Just a few words this time and the link to Flickr where the best of my photos from Saturday can be found, which is:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30634865@N03/sets/72157630716883358/
One of the things that always intrigues me with flower shows is the way certain colour schemes or plants seem to be everywhere - this year there were a lot of gold-red themed planting schemes and Achillia appears to be the perennial of the moment. I suspect both owed their prominence to what proved to be the misconceived idea that the gardens for this year should be planned to cope with drought conditions!
Catching up with my Reaseheath College colleagues and tutors, apparently it was a thoroughly soggy few weeks for the 'build' but everyone felt suitably proud of themselves at the end. 'Nature Squared', their fabulous show garden demonstrating that you can do eco-friendly and stylish in the same plot, missed out on the coveted RHS Gold Medal by a whisker, but all credit to them for their Silver Gilt.
It was a shame to see fewer 'back-to-backs' this year, the small show gardens that are often a good way for new designers to establish themselves, but perhaps that's a sign of the times?
