RHS Garden Festival, Hampton Court - A garden lovers dream day out

 

One theme this year was to leave grasses to grow wild to encourage  insects and birds hence the dry grass decorations on the sign

I think pretty much every garden lover has heard of the Chelsea Flower Show but I wonder how many have  heard of the Royal Horticulture Garden Festival at Hampton Court in England.  Have you? No? Well nor had I until my son, who lives near by, told me he had bought tickets to attend it and that he goes every year and loves it. So, on a beautiful, sunny, Sunday morning we set off, my two sons, two grand daughters and I, to find out what it was all about.

The grounds of Hampton Court are vast and ideal for this garden show, which is said to be the world's largest, covering 25 acres or 10 hectares. There we could see everything to do with gardening and outdoor life - for a garden lover it is a dream, a happy place.  The focus of this garden festival is slightly different from the Chelsea Garden Show (also run by the Royal Horticulture Society) in that it focuses more on environmental issues, hence there are plenty of displays on recycling, compost making, keeping the waterways clean etc. 

The flower marquee was the most colossal marquee I had ever seen and was the first one we visited.   It was just heavenly to stroll the aisles admiring the spectacular array of plants and flowers on display, many I had never seen before. I was inspired by how the various exhibitors had combined different flowers and colours to make eye catching displays. I took plenty of photos but now that I'm home I wish I had taken more.  It took us a good hour to walk through this massive marquee enjoying every minute of it.

After refreshments, very British Pimms for the adults and hot chips for the girls,  we set out to wander the outdoor displays. We were spoilt for choice.  There were show gardens, model allotment plots, talks, demonstrations, outdoor furniture, summer houses, and craft and clothing stalls.  It was hard to believe that the model gardens were temporary, they were amazing, inventive and artistic. and I absolutely loved the summer houses. It has always been a dream of mine to have one but I have never had the space.  A girl can dream, though, can't she?

A display garden - hard to believe everything in this photo is temporary.

An example of an allotment and bee friendly wild flower garden

My grand daughters enjoying a rest on an unusual garden seat

A dream summer house on display

It is impossible to take in all the Garden Festival in just one day but we did our best. Even after several hours of walking there were large parts we didn't cover but we were well pleased with what we did see and I think we all went home truly inspired.  I highly recommend this wonderful festival to all gardeners and garden lovers. You won't be disappointed.

Watch their website for information about upcoming festivals :

www.rhs.org.uk

The Ancient Ceremony of the Keys - Tower of London, England

 I love strolling the London waterfront at night, everything is bright and sparkly and the glittery reflections in the Thames are sublime. It is well worth a trip into central London purely to see how pretty and different the city looks by night and to, maybe, enjoy a drink at a riverside bar while watching the passing boats. But lovely and all as the night views are, my son, two daughters in law and I were excited to be at the Tower of London to witness the Ceremony of the Keys.  

 

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This is not some sort of  'tourism' performance, this is a serious ceremony to ensure the security of the tower which holds many precious artifacts including the priceless crown jewels. It has taken place every night for around 700 years, never missing a night and  being late on only one occasion which was during the London Blitz when two warders were blown off their feet but nevertheless got up and proceeded with the ceremony.

The Tower of London

Photo: TurnipNet

We were amongst a group of 40-50 visitors admitted to the tower at 9.30pm precisely and were escorted to stand silently beside Water Lane leading up from the entry gate.    The Chief Yeoman Warder, dressed in a bright red Tudor uniform, gave us a talk on the history of the ceremony and what we could expect to see.  He was very entertaining and amusing nevertheless giving serious instructions we were required to follow, it is a serious ceremony after all. He than made his way down to the Byward Tower and emerged at exactly 7 minutes to 10 carrying a lantern lit by a single candle in one hand, and the kings keys in the other hand. He marched to the archway of the Bloody Tower where an escort was waiting. He handed his lantern to the bugler and he and the escort marched down to the tower gates, the keys being saluted by all guards and sentries on duty as they passed. Watched by the escort the Chief Yeoman Warder locked both the inner and outer gates and then, with the escort, returned back up along Water Lane to the Wakefield Tower. At this point a sentry appeared out of the darkness to challenge him with:

"Halt, who goes there"  The Yeoman Warder replied: "The Keys"  The sentry then asked "Whose keys?" the Yeoman Warder replied "King Charles' keys" the sentry then replied, "Pass then, all is well"

They then marched back under the Bloody Tower into the inner courtyard where members of the Tower Guard were waiting. We were summoned to follow. At this point the Chief Yeoman Warder raised his Tudor bonnet high into the air proclaiming  "God preserve King Charles".  The guard replied "Amen" exactly as the clock struck 10pm and then the bugler played the Last Post.  The Chief Yeoman Warder took the keys back to the kings representative at the tower for overnight safe keeping and the guard was dismissed. At this point visitors were escorted from the tower at 10.05pm.

I found this to be a spine tingling experience, a real step back in time and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Standing in the dark of Water Lane and witnessing a ceremony pretty much unchanged for 700 years was eerie and unforgettable. Photography and videoing is not permitted which makes the ceremony all the more special.  There is no clicking and jostling and everyone stands in respectful silence absorbed in what is happening before them. Silently observing my surroundings before the ceremony started and pondering the fate of some who were imprisoned within the tower was sobering. I thought especially of the princes in the tower, King Edward V and his younger brother, Richard, Duke of York, who were imprisoned by their uncle at the ages of 12 and 9 and were never seen again.  Their uncle wanted to be rid of them so he could claim the throne and did so becoming Richard III. I imagined the little princes peering out on to Water Lane where we were standing and I prayed that terrible deeds, such as their suspected murder, wouldn't happen again. As an aside, when I was at high school the school held an evening where famous paintings were presented by the students as tableau.  I was one of the princes in the tower as portrayed in the famous painting by Millais. This led me to be interested in their history so standing opposite the tower in silence thinking of them was a moving experience.

Tickets are issued to only between 40 and 50 people per night and are hard to come by.  You must book weeks in advance which, thanks to my London based son he had done. No late comers are admitted.  If you are visiting London, really want to feel a part of British history and to experience a unique ceremony I highly recommend this.  I have visited London many times and had never experienced this before but am very glad I did.  The ceremony lasts just a few minutes and visitors are only within the tower for half an hour but it is so well worth while.

For tickets go to : www.hrp.org.uk 

They go on sale on the first of the month for the following month but sell out very quickly.  They are a nominal 5 pounds.