There’s no doubt that the style of the RHS’ newest show is evolving. The gardens at RHS Chatsworth 2019 are generally smaller than in previous years and spread among more categories.
This year, there are only three show gardens, down from five last year and eight at the first Chatsworth event in 2017.
Yet, while the show garden section is smaller, the addition of two new categories and more entries in the Long Borders section means there is still plenty to see.
The gardens and borders
‘The Wedgwood Garden’ by Jamie Butterworth cleaned up on the awards, winning gold, the Best in Show, Best Construction and People’s Choice Award for the show gardens category.
I liked the colours – a mix of soft purples and blues – and the way the planting spilled out into the hard landscaping.
There are also good small details, such as sweet peas scrambling through the espaliered trees on the back wall.
The only other garden of any size is ‘The Brewin Dolphin Artists’ Garden’ in the Without Boundaries category. Designed by Paul Hervey-Brookes, this is not a judged garden but a feature piece.
It has his trademark planting, weaving different textures and heights and soft colours.
The foxgloves are a particularly striking feature.
A competition on BBC regional stations saw three amateur designers creating gardens at RHS Chatsworth 2019. Again, these were not judged, although visitors were able to choose their favourite. I liked the vibrant planting on the ‘Elements of Sheffield’ garden by Emily Barnes, which also topped the People’s Choice poll.
It was the colours that attracted me on Lynn Heslop’s show garden ‘From Darkness to Light’, exploring the journey of a life trauma.
This part was a beautiful mix of green, white and grey. The garden won a silver medal.
The third show garden, ‘Find Yourself . . . Lost in the Moment’ by Samantha Harvey, celebrates the benefits of gardening as a volunteer on physical and mental health. The garden was put together by volunteers and won silver.
The new Mindfulness Gardens category has a wide range of styles across the five entries. I liked the calm colours of Rae Wilkinson’s ‘Space Within’ and the softly falling water feature. It was voted the People’s Choice in this section and won gold.
There was definitely something familiar about ‘The Thrive Reflective Mind Garden’. A similar sculpture by Simon Gudgeon was used on a Malvern garden last year.
The Long Borders are an interesting concept, giving planting inspiration on a much smaller scale. I liked this combination of colours on ‘Chatsworth Lady’ by Bev Williams and Toni Slater.
Mark Malaczynski’s ‘Fade to Grey’ explored the gradual loss of the senses and started with vibrant colours that gradually moved to muted tones.
Dahlias are the show-stopping flower at RHS Chatsworth 2019 with a mass planting along the river.
Even the picnic tables have plants – terrariums adding a touch of green.
In the floral marquee
The joy of the regional RHS shows is seeing nurseries that don’t exhibit at Chelsea or Hampton Court. There were several that were unfamiliar to me in the floral marquee, alongside those I see regularly.
A dazzling display of varieties of Cornus kousa won Bluebell Arboretum & Nursery the Best Exhibit award.
Harvey’s Garden Plants divided its display into plants for sun . . .
. . . and plants for shade.
There is something very elegant about this simple white bloom on Hillview Hardy Plants’ stand.
This was certainly more flamboyant, spotted on John Cullen Gardens’ stand.
I couldn’t believe how much flower was coming from one small plant. This is a saxifrage on Kevock Garden Plants’ display.
And there were some great container ideas on Hare Spring Cottage Plants’ stand.
RHS Chatsworth 2019 runs until June 9.
You can read about plans to transform the gardens at Chatsworth House here.
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