Show feature highlights

Have a go at presenting the weather, learn how to weave willow and more about allotment growing.

Have a go at presenting the weather, learn how to weave willow, find out more about growing on an allotment, and discover how the agriculture industry has changed over the past 60 years. There’s more than just gardens on offer at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park.

Here’s a roundup of the Show Features that are aiming to inspire, educate and entertain visitors to the show from July 18-22 2012.

Twigtwisters’ Willow Sculpture Farmyard, which is a 2012 RHS People's Choice winner, is a farmyard with a difference – take a walk through, help to milk the cow and pat the massive Shire horse. This farmyard sculpture has been created by local willow sculptor Sarah Gallagher-Hayes, and short willow workshops for all ages will take place throughout the day, courtesy of Twigtwisters.

Maybe you want instant privacy in your garden? Perhaps you’ve moved into a brand new house with no garden features at all, or want to create some privacy from next door, or to mask an ugly feature. I want Trees, with designer Richard Rowlands has some ideas for you in the Instant Privacy for the Impatient Gardener feature. If you can’t wait for a hedge to grow, take some inspiration from large holly trees clipped into dome shapes and magnificent plane trees on rooftops. Staff from I Want Trees will be on hand to chat to you about your own dream garden ideas.

If you fancy having a go at growing your own, the Association of Manchester Allotment Societies (AMAS) will be showing how fulfilling it can be to grow veg, fruit, flowers and flowers – whatever your age in the Wonderful World of Growing. The display will include fruit and veg, herbs for flavouring food and flowers to add colour and encourage wildlife, including bees and butterflies.

From veg to vaulting - as excitement grows as the Olympics draws nearer, E Smith & Son have taken inspiration from the Games and used the Olympic sport of pole vaulting as inspiration for their show feature. The feature has been designed to demonstrate that the relationship between strength, elegance and beauty that is apparent in sport can also be achieved in gardening, through a recreation of a pole vaulting athlete in plants. Vaulting Ambition is designed to inspire every gardener to aim high and go for gold!

If you have a smaller garden (and even if you haven’t) you may well enjoy planting containers – and if you’ve run out of ideas, Four Oaks Direct has come up with some imaginative ways to plant up containers of all sizes and shapes in the Potted Garden.

FourOaks Direct is also aiming to bring a touch of the mystical East to Cheshire. The planting and features of Indian Tranquillity are designed to give a glimpse of the rich and varied landscapes this beautiful country has to offer, from lush mountainous forest in the Himalayas to the desert regions.

The BBC Local Radio gazebo is the base for all the reports from the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park for the BBC’s 40 local radio stations. And if you fancy trying your hand at broadcasting, there’s a chance to present the weather, just like BBC North West Tonight’s Eno Eruotor. With an autocue and special effects, you can experience what it is like to be on TV reading the weather from the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park. Pop in and say hello to the BBC team of Davina, Ellie, Gary and Richard.

The Magical Willow feature will see Simone Siegan and Steve Fuller, who work from their Lake District workshop, demonstrating how to make simple plant supports for sweet peas and climbing beans, and displaying birds and animals woven from dried willow rods. The feature highlights various aspects of willow weaving, from traditional basket-making to contemporary willow sculpture for the garden and shows how useful and adaptable it can be to create shelters and arbours that are also living sculptures. Basket-making demonstrations will take place throughout the day.

To celebrate the Diamond Jubilee, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) www.farmingdelivers.co.uk is showing how the face of British horticulture has changed over the past 60 years. From Carrots to Carats: Celebrating 60 Years of British Horticulture uses images etched onto Perspex sheets representing the glass in different greenhouse structures, and planting materials and styles ranging from the 1950s through to the present day, to show visitors both young and old that the growing of British plants, flowers and produce has progressed over the years.

Finally, take time out to enjoy the Dry Stone Walling Demonstration presented by the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain. The Association, founded in 1968, is a thriving charitable organisation that seeks to raise awareness and promote understanding of this traditional craft, which stretches back at least 3,500 years in Britain. Members of the Association’s Cheshire Branch will demonstrate how a traditional dry stone wall is constructed, using level-bedded Cheshire sandstone. Members will be on hand throughout the show to answer your queries and offer advice.