Exhibitors
SHOW GARDENS | WATER GARDENS | SMALL GARDENS | CONCEPTUAL GARDENS
INSPIRING SPACES | WINDOWBOXES & HANGING BASKETS
PLANTS | GROWING & SHOWING MARQUEE | MARKET PLACE |
Show gardens
Hangzhou Blue-Sky Landscape Group
High Mountain & Flowing Stream
Designer: Lu Zhen-feng
Contractor: Hangzhou Blue-Sky Landscape Group
Click here to view a panorama of this garden.
BlueSky Landscapes from China return to the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show after its debut at the show last year. The magnificent Chinese pergoda, which was a part of their 2005 show garden, is now housed at RHS Garden Wisley after being given to the RHS as a thank you gift for their experience at the show. This year’s garden tells the legend of the High Mountain and Flowing Stream, a story from classical Chinese literature about true friendship. The story takes place in spring and autumn sometime between 770 and 476BC. Yu Bo-ya was an excellent guqin player, but no-one could make sense of his music except Zhong Zi-qi, a woodcutter. When he played the tune High Mountain & Flowing Stream Zi-qi understood Bo-ya’s thoughts. But Zi-qi passed away and Bo-ya was so saddened that he broke his guqin and swore that he would never play again.
The garden is full of classical Chinese garden features such as brick carving, a shallow pool, and the rockery and flowing stream of the garden’s legend. The plant list also includes other plants full of meaning in Chinese culture - bamboo, stone pine and plum blossom, the three friends in cold winter and symbolising lasting friendship. The tune High Mountain & Flowing Stream is playing softly in the background.