And yes, we say it every year but once again it really was a great year at RHS Hampton Court Flower Show.
It’s the largest of the RHS Flower Shows throughout the year in terms of area and the historical setting make sit all the more special for all concerned.
A brief round-up of the highlights from Hampton Court in 2016 …
It always amazes us how the RHS manage to make Hampton Court a bigger and bigger spectacle year after year.
And, they also manage to make each and every show applicable in some way to the most relevant current affairs in UK society at the time.
And 2016 was no different.
And the other thing we say every year?
Is the fact that it’s impossible to do a round up blog that covers all the highlights from Hampton Court in one single post.
So, once again, we’ll make it personal by giving you an overview of the main highlights and then looking in a bit more detail at our own personal highlight.
Here’s a few of the more memorable treats that were on offer …
- The Butterfly Dome with many exotic varieties.
- Feel God Front Gardens – exploring how plants and good design can positively impact a persons health.
- A Dogs Life Show Garden – with a very special visitor.
- The Austin Garden with live music provided by Carson McHone.
- All The World’s A Stage Garden - - to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of the Bard.
Further details and much more can be found on the RHS official round up page for those who want to learn more.
But for those purist garden lovers amongst you here’s the official RHS Garden Round up from Hampton Court in 2016 …
And our personal highlight from Hampton Court in 2016?
Rocket Science but not as you know it.
We first covered the Rocket Science initiative in a previous post earlier in the year just before Tim Peake embarked on his now world famous journey to the International Space Station.
The initiative formed part of the wider initiative around The RHS Campaign for School Gardening and involved a huge number of UK schools investigating the possible effects of microgravity, radiation and space travel on seed germination and growth.
What on earth is all that about you might be asking?
Well, as the RHS explain on their website …
“Before Tim [Peake] embarked on his Principia mission to the International Space Station, he flipped a coin to decide which colour packet would contain the space seeds, and the answer has been a closely guarded secret ...”
Until now!
"The seeds in question are 2kg of rocket seeds (Eruca sativa) which were sent to the International Space Station (ISS), ahead of Tim, on 03 September 2015. They remained on-board for six months until they returned to Earth with NASA astronaut Scott Kelly on 03 March 2016. The seeds were then packaged into the coloured packet, determined by Tim’s coin flip, and 2kg of rocket seed that had remained on Earth was packaged into the other.
Throughout April and May this year, over 8,500 schools and educational groups grew the seeds alongside each other to investigate the impact of microgravity, radiation and space travel on seed germination and growth.”
Read More on The RHS website
And what does this have to do with our favourite highlight from Hampton Court?
The Space Themed Scarecrow competition, of course!
Space Scarecrows at Hampton Court Flower Show ...“Schools were challenged to use plants and recycled materials to create their space scarecrows. Children were encouraged to let their imaginations run wild, taking inspiration from all things space, from aliens and UFOs to British astronaut Tim Peake’s current space mission.”
The imagination and creativity that went into the various school designs was truly fantastic and the area set aside for it at the show really did add a touch of the sublime to the event as a whole.
Check out the winners here.
And finally …
Any round up from Hampton court wouldn’t be the same without a few pictures from our Trade Stand.
