RaynerShine garden is gold

Previous 1 of 8 Next

Colour and creativity from up-and-coming garden designers filled this year's RHS at Tatton Park with vibrant displays and beautiful flower beds. Bursting with innovation, the entertainment pushed the boundaries of a traditional garden show and acted as a platform for fresh design talent and community gardening.

Eleven RHS gold medals were handed out. From first time exhibitors to RHS show veterans, designers pulled out the stops to create the best collection of gardens in the 11-year history of the show. Our own Cheshire Life garden won Gold this year. We supported Tarporley based designers RaynerShine, whose stunning garden was inspired by TV's Strictly Come Dancing. It featured wire sculptures of dancers, built locally by Andrew Smith, and abundant planting which captured the moods and qualities of styles of dances with gentle flowing curves to generate movement and excitement. And there was even a mirror ball water feature, echoing the classic dance hall ceiling ornament.

Husband and wife Kate and Tim Rayner, had won three silver gilts with their previous entries over the past four years. 'We are absolutely thrilled to have won gold this year. You think that you have everything in your garden but the judging is very subjective and they could completely disagree. It is a relief that we have got here, we're chuffed to bits!

'We wanted to create a garden where people could come and look and feel that it was a very easy garden to watch. Some of the gardens here are really thought-provoking and you have to soul-search to figure it out, but this is just like when you sit in front of the TV and watch Strictly Come Dancing - it's fun, it's easy, it's relaxing and you can really enjoy it.'

With the introduction of the two exciting new garden categories for 2009, the Tatton Park Young Designer of the Year and the Visionary Gardens, there was a distinct contrast between modern and traditional. Russell Watkinson's 'Traditional Values' was created using brick, grass, classic garden materials and a tranquil water feature, all exhibiting timeless design styles.

However, in the new Visionary category, extravagant designs pushed the boundaries for a 'trend-hungry'audience. Two of the six Visionary gardens won gold and the Best in Show went to Alan Burns and Philip Dugdale for their modular designed 'Cubed3' garden. A visitor who seemed to be appreciating this new category was Gardener's World presenter Joe Swift who said: 'I like these new Visionary gardens, I think they're great, the way they challenge people's perceptions of what a garden should be.'

Celebrity gardener Chris Beardshaw also put on an amazing performance and was delighted to secure the premier title of Best in Show for his international show garden, design. It will be executed from Tatton and displayed at Ness later this year. Chris, a regular RHS Gold medal winner commented: 'Almost anything goes in terms of colours and planting styles. It's almost impossible to make colour clashes because there is so much foliage and animation and the texture of the plants means that the combinations seem to work even if they are accidental, just as they do in a native meadow.'

'The beauty of this garden is that it can be used by gardeners who can come and appreciate the different flowers, but also by schools who can come and sit on the turf amphitheatre and learn botanically how a plant works and the internal workings of a plant stem.'

This family feel was prominent. Many exhibitors were keen to promote the educating of young people in the ways of gardening. 'Dig This! Allotments in Action', provided a special area where children could learn about the origins of fruit and vegetables. Co-ordinator Barbara Hammond said: 'Children go to the supermarket and pick up a cabbage, not realising where they come from. They come here and I let them pot them themselves and take them home to watch them grow. They then become interested and want to carry on growing their own.'

Local schools took part in creating gardens and some incorporated other issues, like recycling. The schools included Winsford Education Partnership, St Vincent's RC Primary, Little Bollington C of E, and High Legh Primary.

The dismantling of Cheshire County Council was also acknowledged. The two new councils which have bloomed since the county's demise demonstrated their gardening talents. Cheshire East created a pretty yet simple bed featuring signposts of each of its towns. Cheshire West and Chester's Noah's Ark display, was representative of Chester Zoo, a key tourist attraction in the borough and succeeded in winning a gold.

As well as award-winning gardens, floral fashions took to the runway this year. The British Floral Association staged a fashion show using garments made from fresh summer blooms. The range included skirts made form aspidistra leaves and coats made from formium leaves, all finished with summer flowers.

You don't need me to remind you that the weather was hardly ideal most of the week. But the atmosphere was lively throughout. In true Brit style, visitors and exhibitors simply donned wellies and waterproofs and just got on with the show. Here's to next year!

Did you know?

Some 100,000 gardening enthusiasts descended for this year's event.

More than 12,000 glasses of Pimms, 47,000 cups of tea and 20,000 rounds of sandwiches and baguettes were consumed at the Showground during the week.

Over 48,000 tubs and cornets of ice cream were enjoyed.

And 2,000 portions of strawberries were washed down by oodles of champagne.

The RaynerShine/Cheshire Life garden

Rayner Shine is an established garden design company. 01829 781690.

Andrew Smith is a self-taught artist specialising in bespoke wrought iron work and decorative steel sculptures. 01829 770082

Okells supply a wide range of shrubs, perennials, trees and vegetables as well as garden furniture and gifts. 01829 741512.

Members Comments

There are no comments for this article.

Add a Comment

Please log in to post a comment.