The sun poured down on Tatton Park this morning as the RHS Flower Show Tatton made its grand return. After the heatwave hit the region earlier this week, designers, organisers and green-fingered visitors were happy for a cooler start to proceedings and some much needed respite from the high temperatures.
Thousands of visitors are expected to descend to the parkland in Cheshire over the next five days with a packed schedule of events, talks and of course, gardens galore to get stuck into. The Royal Horticultural Society Show opens today, July 20 for RHS members, and will open fully to the public from July 21 - July 24.
The 23rd RHS Flower Show usually takes three months to plan, with 65,000 visitors expected to flood through the gates this year. Of course, walking round the show gardens in the sizzling heat can take it out of you, which is why refreshments are essential. On average, visitors consume 14,000 cups of tea, more than 3,000 portions of fish & chips and around 13,000 glasses of Pimms - because why not.
READ MORE: RHS Flower Show Tatton returns - what's on for 2022, weather, tickets, how to get there
This year sees the return of stunning show gardens, floral marquees and retail stalls to spark inspiration, as well as new categories like ‘Greener Front Gardens’, with designers tasked with exploring how to rejuvenate and “green up” front gardens into planet-friendly spaces. One of those is ‘The Cotton Traders Greener Future Garden’, one of only two gardens to nab a coveted gold RHS medal and winner of Best Garden.
Designed by Manchester-based, career-change garden designer Lynn Cordall, who retrained after a career in fashion, this city centre garden has been imagined as a space for a downsizing retiring couple who like to get out into the countryside. All the surfaces are permeable to help with urban water run-off and prevent urban flooding.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News , Lynn said: “I did cry a bit when I found out I had won gold, it makes me pretty emotional. The point of these gardens, like mine, is to engage the public and show them how we can develop our gardens more sustainably.
“So I imagined this space as if it were in Ancoats, and it’s meant to be for a retired couple, but typically when people get older they get put in these retirement buildings with maybe just a balcony and I know from personal experience that people find that really tough. So if this is their only outside space it’s designed to be really multifunctional - they’ve got a bike rack with an alpine roof, a window seat that sinks back into the house, and a little water feature, plus beautiful fencing.”
Just down the walkway, you’ll also find ‘Journey Home’ designed by Rachel Bennion, which has been created in partnership with service users and volunteers at homeless charity Petrus Community. The garden is designed to provoke conversations on therapeutic horticulture and green prescribing, both of which are available to the people of Rochdale at Petrus’ community allotment. Encouraging quiet reflection on what ‘home’ means it focuses on reconnecting people with nature and activities that support health and wellbeing.
Reflecting on the past two years of the pandemic and successive lockdowns, a number of show gardens at Tatton this year also highlight changing working habits, the connection between nature and mental health and how to make the most out of urban spaces. Pip Probert’s ‘Why Commute?’ garden, which was also awarded gold, taps into the idea that those working from home can create beautiful garden spaces that can be used for working in and spending time with family.
She told the Manchester Evening News : “I work from home and I always feel that I’ve had offices that are surrounded by people, but I get more inspiration from being able to open my windows and see everything around me. I think in the aftermath of the pandemic so many more people are working from home but it’s also about balance, so we want to use the garden for business but also pleasure.”
Next door you’ll find the first of three feature gardens, the BBC North West Urban Community Garden designed by 22-year-old assistant landscape architect Bea Tann, fresh from her stint at Chelsea Flower Show in May. The garden illustrates that even the most unlikely city centre spaces can be made into functional and accessible green areas.
“We wanted to do a community garden with an urban focus, so we've closed off a piece of road that has been reclaimed for pedestrians to get people thinking about how we can use roads in city centres not just for cars and make cities for people focused. One of the things that is difficult about putting gardens in cities is finding the space for it, but what I want to show is that you can always find the space and give it back as a community garden."
At the BBC Radio 2 and The One Show’s 'Sow, Grow and Show' Garden, visitors can discover how to grow their own food. Designed by Gardeners’ World presenter Joe Swift, it includes beds for vegetables and cut flowers along with display areas where harvested crops are displayed.
Head to the centre of the show and you’ll find RHS Young Designer Gardens, which includes Rachel Platt’s ‘Covid Recovery Garden’, which aims to give those suffering from long Covid an accessible, restorative space; Alex Pettitt’s ‘Slow Down, Breathe Deep, designed to provide a space for staff at an NHS specialist hospital to find sanctuary from the stress of daily work; and Will Scholey’s ‘Working From Home’ garden, offering visitors a perfect working from home environment with a tranquil and carbon-negative commute.
On the smaller side, but equally as impactful, the Greener Borders showcase offers an opportunity to highlight small-scale planting designs. Here you’ll see a display from Manchester Urban Diggers (MUD) called Fruitea, which shows you how to grow your own herbal teas all within a limited border space, and The Petit Nuage Garden by Jason Williams, which shows urban gorilla gardeners how to create an edible border garden.
If you’re heading down this weekend, make sure to make a beeline for the Summer Fruit and Veg Competition as well, which includes 70 classes including the heaviest gooseberry competition. On top of this, you can learn how to turn your own garden produce into delicious fishes at Taste of Tatton, with talks and demonstrations led by chef Mark Diacono.
Gardening experts will also be on hand for the remaining four days, as will culinary pros who will be hosting a string of cookery demos. If you have children in town, there’s plenty of family friendly activities at the Homestead including botanical inspired craft and demonstrations where you can learn about soil and listen to experts discuss the world of nocturnal insects.
On the final day, Sunday 25, there will also be the return of the hugely popular plant sale from 4pm - where people can snap up glorious plants from the gardens and stalls.
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