RHS Hampton Court 2023 stands for The RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival. But that sounds too grand.
‘Hampton Court’ is the Chelsea Flower Show’s much-loved little sister – more connected, less crowded, not so tainted by the whiff of ‘being fashionable’.
Because we gardeners often declare that we don’t want to ‘follow fashion’. It is viewed with deep suspicion and firm denial.
But when you see a good idea, why not copy it? A new variety of plants? Yes please! A better tool? I’ll try. And so on.
Fashion is often about innovation and invention. It can make people talk and think differently. So this is what I think we can take away from Hampton Court for our own gardens.
Rocks as natural sculpture, seats and much more
Several show gardens at RHS Hampton Court 2023 featured rocks as water features, sculptures, seating and more.
These rocks are placed in the desert landscape display garden, which is part of the American’s Wild display garden. It is divided into different parts and designed by Emily Grayshow, Imogen Perreau and Jude Yeo. A stone ‘pond’ would look good in an urban garden, especially if you use gravel mulch around it.
The Cancer Research Legacy Garden was one of many featured rocks at RHS Hampton Court 2023. It was designed by Paul Hervey-Brookes. These rocks are used in a naturalistic way to mark streams.
The Hurtigruten Garden by Max Parker-Smith – rocks are used both to define the edges of the pool and across the bottom of the pool, as well as adding punctuation points to the planting.
Gabions for raised beds, wildlife habitats and seating
Gabions are large metal baskets, filled with rocks or stones. They were used for sea defense, but are now widely used in garden design. Gaps between rocks and stones are good wildlife habitat. When Jane Beedle redesigned her small contemporary city garden, she reused the paving that was originally in the garden by breaking it up and placing it in gabions. It doubles as a seat and wildlife habitat. It saved her money because she didn’t have to pay to have it taken away from her.
Gabions are used as combination raised beds and seating in The Devil’s in the Detail Garden by the Professional Landscape Association.
Gabions are used to create a boundary wall with seating in Nurturing Nature in the City Garden by Peter and Caroline Clayton.
Raised beds for renters and for raising plants in small spaces
The raised beds were once used for growing vegetables. Now you can find them in different materials and colors. They are perfect for renters as they can be moved when you move.
And raised beds show planting by lifting. You can grow plants that don’t suit your soil by using specialized composts. However, it’s worth remembering that raised beds often drain faster than in-ground soil. This makes them a good choice if you have heavy clay soil and lots of rain, but you may need to water more in dry areas.
Wooden raised beds painted a soft blue to show off the plantings. Another detail from the Association of Professional Landscapers The Devils In the Detail Garden.
Dark green raised beds in this Landform Mental Wealth Garden designed by Nicola Hale. It also has a hedge of hazelnut and willow – seen in several gardens at RHS Hampton Court 2023, as these are sustainable materials.
Galvanized metal raised beds at The Wildlife Trust’s Renters Retreat designed by Zoe Claymore.
Tenant Retreat garden designed by Zoe Claymore at the top, image above is from APL’s The Devil is in the Garden of Details.
Gravel is the most popular mulch at RHS Hampton Court 2023
In many ways, this is an extension of rock’s growing popularity. But it is also a dry garden. Gravel and gravel mulches suppress weeds and help retain water. They look smart and show plants well.
However, most garden designers advise against using weed control membranes under gravel mulch. It used to be a common practice to lay them under gravel, but they always gather. The weed slips out from under the membrane and falls to the top. And it prevents the natural spread of perennial plants.
Carol Klein has produced some extremely beautiful plantings in her RHS Iconic Horticultural Hero garden at RHS Hampton Court in 2023. She has used gravel and gravel as mulch around ‘drought tolerant species’. Carol also used plants grown entirely by nurseries in the UK, another growing trend to minimize ‘plant miles’ and the risk of long distance transmission of plant diseases.
Gravel mulch in Nurturing Nature in the City Garden by Caroline and Peter Clayton.
Pebble mulch and stone pavers in the Lunar Garden designed by Queenie Chan. It’s interesting to note all the different shades of gravel used in the various show gardens – definitely worth considering if you’re choosing gravel for your garden.
Natural seating ideas
In addition to the combined raised bed/gabion, there were also attractive natural seats.
Large logs and stone used as natural seating in the American wild garden at RHS Hampton 2023.
Log and stone bench seating in Ingham’s Working with Nature Garden designed by Joshua Parker and Matthew Butler. Note that there is also a gravel and willow fence. Very RHS Hampton Court 2023!
Wildlife features as decoration or design
The RHS has already started using wildlife features as decoration as part of its gardening to drive biodiversity.
The team at RHS Wisley designed this ‘dead hedge’ as a wildlife-friendly garden screen.
A junk shop with a green roof and decorative bug hotel panels in Tom Massey’s Resilience Garden.
Logs tied together to create an obelisk on which a rose will grow. In the RHS Wildlife Garden designed by Jo Thompson and Kate Bradbury.
More garden ideas from the shows
Not all show garden ideas translate well to real gardens, but I found 7 really good ideas from RHS Chelsea 2023 that are worth checking out.
And BBC Gardeners World Live is always a popular show. There are several around the UK, but the largest is at the NEC in Birmingham. I’ve picked out 10 trends and ideas from BBC Gardeners World Live 2023 that I think would work well in your garden.
Pin to remember the garden ideas you can steal from RHS Hampton Court 2023
And join us. Check out our free weekly email with more gardening tips, ideas and inspiration here.
