RHS Show Tatton Park 20 to 24 July 2011

, Knutsford, Cheshire
Tickets: 0844 581 0810 or www.rhs.org.uk/tatton
RHS show information: 020 7649 1885 or www.rhs.org.uk/tatton
Ticket prices range from £19.50 to £28 and are on sale now. Children under 16 go free.

Show gardens in full bloom at Tatton

At the height of summer, when gardens across the country are in full bloom, there will be no better place to admire the beauty of the horticultural world in all its glory than at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park. This year the jewel in the gardening crown of North England has attracted designers from across the country and, as with all RHS Shows, the Show Garden category is set to be spectacular. With beautiful gardens that will transport visitors around the world, from the Mediterranean to Japan, and others addressing serious issues such as knife crime and climate change, the diverse nature of the Show Gardens at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park will have something for everyone. Head Gardener of Tatton Park, Sam Youd, has created a new design based on the Japanese Garden at Tatton to celebrate its centenary year.

In addition, the RHS is pleased to announce the inaugural President’s Preview Dinner on Tuesday 19th July. Hosted by RHS President Elizabeth Banks, guests will be treated to a private preview of the Floral Marquee and Garden exhibits before going to the Fortnum & Mason on-site restaurant for a special dinner.

The Show Gardens are:

Paradise Isle – 100 Years On designed by Sam Youd of Tatton Park
Designed by Sam Youd, Head Gardener at Tatton Park, Paradise Isle – 100 Years On has been designed to celebrate 100 years since the completion of the Japanese Garden at the park. This Show Garden is based on the one designed for the Egerton family at Tatton Park after their visit to the Anglo-Japanese exhibition in London in 1910. Created in the style of a Tea Garden, lanterns are used to illuminate focal points such as the ‘flying goose bridge’; one of many elements in the garden designed to cleanse the mind and promote a feeling of being at one with nature. Sam and his team have selected plants similar to those used when Japanese gardens were the height of fashion in England. The design demonstrates the Japanese style of clipping and trimming still carried out in Japan today.

As Head Gardener at the Tatton Park Estate for over 30 years, Sam Youd was instrumental in bringing the RHS Flower Show to Tatton Park 12 years ago and has exhibited at the show ever since. This garden is not only significant as celebrating 100 years of the Japanese Garden at Tatton Park, but also because Sam will be retiring next year, undoubtedly leaving very large, muddy shoes to fill.

Save a Life, Drop the Knife design led by Glen Jackson, HM Prison Everthorpe
Project coordinator Glen Jackson of HM Prison Everthorpe worked with a group of prisoners; both perpetrators and victims of knife related crimes, to design and create a garden to raise awareness on current issues relating to knife crime. The garden represents the journey of knife crime from the physical act through to imprisonment, rehabilitation and then eventually making the right decisions and enjoying the benefits of ‘Dropping the Knife’. The garden features a run down, urbanised area depicted by plants with thorns, spikes and leaf margins with serrated edges to represent the physical act of violence. This area then graduates into the area of imprisonment and rehabilitation signified by barbed wire and mesh fencing. It also includes polished granite to represent reflection and a bridge extending over half the length of a pool to signify the guidance offered from various agencies. The end of the journey is depicted by stepping stones out of the pool and a harmonious garden with soft textured planting and vibrant colour combinations, showing that the journey is complete.

The garden has positively supported 42 inmates, including twelve under 25 years of age and four who were imprisoned due to knife related crimes. All of the original project team have been released into society or moved on to an open prison. The project allows participants to learn and develop skills they can then use once released.

When the Waters Rise designed for Oxfam by Dori Miller
When the Waters Rise has been created to highlight Oxfam’s Grow campaign for better ways to grow, share and live together. Showcasing methods that people are using across the world to adapt to climate change, particularly flooding, the garden incorporates an elevated building on stilts and edible crops grown on rafts. Also featured in the garden is a sculpture of a woman tending plants with a baby on her back, underlining the prime importance of women in subsistence farming who bear the brunt of the effects of climate change.

Dori Miller is an amateur gardener who designed and coordinated her first garden at RHS Flower Show Tatton Park in 2010. She attributes her passion for gardening to her parents; her father who was a market gardener and nurseryman, and her mother who could not visit a garden without taking a cutting.

The Shine Garden for Cancer Research UK designed by Mary Hoult
Mary Hoult’s 2011 Show Garden is designed to support Cancer Research UK by celebrating Shine Manchester, a sponsored half-marathon night-walk through the city. Visitors can enjoy a horticultural recreation of Manchester by night with contrasts of light and dark featuring throughout. Glass, Perspex and metal details contribute to the contemporary feel as a black pathway winds between black brick walls and leads to a shining triangular pool based on the Cancer Research UK arrow logo.

Mary Hoult is a music teacher with a strong interest in horticulture and art. She is also a passionate long-term supporter of Cancer Research UK. Her interest in horticulture was sparked by organising local open garden events for the charity, which led to a related small garden at RHS Flower Show Tatton Park in 2001. This in turn, with the help of generous sponsorship from Aedas, led to a winning music-based Show Garden in 2003. Since then Mary has studied horticulture and garden design at Reaseheath College in Cheshire.

