Marking the 60th anniversary of RHS Britain in Bloom, the UK’s biggest community gardening competition, the Gardening for People and Planet, designed by father and son duo, Jon and James Wheatley, celebrates the journey of Bloom and the positive wellbeing and environmental benefits of gardening in communities. Inspired by The Friendship Garden, which will commemorate the anniversary at RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May, the garden at RHS Hampton will be packed with native and British grown plants alongside beehives to increase biodiversity.
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Disney’s The Lion King in the West End, Juliet Sargeant is drawing inspiration from the award-winning production’s bright colours and the African savannah for The Lion King Anniversary Garden with dusty red soil planted with swathes of resilient grasses and vibrant, drought tolerant flowers.
Also drawing inspiration from hotter climates, The Climate-Forward Garden by Melanie Hick in the popular Get Started Garden category looks to the Australian bush to reimagine a UK front garden into a stylish yet climate conscious green space complete with typically Australian gum and crepe myrtle trees. Looking to the Mediterranean, The Mediterraneo Garden designed by Katerina Kantalis draws on the gardening traditions of Greece with drought tolerant plants nestled in and amongst terracotta pots, whilst Nilufer Danis’ The Way of Saint James seeks to capture the mystical essence of Galicia’s forests as well as support biodiversity through creating habitat for insects and wildlife.
Oliver Bond takes inspiration from closer to home for Bond Landscape Design: Match Point, a garden featuring a tennis court and green, purple and white planting with nectar rich plants to support biodiversity. Tim Jennings and Giada Francois also promote biodiversity in their designs. Jennings’ A Four Season Sanctuary features a pond to demonstrate the value they provide to wildlife and Francois’ The Garden of Renewal is packed with naturalistic planting.
Natalie Gearing, manager of RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival, said: “There is such a variety of ideas at this year’s festival, from bringing gardening traditions of other countries to the classically British setting of Hampton Court Palace, to celebrating anniversaries of beloved institutions through garden design. There will be inspiration to suit all styles, abilities, and garden size.”
Alongside the gardens, visitors to the festival can also browse and buy plants from expert growers in the Floral Marquee and Festival of Roses, immerse themselves in a mass planting installation of the Asteraceae family and Freddie Strickland’s RHS Adventure Within Garden, a Feature Garden designed to reconnect visitors with a sense of childhood playfulness. Experts are on hand with advice at the How To and Get Growing Festival Stages and The RHS Allotment also returns with plots built by local community groups as well as the Pocket Planting category with a new theme of ‘resilient’.
RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival runs from 2-7 July 2024 and tickets are available online at rhs.org.uk/Hampton
