Visit the world at RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

The World of Gardens brings Jordan, The Azores, Switzerland and St Petersburg to Hampton Court

Visitors to the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show will be able to take a tour around the world without leaving Greater London, thanks to the first-ever World of Gardens feature at the show.

There are four show gardens featured, one bringing to life the iconic sites of the city of Petra in Jordan, another representing the highlights of the State Russian Museum in St Petersburg. The landscapes of the Swiss Alps and the Azores will also be recreated in garden form in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace this year for the world’s largest flower show.

The Azorean Garden (in conjunction with Sunvil and designed by Stephen Hall) will highlight the varied landscapes of the nine islands, which range from vast volcanic craters to rugged mountains, lush rolling valleys, hot mineral springs and geysers. Black Basalt and vines will combine with a typical Azorean pool and a gentle waterfall, featuring plants including Zantedeschia, Canna and ferns, heathers and Gunnera.

From the lush planting of the Azores, visitors move to the red sandstone valley of the 200-year-old city of Petra in Jordan. In fact, although most people may think Jordan is just a desert, there are also green highlands, and the country boasts more than double the variety of flora that we have in the UK. In spring, the desert comes alive with a carpet of flowers – and it is these natural highlights that the Discover Jordan Garden (from the Jordan Tourist Board in partnership with Cox & Kings and designed by Paul Hervey-Brookes) will introduce visitors to.

A rather colder climate is the subject of the next garden, which has been inspired by the world’s largest collection of art, housed in St Petersburg’s State Russian Museum. The Russian Museum Garden (exhibited by the Friends of the State Russian Museum and designed by The Twig Group) aim to capture in cameo some of the museum’s 400,000 exhibits. Visitors will enter the garden through a giant picture frame, with a sparkling chandelier overhead, and into a microcosm of the imperial city, bordered by a moat and featuring bridges and islands with trees, container plants and topiary cupolas to mimic the St Petersburg skyline.

Finally, the alpine landscapes of Switzerland are the focus in the Swiss Alpine Garden, designed by award-winning landscape designer Sadie May Stowell and sponsored by Switzerland Tourism.

A traditional Swiss chalet will feature, along with the characteristic rocky features, alpine meadows and abundance of water that Switzerland has to offer. The planting will be designed to capture the beauty of the Swiss landscape and encompass the theme of well-being through the incorporation of some plants that may occur in herbal/natural remedies.

The first ever ‘World of Gardens’ feature at RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2012 can be seen from Tuesday 4 – Saturday 8 July 2012. The RHS Hampton Court Flower Show 2012 is sponsored by Ecover.