One of the nice things about Hampton Court is that it is altogether a more practical flower show than some of its relatives. That’s not to say there is anything wrong with inspirational, high-end design, but every once in a while it is nice to step into a show garden and find that it really does look like a garden. Here are our highlights:

This is a really lovely front garden. Just make sure hungry passers-by don’t steal all your produce if you copy the ‘Edible Spaces and Captial Growth’ garden.

We love this practical design for a front garden. One of the major considerations when planting out a front garden is parking; unfortunately a parking space adds value to a property, which often means flowers are forgotten. But this garden, designed by Wendy Allen and Hadlow College with Westgate Joinery, manages to team the two.

Normally water features are banned from Fennel & Fern. They are usually too awful for words. But this one is so much fun and wonderfully quirky. It is a sustainable garden, designed by ten and eleven year-olds from St John the Divine Church of England Primary School. The children have made a promise to live more sustainably in everything they do, and have intertwined their promise into the garden.

Foxgloves in the ‘Enchanting Escape’ show garden by Niki Palmer Garden Designs.

Garlic drying in the ‘Growing Tastes Allotment Garden’ by the Winchester Growers.

A gorgeous mix of verbena, crocosmia, alliums and achillea in “The Sadolin Nature to Nurture Garden”, by Sadolin Woodcare, in association with Philippa Pearson.

Of course, no flower show is without its pointless gimmicks.  When I received an RHS press release asking me for my spare underwear, I was a little confused. And here are the delightful ‘bra-skets’ created as a result. Oh, the puns abound, from hanging out your dirty washing in public to some slightly less pleasant images. And it is very funny. But really?

All images courtesy of the RHS