The Secret Garden designed by Carol Adams and the students of Reaseheath College
2011 is the centenary year of the publication of The Secret Garden, the famous children’s novel by local author, Frances Hodgson Burnett, who was born in Cheetham Hill and grew up in Salford. This local link and the anniversary are being celebrated by the students at Reaseheath College with a nostalgic interpretation of the book. The garden wall and gateway surround the Secret Garden, as in the novel, and the formal manicured border outside contrasts with the informality and non-complying style of the children inside the garden. Also, like the book, pretty wildflowers and weeds reflective of the period have been chosen, and an apple tree forms the focal point of the garden.

Reaseheath College has exhibited numerous times at RHS Flower Show Tatton Park and have been the recipients of three Gold Medals and numerous Silver Gilt Medals in that time. The design is led by Carol Adams but the students have all collaborated, and will all be involved in the planting and actual creation of the garden at Tatton.

Inside Out designed by John Everiss, Bezza Nursery Ltd
It is said that the kitchen is the heart of the home, but in his Inside Out garden John Everiss demonstrates that it can be the heart of the garden too. Inside Out will show visitors that a contemporary garden can be not only a beautiful and relaxing outdoor space, but also a practical and luxurious cooking space. Taking outdoor living to the next level with the inclusion of cooking hobs and a refrigerator, John is always looking for practical uses in his garden designs. This thought is also reflected in his choice of plants, with herbs planted within the shrub borders serving as both functional and decorative. John uses a colour scheme made up of soft silver, yellow and purple flowers to add to the relaxing, homely feel of the garden.

John Everiss is an experienced RHS exhibitor and was a Gold Medal winner at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park 2010. He has a background in agricuture, which he studied at college in Lancashire before developing an interest in horticulture. After leaving college he started his own landscaping business and nursery, and now designs and builds gardens across the North West.

Grasses with Grace designed by Sue Beesley
Grasses with Grace is a celebration of the finest ornamental grasses. Highlighting their beauty and quality as a central part of the planting scheme, Grasses with Grace features herbaceous perennials in a large, oval border and a shadier border under trees either side. The garden’s name refers both to the grace of the grasses and also to the sculpture placed in the centre of the garden, which has been made and loaned by Juliet Scott, named ‘Grace’. The garden is also intended to provide both food and a rich area of habitat to native birds.

Former winner of the BBC Gardener of the Year competition, Sue Beesley has exhibited at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park in the back-to-back category for the last four years, Grasses with Grace is her first Show Garden. With 20 years experience as an amatuer gardener and a previous career in IT, Sue now owns her own nursery, Bluebell Cottage Gardens & Lodge Lane Nursery, based in Cheshire.

Perspective designed by Carolyn Hardern
As with her fellow designers, Carolyn Hardern is passionate about her art form and has created a design which “comes from the soul”. Made up of wood and wildflowers and inspired by many of England’s beautiful forests, this garden highlights the natural beauty around us. Carolyn has created her own wildflower meadow within her garden taking inspiration from the work of Dame Miriam Rothschild who relentlessly campaigned for the planting of wildflowers alongside motorways, using nature to make these areas more beautiful and friendly to wildlife.

Coming from a family of gardeners, and with early memories of watching Gardeners’ World, it is no surprise that after a long established career in finance, Carolyn seized the opportunity to follow her lifelong passion for plants and gardening. Having launched her career as a qualified garden designer at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park in 2004, Carolyn has gone on to design and manage projects across Cheshire. She has developed a relationship with mental health charity Making Space and, as with her 2010 garden, Carolyn will be joined by volunteers from the charity to help make her design a reality at this year’s show.

The Schedule designed by Gary Hillery, Ken Walton and students of Finchale Training College Durham
The Schedule is a celebration of North East heritage focusing on the tradition of leek shows which were very popular throughout towns and villages in the region during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The biggest and best leeks were the main attractions at these shows, and the Finchale team hope that this will also be true of their garden with its selection of giant vegetables to wow visitors. Additional planting will add to the beauty of the garden, with herbaceous borders made up of bright, colourful flowers similar to those that would have featured in the ‘vase of flowers’ class, another element of the local show.

Producing a Show Garden at RHS Flower Show Tatton Park will enable the students at Finchale Training College to develop their skills and self-confidence. The Finchale Training College students working on the team are predominantly service veterans experiencing hardship, disability and emotional or mental health issues. Producing a Show Garden at Tatton will help the students to develop their skills and self-confidence. Finchale Training College is a registered charity and specialist vocational college offering training and support for unemployed adults with a range of physical, mental and medical health issues, and special needs. Gary Hillery and Ken Walton lead the project and the design process. Gary has been gardening all his life and teaching horticulture for the past 19 years. Ken came to Finchale Training College as a student with a passion for horticulture and has since gone on to become the college’s Horticulture Supervisor.

