New beginner gardener category at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival

A new garden category at the UK's largest flower festival aims to inspire some of the millions of beginner gardeners while also kickstarting budding designers' careers.

There are two entrants to the first ‘Get Started Gardens’ category at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival 2021 and they are packed full with contrasting ideas, appealing designs and colourful planting combinations that are perfect for those new to gardening, giving them the confidence to start or continue on their horticultural journey.

Jane Scott Moncrieff and Amanda Grimes are both making their debut at the festival in the category which is only open to designers who have not been to the show before.



Jane’s design, called Charlie’s Garden, above, has been put together with her daughter in mind and is imagined as a London courtyard.

Two “frothy and abundant” borders filled with long-flowering, low-maintenenance perennials encompass a central patio, ideal to unwind after a long day at work. A table and bench provide further focal points in this cottage-style garden with a palette of pinks, blues, purples and whites.


 

By contrast, Amanda’s Punk Rockery, below, is designed as an unconventional, almost ‘anti’ Show Garden which makes use of all the unwanted leftovers in a garden including concrete, broken bricks and poor soil.



Inspired by an experimental technique of growing into brick dust, it is about constructing a DIY garden from scratch to create low-maintenance, high-interest planting.



The designer hopes it conjures up a Mediterranean feel with dramatic colour combinations using drought tolerant plants that emphasise the importance of using less water in our gardens.

See all the gardens at RHS Hampton 2021.