RHS Hampton Court Flower Show

RHS Hampton Court Flower Show

This week we took a trip down to Surrey to visit the iconic RHS Hampton Court Flower show. If you are at a loose end this weekend then we can't recommend it enough. What a fabulous setting!

The palace itself and grounds are stunning and its possible to get tickets for both the show and to the palace. We stayed in Hampton court the night before but the show and palace is within 15 mins walking of the train station. You can also hop onto a ferry, cruise down the Thames and get off at the gate! London is only a 30 min journey on the train so its ideal for a little city break too.

On the Monday evening you could get tickets to picnic in the grounds and watch an epic firework display over the palace at dusk.

Have I sold it to you yet?

On Monday I had the pleasure of perusing the competition pieces in the Floral design studio. Monday is press and VIP day. The Future florist competition was the first up. College students had 6 hours to complete a piece on site the day before. The theme was Evolution and the piece was to sit on a pedestal.

There were 6 designs in total and the winner was Lauren Easter from Hadlow College.

There was also a competition open to all florists and arrangers. Their task was 'inspired by Spider webbs'. The piece was to be a large scale 'showstopper' design. They did not disappoint.

Live Competitions

Tuesday is for RHS members only. I got there at 10am when the show opened and it was beautifully quiet for the first 2 hours. Interflora were running their UK Florist of the year competition. There were 5 competitors from various heats around the UK. This is a great treat. You get to see the competitors creating pieces in a live competition environment. The winner of this was Laura Leong. She will now compete next year in Philadelphia USA for the international title! The competition pieces are in situ to view all week long. They are all truly stunning designs. See below for a sneek peek.

The Show Gardens

There are the usual food, drink and garden equipment stalls, but the real treats are the show gardens. So many to see and some really interesting ideas. Here are 3 of my favourites...

1) Best in Show:

B&Q garden 'Busy Lizzie'

This garden is everything we love about the outdoors. It is bright, fun and an explosion of colour. The Busy Lizzie's formal name is Impatiens meaning impatient. That refers to the way the seeds heads burst open. The dark background of this garden really highlights the popping colours. This is a bold and fun garden.

2) Bali Garden 'Best of Both Worlds'

The garden for people who cant agree! one side formal and structured and the otherside wild and country style. A simple divide in the middle separates the two scenes but the clever planting unites the two in colour.

3) Rose McMonigall Garden ''Rias de Galicia: A garden at the end of the earth

A spanish oasis. Highlighting the beauty of the Galicia area of spain. This garden is peaceful, tranquil and atmospheric. This is my personal favourite. It highlights a lazy day by the sea with plenty of quality seafood. I'm in love with the shell clad wall...... I wonder how many scallops I'll have to eat to get enough for a wall?

Go see: The festival of roses marquee. Fabulous smells, colours and plants to buy!

What did I take away!: Blues, purples and apricot colours are looking to be big trends.

Don't miss out!

Sunday around 4pm the exhibitors are allowed to sell of their plants if they wish so you may well get and RHS bargin!! go have a Pimms on the lawn and don't forget your sun screen!

How to keep wedding flowers fresh

We are all enjoying the glorious weather at the minute but it can also cause concern for wedding flowers. If you are a little worried about your wedding day because of the heat then have a little read of this latest blog.....

There really is very little that you need to do once your wedding flowers arrive. On the morning of your wedding you can be sure that we have organised delivery times to get the best in freshness out of the flowers. As florists, we monitor the weather and if its going to be a scorcher then we may call you to discuss delivery times to suit the hotter climate. 

Bridal flowers will most often be delivered in a box and usually without water. Sometimes in really hot weather we might deliver the bouquets in a small amount of water but this would always be advised to you before hand.

Delivered without water

In cooler months flowers are delivered in boxes without water.

Delivered in water

In warmer months we may deliver to you in upright boxes with a little water in the base.

As you get ready we will, most likely, be preparing the ceremony. Then we'll be off to the reception venue to create or finish off the meal and party flowers.

Somewhere in between all of that we'll deliver your bridal flowers in the pre arranged time slot. All you will need to do is keep them somewhere cool and out of sunlight or drafts (especially from any AC units). When you are ready to use them, lift them out of the box and use a towel or tissue to gently dab the ends of the stems, especially if they have been delivered in water. This makes sure there is no moisture to spot your dress.

That's seriously it. We will have stored, conditioned and fed the flowers in the week before to prepare them for your wedding day. The bridal flowers will also have been water misted. Depending on the flowers used we may also spray with a preserve to help them retain water.

If you really want to take the bouquet home, be aware that the flowers will not last as long as a bouquet bought from a shop. This is because the flowers are in 'full bloom' and at their showy best for the day. To really look after them, you'll need to recut the stems after the ceremony and photos. Then place the bouquet in water as soon as you can. Each time they are removed from water, flowers need to be recut before being replaced. This will allow them to drink through the stem.

Have some vases at the ready to pop your flowers into if you want to keep them fresh.

In some cases, where the style and flowers suit, you can use the bouquets on the tables too.

Remember, it's our job to make sure your flowers are fresh on the day of your wedding so relax and enjoy the day!