RHS Hampton Court Flower Show-Taking a closer look…the RHS Invisible Garden
Fresh from the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show and with so many things to see, do and get inspiration from, my main urge was to look closer and focus in. To get close to the scent and shapes of the exquisitely tendered plants in the show gardens, to look closer at some beautiful garden design and at the talent and skill from the wise, whose lives have been dedicated to nurturing and cultivating plants of so many varieties.
The plant stands remind me of miniature art installations and you can’t help but want to buy what’s on offer and take a little bit of Hampton back with you. I loved the starfish like bulbs that turn into the foxtail lily and the sculptural elegance of the Alliums, which have such impact on mass.
My main highlight enabled you to get really close, the brilliantly conceived RHS Invisible Garden. I could have spent hours looking closer at this one. It’s giving visitors the chance to magnify usually unseen organisms, including plants and insects, to more than 1000 times their actual size. The RHS team were excellent, their knowledge and enthusiasm bursting and it was a real education to look through the microscopes and see the absolute miracle of what the human eye alone could never see. This should be rolled out in schools, an amazing introduction to science and nature.
The stunning wing of a Blue Morpho butterfly, the structure of which manipulates light and as well as being breathtaking in colour and intricacy, I learned it inspired the creation of amongst other things protective clothing. I also got the chance to get closer to a nettle, this time, thankfully under a microscope where you could see the hollow stinging hairs called trichomes, which act like hypodermic needles, injecting histamine and other chemicals producing the infamous nettle sting. An image that won’t leave my mind for a while, especially during our often nettle packed Sussex walks. You can find out about RHS invisible garden here. A really great day out for us as landscapers and garden designers and highly recommended to anyone who loves their garden.