My flower show season came to a close in royal dust at RHS Sandringham. Here are my thoughts on the latest of the new RHS shows.
A series of heatwaves meant holding a flower show in one of the driest areas of the country was always going to be tricky. By the end of the first day, both plants and visitors were coated in dust. Still, it didn’t spoil an event that had a relaxed, friendly feel.
One reason why I made the long trek to Norfolk was because Cotswold designer Paul Hervey-Brookes was creating a show garden there. I’ve followed Paul’s work since his very first garden at the Malvern Autumn Show back in 2008, writing about his gardens in both the Gloucestershire papers and Cotswold Life magazine.
His RHS Sandringham garden for the RNIB didn’t disappoint, winning gold, Best Show Garden and the Best Construction awards.
It was designed to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Talking Books service the charity provides and the garden echoed a library. Curved shingle-clad walls with ladders leaning against them suggested book-lined shelves, and there were seats to sit and listen.
Paul is known throughout the industry for his beautiful planting and the borders were a glorious mix of colour and texture.
I particularly liked the raised brick bed that was filled with achillea and Origanum ‘Rosenkuppel’. It’s a drought resistant combination that I may well copy.
The other show garden that stood out for me was by Sophie Godber, which demonstrated how you could have a small-scale orchard in your garden. The fruit trees were underplanted with both perennials and edible plants, while a natural pond added water for wildlife with walkways and a deck allowing easy access and somewhere to sit.
This garden also won gold and picked up The King’s Biodiversity Award.
The colours were vibrant and really stood out on what turned out to be a grey start to the first day – the sun soon returned! Stokesia isn’t something I’ve ever grown but I’m rather tempted.
Brightly coloured planting seemed to be a bit of a theme and Kitti Kovacs’ show garden was no exception. She won silver-gilt for a space designed for a retired couple.
It was voted People’s Choice – perhaps because visitors rather liked the idea of decorating the greenhouse with used wine bottles.
RHS Sandringham Feature Gardens
There were three RHS feature gardens at the show. Catherine MacDonald collaborated with King Charles to celebrate his love of gardening in The RHS Royal Legacy Garden (pictured at the top of this post).
Curved paths moved through planting that included both native trees and those that will cope with our changing climate, along with shrubs and perennials. The garden will be relocated to Sandringham’s gardens.
Laura Strand and Sam Stark-Kemp used the landscape and crafts of Norfolk for the inspiration for their feature garden.
The soft planting was a beautiful contrast to the bundles of reeds, reed wall and carved stone benches.
My favourite among the feature gardens was by Norfolk husband and wife team Joe and Laura Carey.
The RHS Pollywiggle Garden (pollywiggle is a Norfolk name for tadpoles) was a garden designed for nature with a pond and boardwalk that allowed visitors to get close to the water.
I’ve admired this design duo’s creations at RHS Chelsea, not least for the beautiful planting. You can read about their 2026 Chelsea garden here. Their RHS Sandringham borders were just as lovely.
These two caught my eye. Dahlia merkii, which I have grown from seed but which has yet to flower and a rather lovely lythrum. It likes damp soil so probably one I shall just have to admire.
RHS Sandringham Grow Forward Gardens
I first came across The Dipping Tank Company at the Garden Press Event a couple of years ago (more here). The firm sponsored Anthony Purdy’s design in the Grow Forward Gardens contest.
It showed how a garden that collects rainwater can also be beautiful, and featured dipping tanks and a rill. It won gold, Best Grow Forward Garden, and Best Construction awards.
RHS Sandringham Long Borders
RHS Sandringham had a large number of entries in the Long Borders contest. The theme was addressing issues facing the natural world and many of the designers used the Norfolk coastline as inspiration including the Naturally Resilient border by Susan Harvey and Konstantinos Gargaletsos. It won silver.
The soft colours of The Habitat Garden by Jonathan Mitchell and Katy Haywood Smith was my favourite not least because it was planted in sand. It featured several wild flowers including ragwort, surely a first for an RHS show.
The border had a dead ‘tree’ at one end, fashioned from pieces of oak, and a spine of dead wood running through the planting. This wood will provide wildlife habitat while the meadow-style planting was a pollinator’s feast. The border won a gold medal.
This planting on Sarah McLean-Barrs’ border also caught my eye. The ‘New Vintage Violet’ achillea was beautiful with lavender ‘Phenomenal’. It won bronze.
I also liked the metal water feature on the long border by Megan Chopp and Pheobe Hunt. It won silver.
RHS Sandringham – Community Cubes
The Community Cubes at RHS Sandringham allowed designers to highlight the work of charities and community groups. They also provided inspiration for our gardens.
I’m planning to add more water butts to my garden and one that would allow a can to be dipped in is appealing. The troughs on the cube by Rajul Shah supporting Vision Norfolk were attractive and functional.
Water is also good for wildlife and Bea Tann’s cube, supporting Norfolk Wildlife Trust, showed how even the smallest space can have a pond, here using an old sink.
Chloe Erskine was marking the 25th anniversary of RNLI Lifeguards who patrol our beaches to keep swimmers safe.
The planting, in sculpted ‘sand dunes’, was chosen to be suitable for a coastal setting with wind, salt and free-draining soil. Again, some would be suited to inland settings with dry soil.
In the Floral Marquee
The relentless dust in the Floral Marquee – staff were walking around with watering cans trying to dampen it down – meant I dare not get my camera out for too long.
I did snap two new roses that were launched at the show – Rosa ‘Lemon Drizzle’ was this week’s Cheering Up Mondays flower (more here). Both were showing signs of heat damage even on the first day.
Norfolk-based Peter Beales Roses were the show’s Master Grower and created a colourful display around a central greenhouse.
By the end of a long day, the most tempting thing on the showground was this beach hut, one of those in the Sandy Beach Huts display. I badly wanted to retreat into its plant-filled cool.
RHS Sandringham – the Verdict
So, did I enjoy the show? The gardens, borders and cubes were really interesting and praise must go to the nurseries who managed to produce plants despite the weather, both for the designers and for Floral Marquee stands.
I did find the show a bit sprawling possibly because of the need to ‘fence off’ the royal residence, resulting in a strange layout. The organisers also seemed to have found Norfolk’s only hill outside of Norwich and put the show gardens at the top.
The RHS had provided some shade but there was nowhere near enough for the number of visitors and nothing for the designers stood by their Long Borders or cubes. It wasn’t too hot until the afternoon on the first day but subsequent days were warmer. The dust I’ve already mentioned.
Access again meant long queues – to be expected on Norfolk roads – but certainly when I left it was being well marshalled. There didn’t seem to be the same scale of problem as the recent RHS Badminton experienced.
While the weather is out of everyone’s control, there’s a question about whether holding a flower show in July is feasible now with summers getting hotter. Personally, I’d like to see something in September though I’m told fitting it in with other shows, such as Harrogate, would be difficult. (You can read about my visit here.)
Next year, this late July show will be back at Tatton. What the weather will be doing is beyond everyone’s ability to predict.
Enjoyed this? You can read about more of my flower show visits here.
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