Press releases

Romance is in the air at the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park

As summer approaches garden designers at the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park (19-23 July) are set to make pinks and reds this season’s hottest gardening colours.

Featuring light shades associated with femininity and sweetness, and dark pink crimson tones, evoking feelings of passion and excitement, there will certainly be a romantic atmosphere at the show this year.

A traditional soft shade has inspired Penny Meadmore, a garden TV presenter and newcomer to this year’s show. She has designed an unashamedly girly garden, appropriately named ‘Pink’.

The garden will feature textural pink planting and walls of wood and glass enclosing a peach shaped deck surrounded by a pool of circular water. The soft edges and tactile planting of pale blooms and heather grasses will give the garden a feminine edge and create the impression of a retreat, which would be ideally suited to an indulgent health spa.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, bright shades of crimson provide the setting for a passionate summer evening in the ‘Crimson Crush’ garden. A former RHS Bronze Medal winner in 2005, this year designer Philippa Probert is one to watch at the show.

In this back to back garden the whole area will be flooded to create a shallow pool and raised planters will be filled with black and crimson-coloured flowers with the foliage and powerful flower heads helping to enhance the space’s passionate mood.

A steel framework will emerge from the water, which will support an access walkway through a living screen of water plants and open up onto a secluded dining area. Key plants will include Dahlia ‘Summer Night’ and Achillea ‘Summerwine’.

A range of bright, girlie shades will also be on display in the show’s stunning floral marquee. Poppy Heads Ltd will be launching a yet to be named dwarf Eucomis, which features bronze red foliage and rose pink flowers, while Philip Tivey & Son’s new Alstroemeria will incorporate various shades of pinks, creams and reds.

Kris Hulewicz, RHS show manager for Tatton, says “These feminine shades feature strongly in a number of gardens this year, and generally throughout the show. With all the different tones and varieties on offer these are versatile summer colours that can really brighten up the garden.”

In its eighth year, the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park is renowned for its avant-garde designs and fresh, young talent. 2006 will see the usual high standard of both traditional and contemporary gardens displayed.

Notes to Editors

For further information and/or images, please contact Erin or Catherine at Fido PR on 0161 274 3311 or e-mail erin@trustfido.co.uk / catherine@trustfido.co.uk, to arrange.

RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park
Wednesday 19 - Sunday 23 July 2006

19 July reserved for RHS members

Ticket booking: 0870 906 3811 (public) or 0870 906 3810 (RHS members) or visit www.rhs.org.uk/flowershows

Opening hours:
Wednesday 19 - Saturday 22 July: 10am - 7pm
Sunday 23 July: 10am - 5pm (sell off starts at 4pm)

• The RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park around 20 Show gardens and more than 30 back to back gardens in 2006. This year the show takes on a new grid system to allow even more room for gardens
• The RHS National Flower Bed Competition culminates at the show and features 23 local authorities and colleges showcasing the best in amenity planting
• More than 600 exhibitors feature at the show in a number of exciting areas, including a double Floral Marquee, the Floral Art Design Studio, the National Plant Societies Marquee and the Art and Garden Design Pavilion
• Enjoy VIP treatment with friends or clients at the show by booking into the restaurant or even a private area while you soak up the atmosphere of the show. Prices start at £149. To book call 0870 421 4868
• Treat yourself or a loved one to a Ticket and Picnic Gift Box: priced from £95, each gift box includes a pair of tickets for the flower show and a luxury food and drink hamper to enjoy while at the event. To book call 0870 247 1211.

Don’t forget you can now find out more about the show and buy your tickets for the RHS Tatton Flower Show online at www.rhs.org.uk/flowershows

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