RHS Round Up!

The RHS show was soon in full swing after a glorious spell of sunny weather, and Tatton’s garden team were in high spirits having been awarded a Silver Gilt for their entry ‘A flight of Fancy’.

Linking in with the Tatton Park Arts Biennial 2012, the imaginative concept behind the garden design is that the last Baron Egerton, who collected plants and garden styles from many continents, including the famous Japanese Garden, sent plant material to other countries, including pea and bean cultivators to his estate in Kenya. Combining  his passion for plants with his interests in exploration, early radio cars, and was a pioneer aviator it helped launch our concept for the 1930’s style rocket, landing on a desolate planet where 1000’s of seeds spill out onto the baron land and flourished into a mass of colour.

What went into the show...

The build took 2 weeks from start to finish, and much of the garden’s features were grown or recycled from Tatton’s own gardens including 3-4 tonnes of the rocks and boulders that make up the Moongate!

Since we started growing the plant species in early May we have nurtured them daily to ensure they are at their best for the show.

We have lots of varieties of plants and vegetables in the garden this year ...see if you can spot them! They include pineapple plants from Tatton’s very own Pineapple house! We also have bananas, cannas, runner beans and cucumbers – all from our conservatory, and palms from our fernery...

...We even have a small rock pool which represents life on the flourishing side of the garden.

Simon (far right) with Head gardener Simon Tetlow (centre) and Bob Buckley (far left)

By Simon Kellet, Garden Team member

If you visited the show this year we would love to hear your comments about your personal show highlights and your thoughts on Cheshire East’s exhibit by the Tatton Garden team.  Leave us your comments below!

For more info on Tatton Parks garden click here.

Day one nearly done!

Tatton's Japanese Garden

The RHS Flower Show may be months in the planning but we very swiftly speed through the hours once the show is finally upon us. 

There's been a great buzz on the first day of the show, with a lot of interest around Tatton's Japanese Garden inspired (and gold medal winning) garden - Paradise Isle - 100 years on.  We've got a fantastic spot with the other local gardens making up the Cheshire Gardens of Distinction's area.

My favourite flowers of the show in the floral marquee

Tatton's presence - other than the show garden - is a Marketing and an Education tent. For us, in Marketing, it's a great opportunity to chat to people about what we do at Tatton and to try and encourage visitors to come back to see all we have to offer here.  We also get asked all sorts of questions about the flowerbed too - so if you don't know your acer palmatum from your elbow, now is the time to find out!

  

Beautiful bug house!

After many years of doing the show the team has learnt a few essential tips to see you through the 5 days: water, suncream, sunglasses (for those glaring walkways) water and a bit more water.  This year we might just (fingers treble crossed) get away without the brollies.  And a break in the Country Living tent doesn't go amiss either.

Here's a few of the highlights for me of day one...
Eleanor Gorsuch, Marketing

Tatton showmen

8 July 2011



Caption competition?!

©Sam Youd





We are on day 5 of the build of our show garden at the RHS Show site (a garden inspired by the centenary of the Japanese Garden). At the moment it feels like October with the wind whistling across the open parkland.

 

Beginning to take shape..

©Sam Youd



Having dug out the pond we’re now ready for planting but we’re really concerned about the wind burn on the tender acers if we were to put them out today. However, we need to place these large acers before we continue the planting of the rest of the garden. We’ve looked at the forecast and decided to put off the planting until tomorrow, which is just as well, because as we speak it is throwing it down with rain and may get even heavier.



Up to now build has gone really well; the weather has been reasonably kind, although, like all gardeners we’re bound to moan about the fact that the garden is really hard – due to the fact that we had a very dry spring and whatever we have had since then, has found it difficult to penetrate.



The other gardens are looking good and everyone seems to be ahead of schedule – there is a good atmosphere as most people know one another anyway. By next week, as more plants arrive, we will definitely see a constant migration of plants between one garden and another as we all swap our surplus plants!



The best way to build a garden for the show is to always have in mind that anything you do or plan to do, needs to be done early in the hour, early in the day, early in the week. No procrastination should be allowed and good logistical planning is essential! The aim should be to finish the garden as early as possible so that by the time judging takes place the garden should look settled and the plants should have started to re-grow.

 

Gardens which are finished early always attract TV/media attention as reporters and producers are always looking for finished items. In view of this, it’s extremely important to have a couple of quirky stories in hand – which act as a media carrot. I’ll keep mine to myself, for now (ie make some up later!).



Have a good show!



Sam Youd, Gardens Manager











Heating up for the Flower Show!

We’re now getting ready for the RHS Flower Show, which opens in 3 weeks time. In recent weeks we’ve sourced most of the plants for our back-to-back garden, The Mod-ieval Garden. Last week, with the weather being so hot, we have had to move the plants into a shaded area and keep them well watered to try and ‘slow them down’ so they are not past it by the time the show comes round! Because these plants are so important we really need to keep our eye on them for watering and watching out for unwanted pests.

In the glasshouses we have thinned out the vines to allow the grapes to swell – it gives more space for the fruit to see the sun. They’re pea sized at the moment and should be ready to pick later in the summer. The vines are pruned to two leaf buds after where the fruit is beginning to form. That was a hot job – it can be over 100 degrees in the glasshouses, especially around midday!

The last couple of days we’ve been transplanting the wallflowers, which have been grown from seed this year in the kitchen garden. Thousands will be planted over the next few days in the kitchen garden. They’ll then be transplanted for the autumn into the Italian and Charlotte’s Garden. Due to the heat, as soon as we lift the plants, they’re beginning to wilt so we have to be really fast with the planting and watering.

At the moment we’re getting a good crop of potatoes, cauliflowers, lettuce, cabbage, turnip and beetroot. We’ve also had some rhubarb and great strawberries – though we have had to net them to keep the squirrels and birds from the berries. All the produce is sold from the Garden Shop.

All the gardeners are wearing their hats, keeping covered up, slapping on the sunscreen and staying in the shade as much as possible. We’re also praying for rain!

Mark Blomeley

Craftsman Gardener

Images Left: Show plants in the shade. Right: Wallflower seedlings in Kitchen Garden