a slight temperature from having been ill. But that is where I was to be found on Saturday as I attended the Hampton Court Flower Show on the outskirts of London in England on Saturday; a day I had been looking forward to pretty much since Chelsea last year. I dragged myself from my sick bed determined to go forth, be inspired and buy, buy, buy, which I managed quite well, but my god was it hard. Obviously I didn’t want it to rain but it was boiling. Half an hour in the floral marquee and the flowers started to swim before me. Outside on the grass picnickers were huddled in shaded spots melting and by mid afternoon I spied a whole row of bare ankles hanging into the water as I crossed a platoon. I didn’t get the memo about the weather and turned up completely inappropriately dressed in jumper, jeans, walking boots and a raincoat of all things. While eating my lunch, moist in unpleasant places, I enviously spied three young women in light summery dresses, all groomed and elegant on a nice day out while my hair angrily frizzed around me from the humidity. But luckily I wasn’t there to look good, I was there to exercise my little flexible friend, and he has had to take a little lay down after all his exertion.
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| A display of Sphaerocephalon Alliums, definitely one of the standout plants of the show, everybody had some, including myself! |
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| A lake of cranberries outside the food tent, as you do |
I hate to say it, but I was actually slightly disappointed with Hampton this year but only because last time I went the emphasis seemed to be on growing and there were lots of seeds on sale. I distinctly remember going in a tent full of growers with flowers and vegetables and all their seeds being laid out in front of them. I was really looking forward to visiting this again and rootling though like a pig for truffles but alas. This year they seem to have completely done away with this feature and there were no vegetables at all, except for a Mr Fothergill’s stand, which I did raid. There were still plenty of nurseries and the whole of the floral marquee but on the seed front this year it was definitely lacking.
I spent most of my time in the ‘growing’ section as that is what I went for but there was also a large Country Living magazine tent full of crafts where I had a brief chat about wallpaper, somehow even though it’s the day job I can’t resist a wallpaper sample book, a food tent that in the heat Im afraid had just too much of an overpowering scent for us to go in, and of course the show gardens.
Rather than just have one huge post on Hampton I thought it might be more reader friendly to split them up into manageable chunks so there will be posts on inspiration, plants that stood out to me, and of course all my lovely purchases!
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| Inside the sweltering flower tent |
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