The Hampton Court Flower Show celebrates its 25th birthday this week with a real extravaganza of a show, packed as always with inspirational show gardens and overflowing with perfect plants.
To mark the 25th anniversary there's a special maze, made from 300m of hedge and peppered with surprises from smoke machines and hidden tunnels, as well as a giant floral birthday cake made of bedding plants. Meanwhile urban greening expert Nigel Dunnett has created a street in Bristol to show how easily grey spaces like neglected front gardens and flat roofs can be turned into havens of flowers and insect life.
Over 90 award-winning growers from all over the country are showing off their best plants in the Floral Marquee, with demonstrations throughout the week at the ever-popular potting bench. And among the 32 show gardens there's a garden dinosaurs would have recognised, planted entirely with plants which would have been around in the Jurassic era; and a ladies' flower garden celebrating the great Victorian lady gardeners. And an exciting new category, World Gardens, takes visitors around the globe from the US to Monet's garden in Normandy.
The RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show runs from 30 June to 5 July. For more information, visit www.rhs.org.uk/hamptoncourt.
