Press releases

Take a peep at the next RHS summer show

With the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Chelsea Flower Show over for another year, take a peep at some tantalising features on offer at the next RHS flower show. Those who love gardening go to the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show (4-9 July 2006), and this year’s show is shaping up to be full of love!

Visitors will get be able to get an eyeful of Wayne Richards’ garden ‘The Danger of Need’, one of five gardens in the new Conceptual Gardens category which is showcasing innovative and challenging design from new designers. Visitors will be invited to spy on ‘Adam’ and ‘Eve’, played by two actors, inside the lushly-planted garden which is surrounded by a wall of peep holes and television screens transmitting the scene from inside. Groundforce presenter Tommy Walsh has designed a small garden with a bold theme for Bayer Healthcare ‘Senses StimulatED’. The garden will embody the focus of the campaign ‘SortED in 10’ which aims to challenge the taboos of impotency, or erectile dysfunction (ED). The garden will be stylish and plants known for their aphrodisiac qualities whilst providing a haven for couples to rekindle romance.

Trevor Tooth has taken the theme of love and relationships one step further with a show garden, ‘Love, Life & Regeneration’, inspired by his one-year old son. The garden illustrates the personal journey Trevor has taken on becoming a father. Those who prefer a little subtlety with their romance will like Fran Forster’s design, ‘The Perfumed Garden’. The garden is in honour of Jean Patou, the famous Parisian couturier and creator of Jean Patou fragrances including ‘Joy’ a scent made from rose and jasmine.

Die-hard romantics will be seduced by the heady aroma of Britain’s largest annual gathering of roses in full bloom inside the Festival of Roses marquee. This year, visitors can see around a dozen new roses alongside favourites from the UK’s best rose growers, and be some of the first to see the Rose of the Year 2007.

Visitors to this year’s Hampton Court Palace Flower Show can also enjoy around 18 major show gardens, five new ‘Conceptual Gardens’, around 20 small gardens, and almost half a dozen water gardens, a category unique to the show.  The UK’s best nurseries and plant specialists will be displaying and selling plants, including many new varieties, in the eight large marquees.

For tickets to the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, call the ticket hotline on 0870 906 3791 (public line) or 0870 906 3790 (RHS members). Tickets range from £12.50 to £29 with children aged 5-15 years £5 and under-5’s going free.  For further show information and online booking visit www.rhs.org.uk/flowershows.

Notes to Editors

For more information, details of other gardens selected for the show or images contact Kerry Law in the RHS Press Office on 020 7821 3044 or e-mail kerrylaw@rhs.org.uk

‘Must see’ at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2006

Conceptual Gardens
In this new garden category for 2006 five new garden designers will be creating innovative and challenging gardens with ‘wow’ factor in their first appearance at an RHS flower show.

Festival of Roses
This marquee holds Britain’s largest annual gathering of roses in full bloom from the UK’s best rose growers. Around a dozen new roses will be launched at the show and visitors can be some of the first to see the Rose of the Year 2007.

Inspiring Spaces
Another new feature for 2006, these plots offer creative container planting solutions to problem areas in the garden such as an awkward corner or small front garden.

Water Gardens
A unique feature of the show, these tranquil water gardens reflect the show’s location beside the River Thames. The water garden exhibitors will also be selling aquatic plants.

Daily Mail Pavilion
The English countryside encapsulated in a marquee! RHS Gold Medal winning designers such as Sarah Eberle, Tim Sharples and Rosie Hardy will be creating show gardens around the theme of a fisherman’s retreat. Swathes of scented lavender, from RHS Gold Medal winners Downderry Nursery, will greet visitors at the entrance.

www.rhs.org.uk/pressoffice

The RHS is the UK’s leading gardening charity dedicated to advancing horticulture and promoting good gardening. RHS work includes providing expert advice and information, advancing horticulture, training the next generation of gardeners, helping school children learn about plants, and conducting research into plants, pests and environmental issues affecting gardeners.

An interest in gardening is all you need to enjoy being a member of the RHS. For more information visit www.rhs.org.uk or call 0845 130 4646.

Founded in 1804, the Royal Horticultural Society is Britain's largest gardening charity and is committed to being the leading organisation demonstrating excellence in horticulture and promoting gardening. Renowned for its outstanding gardens and inspirational flower shows, the RHS is a key source of advice and information for all gardeners. It encourages gardening through its publications, trials, lectures, education programmes and scientific research and is home to the Lindley Library, which contains the most comprehensive collection of horticultural books in the world.

Membership of the Royal Horticultural Society offers many exclusive benefits including a monthly copy of The Garden magazine; free entrance to RHS Gardens Wisley in Surrey, Rosemoor in Devon, Hyde Hall in Essex and Harlow Carr in North Yorkshire; free access to a further 88 beautiful gardens across Britain and 20 gardens in Belgium and France; access to seeds collected at RHS gardens; free gardening advice and privileged tickets to 18 RHS flower shows, including the Chelsea Flower Show, the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park.

For further enquiries about membership of the RHS contact: Membership Department, Royal Horticultural Society, PO Box 313, London SW1P 2PE; 0845 130 4646 Monday - Friday 9.30am - 5pm or via the RHS website

For more information e-mail the Press Office or visit the online Press Office