RHS Chelsea Flower Show: A Floral Success for Kent

May 27 2018 | Garden

Head Gardener Neil Miller attended this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show and shared with us the splendid news that the gardeners and designers of Kent have done the County proud.

This year’s show delivered a delicious feast of floral splendour with all the right ingredients – romantic planting on main avenue, enchanting glades and inspiring designs from the artisan gardens, topped with a floral riot in the marquee. 

There was Kentish flavour around every corner; the county’s multi award-winning designer Jo Thompson was awarded a gold for a technically difficult design and Laura Anstiss from Tenterden, created a garden for Supershoes, a children’s cancer charity.  

Inside the floral marquee Johnny Walkers of Taylors Bulbs bagged his 25th consecutive gold this year at Chelsea for his fabulous display of daffodils. Admittedly, Taylors Bulbs is located in Lincolnshire but as Johnny provided some of the best daffodils for Hever Castle’s inaugural ‘Dazzling Daffodil’ event in March this year we couldn’t leave him out! Plus he’s promised to return to the county next March with even more varieties.

Neil wasn’t surprised to learn that Ainsley Harriott is a hosta fan because the plant is actually edible and is commonly grown as a vegetable in some Asian cultures.  It turned out that Ainsley had made a beeline for Kent grower Paul Harris‘ gold medal winning stand in the floral marquee to talk hostas and slug deterrent. 

The floral marquee had a corner dedicated to the county, or so it felt, with Brookfields hostas to the right of Tonbridge’s Downderry lavender and diagonally opposite the striking Cayeux stand whose iris are nurtured by Sue Marshall of Iris of Sissinghurst.  

Kentish medals:

• Gold for the The Wedgewood Garden designed by Jo Thompson
• Silver medal for The Supershoes, Laced with Hope Garden designed by Laura Anstiss
• Gold for Downderry Nursery
• Gold for Brookfields Plants (hostas)
• Silver gilt for Cayeux

Each year the talent at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show gets better and better. As a county we should be extremely proud of our local gardeners and designers for representing Kent so well.