RHS Hampton 2016: my pick of the Summer Gardens – Part One

The Summer Gardens at RHS Hampton Court are always some of the most inspiring, I think because they’re smaller gardens.  This year was no exception and I think these were my favourite gardens of the show.

The first shown here is The Bowel Disease UK ‘Garden for Crohn’s Disease’ designed by Andrew Fisher Tomlin and Dan Bowyer which won a Gold medal and Best In Show.

This really stood out because the planting was so different from all the other gardens at the show.  The garden was designed to tell the story of how vital and vibrant a young person’s life can be despite having to live with Crohn’s disease.

Located in warm city microclimate it also shows that it’s possible to plant hardy exotic plants alongside more familiar garden plants.

The second garden I want to feature is The Lavender Garden – quite different to the planting in the garden above.

I loved the simplicity of the garden which was designed by Paula Napper, Sara Warren and Donna King. Sponsored by Shropshire Lavender, this garden was inspired by the scent, colour and romance of the lavenders grown at a dairy farm on the rolling hills of the South Downs National Park.

I loved the timber structure and the sunken seating area – old rustic wood oozing with charm.

(Images: Lisa Cox)