Mid August and the weather was patchy but the first RHS Rosemoor Flower Show in Devon was advertised so the Daisy duo packed sun cream, waterproofs and woolly hats (just to be on the safe side) and set off!
I have never been to Rosemoor before so there was a lot to see, what with the extensive garden, the show and, of course THE SHOP, so we decided to start at one end (left) and work to the other (right).
First was the Queen Mother's Rose Garden...
which was chock full of, well, Roses obviously but in a slightly old fashioned 'Roses only' way.
It reminded me of a neighbour of ours when I was growing up who had a Rose bed - the Roses were in straight rows, nothing else was allowed to grow and the bare earth in-between the bushes was kept pristine.
Don't get me wrong, the Roses themselves were fabulous and there was a huge variety but I like my roses offset with other things and bar a couple of Clematis covered obelisks there was nothing else.
The long borders were more my thing...
towering mixtures of texture and colour.
Fluffy Stocks, etherial spires of Veronicastrum backed by faded globes of Echinops one side, and tumbling, ragged Shasta Daisies, more Veronicastrum and airy Verbena Bonariensis on the other.
Some were mixed colours and some were monochrome...
some even had Roses in!
Then there was the hot garden, absolutely at its best in August.
The colours were extraordinary...
With waves of Verbenas and Crocosmias...
great splashes of Heleniums in every hue...
spiky Lobelias...
frilly Monardas...
mixed with clouds of Golden Rod, towering Sunflowers...
Dahlis, more Lobelias and, again, even more Roses.
It was like an artists palette when the artist has been given every tube of hot colour that exists and just has to use all of them.
Then on to the vegetable garden and again the texture, leaf shape and colour was spectacular.
Stately Sweetcorn, elegant Cavolo Nero, and dark Curly Kale set of with bright Nasturtiums and gentle Borage...
colourful Squashes and Gourds dripping from frames above Rainbow Chard, and not a bit of slug damage or a weed in sight!
However they are not totally pest free!
Apologies for the fuzziness but I was on full zoom. He's a cute little thing isn't he and I have to admit there was a smattering of glee when we spotted him - it wasn't all as perfect as it seemed.
Through tunnels hanging with more Squashes we went, to the cottage garden and on to the Flower Show site.
Now the flower show wasn't quite what I expected but there were 20 nurseries exhibiting, each had a stall full of plants and had created a small show garden to display their wares. They were quite mixed so here are my favourites.
Millwood Plants - I very much wanted to sit on that bench, although to be fair it looked quite hard to get to!
Brookfield Plants who had some gorgeous miniature Hostas - it's a good job they weren't selling galvanised baths ready planted like this, I would have struggled to resist.
Pheasant Acre Plants who rocked a very retro 1950s vibe I thought with their riotous Glads and Dahlias.
Various purchasing occurred but more of that later.
Then on through the Plantsman's garden to the other side of the garden where we allocated ourselves a well earned break...
with cake obviously, very much needed cake by this time!
Then refreshed we wound our way back through the exotic and mediterranean gardens...
through lush glades and beautiful woodland...
to the shop.
Yes, it took a while but we left with a very modest carrier bag full, yes just one - each - obviously. One between us would just be ridiculous!
My favourite purchase which came from the Flower Show was a miniature Eucomis, Eucomis Vandermerwei. It's teeny tiny, the flower spike is just 10cms high and it has the most beautiful crinkly edged and blotched leaves.
I do love a good plant shopping spree!
I have slightly mixed feelings about the RHS. I think they can appear rather snobbish and exclusive sometimes and even a bit stick in the mud occasionally, but no-one can deny they do do a good garden. It may have been super manicured and rather depressingly unachievable but it was absolutely stunning.
The cake was good too.
😋
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