Forget Alice, if you want to chance upon a wonderland, it is far closer than down the rabbit hole, a skip, a hop and a train ride away at Hampton Court. And this weekend is the last chance you have to visit the world’s biggest annual flower show, RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not one with green fingers: The only plant I have managed to look after that hasn’t met its abrupt and brutal death under my roof is a cactus, and I have a landscape garden that comprises nothing more than pebbles and a wooden decking. Nevertheless, RHS Hampton Court Palace has the power to mesmerise even the least green-fingered.
I was invited to spend the press day afternoon at the exhibition courtesy of Crabtree & Evelyn. Their Botanical Studio Garden at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, designed by award winning garden designer Jade Goto, was a blissful walk through scented pathways set out to reveal the perfume inspiring qualities of flowers and botanicals.
I then decided to extend the picturesque journey with a leisurely walk through the exhibition, nature’s grandeur come alive in beautifully landscaped gardens, flower beds, grand canopies and outdoor living you’d be too shamed to call sheds… While I can never appreciate half the products on offer, even as a mere third party I could appreciate the bliss and mindfulness a couple of hours spent in walking down lanes surrounded with a myriad of botany could bring.
If you do get a chance there are still tickets available for this year. If not, make sure to put this on your summer agenda next year, I say. Even if you’re not into your pots and plants, I guarantee you will be in for a surprise.
