Who would have think that a garden kettle of fish - bundle with common - or - garden Busy Lizzies would pull ahead a gold medal the prestigious Hampton Court Palace Flower Show ? Or that such a garden would bring Best in Show and the ultimate horticultural accolade , The Tudor Rose Award ? Well , thanks to talented architect Matthew Childs and a partnership between DIY colossus B&Q and plant breeder Syngenta , such a garden just has … . and it richly deserved to .
Since 2011 the poor honest-to-goodness Busy Lizzie , loyalist of hang baskets and window boxes across the temperate world , tolerant of refinement and flowering for months on end , has been struck down by a virulent strain of downy mildew . The disease can not be controlled by fungicides , charge one of our favorite garden and firm plants to the group B lean of make out . acknowledge the problem , and the popularity of this forgiving small plant , B&Q and Syngenta have impart to market a novel breed of Busy Lizzie called ‘ Imara ’ , which imply ‘ strength ’ in Swahili . Not only are ‘ Imara Bizzie Lizzies ’ highly resistant to downy mildew , but they are also adaptable to Dominicus or shade and will blossom from belated spring until the first frosts . To me , they appear unrecognizable from the plants we know and loved before pest chance on .
This is all swell news , but it need a stretch to imagine Busy Lizzies starring in the top garden at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show . Yet from the moment one rounds the corner and catches sight of this expansive garden , one tell apart it as a success . It ’s been a hot , bright show so far this year and the heat really makes this vibrant space quiver with zip . Rich , pure greens of musa , ficus , aucuba , hosta , canna and osmunda nada and ping in front of plumbago - gray hard landscaping elements . pop of Au , Zen - yellow , silver and plum forestall the make-up from becoming a monotonic ocean of greenness . Then occur the Busy Lizzies in feisty shades of red , orangish , magenta a purple , fizzing and bulge out beneath a leafy canopy , just as they would in the woods of East Africa . The plants were advisedly spring up taller for the most shaded parts of the garden to mimic their innate habit as a woodland understory works . I peculiarly love a surgical incision where a the great unwashed of cerise - reddish Busy Lizzies is shot through with pale yellow Virginia wild rye ( Elymus virginicus ) . Apart from a couple of waterlilies and hostas , Busy Lizzies are the only blossom in this garden .
What is clever about the design is that it offers varied and interesting opinion from the outside in , deftly certify the power of the diagonal in creating profundity and the illusion of expectant space . Nothing infuriates me more than a show garden that can not be treasure from its circumference . This is why I had no great appreciation for Chelsea ’s Best in Show , which appear to be designed almost to the exception of the outside viewer . This is all well and good in a secret garden , but not at a flower show : there ’s something not very inclusive about a show garden that appear in on itself . Matthew Childs ’ garden is exciting from every slant , the concentrated colour refuse to blanch in even the bright of sunlight . A stiff breeze add to the exotic tactile property on Monday … as if a tropic tempest had just blow through . Water is incorporated boldly and seamlessly , dotted here and there withThalia dealbataandCyperus papyrus , which are raw but fabulous pond plants . A feature in at least three show garden this year , an out-of-door bar suggests infinite entertaining opportunities . There is even the pick to hit the hay to a small studio with a bed inside , should all the socialising get too much for you . Surprise , surprisal , all the fabric used are useable to buy at B&Q and that in itself will be a revelation to some .
It is hard for the other show gardens to vie with the scale and sheer enthusiasm of the Bursting Busy Lizzie Garden , but the accolades are genuinely deserved for the tone of the build and the inventive design alone . The scale of the structural planting , including mighty specimen ofAilanthus altissima‘Purple Dragon ’ ( tree of heaven ) andGleditsia triacanthos‘Sunburst ’ ( honey locust ) , mean that every last act of attention is captured by the garden and not by the RHS ’s horrible tent and flag . Of of course this design was always go to appeal to me with my love of bright colors and tropical foliage , but I was not alone . I would be no surprise if it were to land hoi polloi ’s Choice and insure a clear sweep of the top awards .
To sum up this is a garden that both a passionate nurseryman and a socialite might revel . It could be adapt to be eminent or low maintenance , although I should note that the tender nature of some of the planting , including cycad , bananas and Busy Lizzies , imply it would take some rescript for a more northern placement . The majority of plant life used would overwinter outside with some precaution . Whilst the voiceless landscape gardening elements seem appealingly low-priced , the larger plants certainly would not be , unless one was prepared to be patient . The consolation is that many would be fast agriculturist .
It ’s great to see the Busy Lizzie restitute to wellness and , one hopes , to our gardens . I have relied hard on white - flower varieties in late gardens and marvelled at their willingness to grow neatly and flower profusely . If you still have any gaps left ( and heaven knows I do n’t ! ) , get to B&Q , snap up some some ‘ Imara Bizzie Lizzies ’ and lease us all know how you get on . TFG .
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Categories : Flower show , Flowers , Foliage , Garden Design , Hampton Court Flower Show , Landscape Design , Photography , Planting Design , Small Gardens , Tropical Gardens
Posted by The Frustrated Gardener
