Pondering, and a Vegetable Voyeur...

Last week we went to our second RHS Flower Show of the summer. After scorching hot weather all week Wednesday was overcast. The Met. Office were promising (threatening?) torrential rain and thunderstorms. Luckily all we had was a couple of heavy showers.

The Hampton Court show is literally a breath of fresh air in comparison to Chelsea. The show takes place on a huge site next to the Thames, and the extra space means that the entire experience is more enjoyable. You can enter a lot of the show gardens, whilst at Chelsea you are always on the outside looking in.

One of the other bonuses of the larger site is that H.C. can include water gardens. We spent a good while investigating what was on offer, and checking out planting possibilities for our pond-to-be. There was plenty of inspiration…




Try getting that into Chelsea Flower Show!

Another plus point for Hampton Court is that a lot of exhibitors bring along plants to sell there and then. (Chelsea only ever sells ex-display plants, and then only on the last day). My good lady Phantomette and I returned with a scented rose, a second, rambling, one, an orchid for our bedroom and a young Acer, a slow-growing Japanese tree.

I managed to resist buying any more seeds. I never got round to planting the last lot I bought, and I have some Acer seeds from 2003 which I really must pop into some soil. There were some chillies that caught my eye, but I will save my pennies for now. As usual, Medwyn's, the Welsh show vegetable display, was enough to make your average allotment holder weep at the sight....




I like a leek as much as anyone, but even I draw the line at videoing vegetables…