The flower show season got underway today with gardens, plants and, of course, singing at RHS Cardiff 2019.
The smallest of the RHS shows, it is still a great day out with small-scale gardens and the buzz of anticipation that only the beginning of the long show season can bring.
There were plenty of spring flowers and music from a Newport Male Voice Choir, launching the Perennial garden. What else in Wales?
The gardens at RHS Cardiff 2019
Many of the show gardens had a definite reuse and recycle theme. My favourite – and the one that got the top award at the show, a silver-gilt, along with Best Garden and Best Construction – was ‘Nature’s Takeover’ by Diego Carrillo. It used bed springs in a table and as alternative plant supports.
I liked the use of colour with the lime green of euphorbia and bronze carex set against the wooden of raised beds.
Recycling also underpins ‘The Xardin Urban Gallery’ by Brent Purtell. A similar colour palette of lime and bronze was picked up in the hard landscaping
Building rubble used as planters is a different idea.
This bench on the Show Feature garden by the National Botanic Garden of Wales and Growing the Future is made from recycled plastic.
In the floral marquees
RHS Cardiff 2019 has two flora marquees so there’s plenty of opportunity to wallow in beautiful flowers. One of the first things to catch my eye were the tulips on Pheasant Acres’ display. I love tulips and there were plenty to love, particularly these parrot tulips.
The colours were quite stunning.
Fittingly, the RHS Master Grower is daffodil specialists R.A. Scamp.
There were simple blooms.
And those with a bit more flounce.
I particularly liked this rather dainty variety.
New at RHS Cardiff 2019 are Alchemy Ferns from York. They picked up a well-deserved silver-gilt for their first RHS display.
Not only is it their first big show exhibit, Mark Taylor, who runs the nursery with his wife, Linda, explained that until about 18 months ago they grew perennials rather than ferns. The conversion came after they started growing a few.
“We fell in love with them, got more and more and thought ‘Why not go for it’,” he said.
Sea Spring Seeds were showing how easy it is to grow salad leaves in small containers – suitable for any windowsill.
I always find something to admire on W&S Lockyer’s stand, usually their beautiful lupins at the Malvern show. At Cardiff it was the auriculas that stood out.
I also liked this green and white combination on their display.
Finally, Flowers from the Farm, a co-operative of British Flower Growers, was looking back at the days of cut flowers being taken by train across the country. Their travel-inspired display was fitting: in a few weeks the RHS shows caravan moves onto the Malvern Spring Festival.
RHS Cardiff 2019 runs from April 12-14, for more information visit the website.