Get Stuck in to Summer With Glorious Gardens, Beloved Bugs and Floral Fun at RHS Flower Show Tatton Park

The iconic Back to Back Gardens will wow the crowds, each unique and quirky in their design and full of take home inspiration ideal for back gardens or small green spaces. Just some of the 6m x 4m plots to look out for include ‘The Perfumer’s Garden’ by Cheshire-based Charlie Adams which highlights how urban spaces can be transformed by fragrant planting, and Matt Johnson’s antidote to the modern world, utilising every inch of space to show just what’s possible in limited outdoor areas.
 
Design duo Jane Bingham and Penny Hearn return with their ‘Let’s go Fly a Kite’ garden in celebration of 25 years of the Children Today Charitable Trust, and the emotive design by Greater Manchester’s Andrew Walker illustrates the work of ’Start in Salford’ a creative therapy charity providing various pursuits and activities in aid of mental health.

On a different scale entirely, a feature garden will offer exciting insight into the latest RHS Garden in Bridgewater, taking inspiration from the 154 acre site which is due to open in Salford in 2020. Designed by Leon Davis and Peter Gregory of local company Flint Landscapes, the walkthrough garden at RHS Tatton Park will focus on natural play and encourage the senses, with elements living on to be reused at RHS Bridgewater itself.

A long established champion of youth in horticulture, new talent and design remains at the heart of the show with the RHS Young Designer Competition encouraging budding designers from all over the country to create their own garden and bring their designs to life. This year four finalists will be mentored by award-winning designers Mark Gregory and Catherine MacDonald from Landform Consultants.

Creepy crawlies take over the huge Dome structure this year as The Bug Hub explores how some of our insect friends and foes interact in our own gardens and what we can do to live in harmony with these vital creatures. Take an intricate look under the microscope at slugs and bugs, or take part in The Slug Club to help us spot and track the yellow cellar slug, sights of which have declined drastically over the past 30 years.  

And if that wasn’t enough bug fun for you, this year also marks 50 years of the iconic children’s book The Very Hungry Caterpillar which will be celebrated at the show with giant fruit and caterpillar structures, 24 bug-inspired School Garden designs and a host of special children’s activities in the Green Fields family area. The Very Hungry Caterpillar will also star in a very special Back to Back garden created by Tatton Park.

Other highlights include a Dahlia experience like never before with a field of over 5000 blooms featuring five different varieties, and the chance to get to grips with home turf at Mow Town with live demos and advice on achieving the lawn of your dreams. Visitors are also invited to the new ‘Dig In’ area featuring a cookery and gardening theatre, demos galore in the Propagation Station, Edible Allotments, Vintage Tractors and a variety of herbs and edible plant displays to satisfy any grow your own guru.

Overflowing with flowers and foliage the Floral Marquee and Plant Hub - home to Plant Societies and Plant Heritage – will entice visitors to indulge in their favourite florals or discover a new bud with displays from some of the country’s best nurseries, including 2019’s Master Growers Chrysanthemum Direct. The Plant Hub will also feature the new ‘The Plantsman Magazine Potting Bench & Book Corner’.

A record number of over 200 talks and workshops will take place across eight different locations on site, with advice on everything from beer brewing to the secret language of plants and bees. Mr Plant Geek will be chatting all things bugs in a dedicated theatre, while Mark Diacono gets taste buds primed in the Dig In Live Theatre supported by the Campaign for Smarter Britain.  

Offering all of this and more, alongside hundreds of shopping stalls, live music and delicious artisanal food and drink, RHS Flower Show Tatton Park really is the perfect way to spend a hot summer’s day.

RHS Flower Show Tatton Park will run from 17 – 21 July.  Tickets can be purchased at www.rhs.org.uk/tatton   Notes to editorsPress accreditation is now open. To apply for a pass and for more information on the show, please visit: https://www.rhs.org.uk/press
 
About RHS Flower Show Tatton Park (17 – 21 July 2019):
17 July              RHS members only 10am – 6.30pm (inc. Press Morning from 7am)
18 – 20 July      RHS members and non-members 10am – 6:30pm
21 July              10am – 5pm (sell off starts at 4pm)
 
Venue: Tatton Park, Mereheath Lane, Knutsford, Cheshire
 
To book tickets 0844 995 9664 / www.rhs.org.uk/tatton   
* Calls cost 7p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge.
 
About the RHS
The Royal Horticultural Society, the world’s leading gardening charity, was founded in 1804 by Sir Joseph Banks and John Wedgwood. Our vision is to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place. This aspiration underpins all that we do, from inspirational gardens and shows, through our scientific research, to our education and community programmes such as Campaign for School Gardening and Britain in Bloom. We produce key publications, hold a world-class collection of horticultural books and botanical art, and sell the very best plants and gardening gifts.

The RHS is fundraising £40m to transform our gardens, outreach and education facilities, which includes redeveloping our flagship RHS Garden Wisley and opening a new garden, RHS Garden Bridgewater, in 2020. We are solely funded by our members, visitors and supporters. For more information visit www.rhs.org.uk.
RHS Registered Charity No. 222879/SC038262