In a slight deviation from my usual garden update, this week I’d like to turn my attention (and yours) to the brand new RHS Urban Show, that took place in the heart of Manchester last week. It has long been known that Malvern was the first RHS show of the year, but not any more as the new kid on the block (affectionately just being dubbed RHS Urban by some people now) now takes that mantle. Taking over ‘Depot Mayfield’ for four days of pure houseplant and city growing goodness! But was it worth the hype and is there anything that I think they should change? You’ll have to read on to find out!
The new show was billed as being a show to focus on towns and cities and addressing challenges to those scenarios and offering solutions for growers, and it absolutely did those things in my eyes. If you went for houseplants, then you certainly wouldn’t have been disappointed as key displays from suppliers such as Grow Tropicals, gave visitors the chance to see which plants work best in which situations and advice was on hand from founder, Jacob James too. Elsewhere, Jason Williams (The Cloud Gardener) took over a number of spaces that truly showcases what can be done in small, urban settings with every aspect given consideration.
Houseplants aside, award-winning designer Nathan Webster brought us RHS Urban Forest – an immersive experience that recreated the sights and sounds of a forest, but in an urban environment. Dark, brooding but surprisingly relaxing, the forest was a sight to behold and a short intake of breath could be heard by most when they first stepped in.
So does The RHS’s new show live up to the expectation, it’s a resounding yes from me – a refreshing take on what it means to garden in a city and a new RHS show, that doesn’t feel like any of the other RHS shows. If you didn’t attend this year, then I’d urge you to go next year..
My ‘Women and Plants’ podcast season continues to roll on and this week I’m joined by cut flower fanatic, Sophie Van Gerwen, known to most of us on Instagram as @floraldaysintheshires. Sophie aims to share her passion and knowledge with followers on Instagram and also through her cut flower courses online too. You can listen to Sophie and all past guests, here now!
And, not only that – let’s introduce my guest blogger this week. John Butcher aka @_thebeegardener_ is known right across Instagram for his beautifully rich and dense garden, however John is now facing a brand-new challenge in a brand-new garden – in a somewhat different setting. From urban oasis, to rural farmhouse with 12 acres, John both old and new with us in his update this week.
“The view from my potting bench has had a rather dramatic change this year, having moved from our very full but small cottage meets prairie garden to a neglected 12-acre plot 250 metres up on the side of a Welsh hill! Is this what our dreams have been made of, 100% yes! Is it something we actually thought would ever happen (especially given the time it takes to complete on buying a house), the honest answer would probably be no. Our previous garden, 153 Willoughbridge, was a labour of love for 10 years of my life, and leaving that behind is still something that makes me emotional when I look back and reflect what had been created there and what such a small garden achieved.
The main garden was only 8m by 13m, but had 100s of plants in it and was well known not only through my Instagram documentation of it, but also (and this is hard to wrap my head around sometimes!) having made its TV debut on Gardeners’ World, appeared in several magazines, made the final 12 of the BBC Gardeners’ World magazine Garden of the Year competition and the shortlist for the Nation’s favourite National Garden Scheme (for which we opened for 3 joyous years) garden last year! Moving from a small garden to a 12-acre site is something I never imagined having the opportunity to do: I now have the opposite problem from my previous garden, rather than wondering where to fit a plant in (a decision that took many hours of moving containers around to find the best fit.
I’m now wondering what to do with it all and what to fill it with. We have some ideas, the jungle garden is already taking shape nicely, an orchard and lavender field is planned, and of course, the front lawn will be making way for my now (semi) infamous cottage prairie planting. For now, I will sit and watch the rest of the garden to see what it tells me.“
Hope you all have a great week ahead, and I’ll see you again,
same time next week…
View From The Potting Bench 