The Royal Horticultural Society is returning to the parklands of Cardiff Castle with a show that is ready to dazzle the Welsh capital with charming show gardens, beautiful displays of spring flowers and a host of fun activities for gardeners of all ages to enjoy.
History of the show
The RHS Spring Flower Show, Cardiff is in its fourth magnificent year.
The show was first held in 2005 and formed part of Cardiff’s celebratory centenary year as a city, as well as its 50th anniversary as the capital of Wales.
The show was officially opened by HRH The Princess Royal.
Prior to its return to the capital in 2005, the RHS last held a flower show in Cardiff in 1920.
Cardiff County Council
A Garden in Time
Designer: Cardiff County Council
Gardens really do span the dimensions of time and space, and this garden highlights the way gardening has evolved across the decades. A Garden in Time first touched down at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2007. This time it is beamed into the Cardiff show site in all its glory.
It’s a simple message that is clearly illustrated in two halves of one garden. Its time travel theme reflects the contrasting horticultural styles and approaches to garden design from two different centuries. The gap between the two halves is bridged by the iconic Doctor Who Tardis, within a void of time. Spiky plants such as Astelia nervosa and shard-like sculpture reflect the fractions of time between the gardens.
Planting schemes in the different halves also show how tastes and fashions have changed over the years. On one side there is a typical 1960s urban garden with simple straight paths and borders so common to this period. A formal vegetable patch with rows of traditional vegetables, encased within a rustling beech hedge reflects the importance of garden practicality in the decades after the war. Rows of scented stocks and a solitary standard rose stand to attention in the stilted formality of this era.
In total contrast the other half features modern ideas and styles from the present day, incorporating contemporary design ideas that are easy to create in today’s busy world.
Minimalist use of contrasting foliage and low maintenance plants creating year-round interest with the evergreen spiky leaves of Phormium ‘Sundowner’ and Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Overdam’ and a loose hedge of Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diabolo’ interspersed with Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’.
But the focal point of the whole garden is the iconic Police Call Box, situated centrally in the garden linking two distinct time zones with its inferred ability to span the ages. And if you’re not convinced, listen carefully and you’ll hear the Doctor’s theme tune as the Tardis spins on the spot with its flashing light.