On Moonlight Bay designed by Claire Skidmore and Clare Edwards of Muddy Boots Garden Design
Visitors to the On Moonlight Bay garden will find themselves transported to an ornamental garden in a Mediterranean sun spot. Making use of hot colours and striking foliage shapes, the garden creates a truly Mediterranean feel and encourages visitors to centre themselves and re-energise. The space is planted around a central open structure supported by simple stone columns, acting as the main focal point when viewing the garden from a distance. The backdrop to the garden feature is a tantalising view of one of the most beautiful Italianate coastlines.

Established in 2000, Muddy Boots’ garden designs range from the traditional to the contemporary, with hard landscaping materials complimenting high-quality and imaginative planting schemes. Based in Southport, Merseyside, the team work both locally and in the neighbouring counties of Lancashire and Cheshire. Recipients of a Silver Medal for their Show Garden at RHS Flower Show Tatton Park in 2010, this year, designers Claire Skidmore and Clare Edwards will be dedicating their garden to the North West Air Ambulance Charity.

Chocolate Orange designed by Philippa Probert of Outer Spaces Landscape Design
Designer Phillippa Probert uses her Chocolate Orange design to demonstrate a traditional Ha-Ha in a more contemporary setting. This design allows the visitor to experience an entirely different view of the garden dependent on where they stand. Philippa identifies planting as the most crucial element of a garden and uses it to create both a strong visual impact and to impress visitors. To complete her Show Garden design, she has selected unusual colourings; deep brown tones contrasting against the fiery orange shades, with pink and cream highlights. Philippa selected this colour scheme to reflect the powerful, rich and seductive nature of the garden.

Outer Spaces was founded by Phillippa Probert, an up and coming garden designer from the Wirral, who trained in Edinburgh and Wales, before setting up the business. Outer Spaces Landscape Design are regular exhibitors at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park and Chocolate Orange will be their ninth Show Garden.

Serenity designed by Russell and Nikki Watkinson of Russell Watkinson Landscapes
As its title suggests, husband and wife duo Russell and Nikki have designed a traditional, informal garden space, perfect for calm relaxation. In creating the garden, the pair are extremely conscious of using reclaimed materials sourced from reclamation yards in Lancashire and Cheshire wherever possible. The garden incorporates a combination of Indian stone for colour, reclaimed cobbles for a traditional feel and reclaimed Cheshire brick to emphasise the local element.

Russell Watkinson Landscapes has exhibited at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park since 2003 and have been the recipients of Bronze awards each year plus an additional Silver Gilt award.

The Water Garden designed by Harry and Astrid Levy of Aughton Green Landscapes
The Water Garden has been created for a middle-aged couple in the South-West of England looking to create atmosphere and visual stimulation in a previously unused area of a large garden. Water provides the ideal solution as its movement is visually stimulating, and the sound of moving water draws you to an area of the garden that was previously bland. The use of both a patio and a gazebo offers different options for seating, allowing the garden to be utilized for an extended period each year.

Aughton Green Landscapes has exhibited at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park since 2002 and have been the recipients of Bronze awards each year, excluding the year in which they received a Silver award.

Waterfront designed by Stephen Dennis, Stephen Dennis Designs
When visiting the area of County Mayo on the West Coast of Ireland, Dublin based designer Stephen Dennis was intrigued to notice wild flowers which are normally found in Africa growing amongst the native Irish plants. Research led Stephen to discover that these plants had been brought to the area by botanists hundreds of years ago and were now living wild having adapted to the climate and environment. Inspired, Stephen has recreated this beautiful area of the Irish coastline with his choice of plants and wild flowers, and a pool of water in his Waterfront garden. The garden is intended for a retired Irish couple living in the UK to enjoy as a private space, blocking out views of their house, which reminds them of Ireland.

Stephen Dennis was the recipient of Bronze awards at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park 2009 and 2010. He also received a Bronze award in 2010 for his garden at the Malvern Autumn Show.

Happy Rabbit Valley for NSPCC designed by Walker Landscape Design
Happy Rabbit Valley is a ‘fantasy’ garden designed to appeal to children and adults alike. The garden features rabbits, and their brightly coloured ‘rabbit houses’ amidst a setting of vegetable patches and ponds. Colourful herbaceous planting and large blooms such as dahlias and sunflowers have been selected for their bold and happy appearances. In addition, the garden features a number of evergreen shrubs for winter interest and added height. Designer Andy Walker has ensured the carbon footprint of the garden is kept low by using very little hard landscaping and no concrete or mortar. The plants have all been sourced locally and will be sold off at the end of the show or reused in alter permanent projects.

Andy Walker has worked in horticulture for nearly 20 years. His career started in garden centres where he developed his design and plant knowledge, spending eight years as a plant manager. In 2003 he created Walker Landscape Design, a Bolton based company creating gardens for clients throughout the North West. Andy has exhibited at RHS Flower Show Tatton Park for the past ten years and in that time has been awarded one Gold Medal, four Silver Medals and four Bronze Medals.