As an avid lover of Blenheim Palace, an annual Privilege Pass holder and allotment enthusiast, the Blenheim Palace Flower Show has been on my calendar since the dates were released.
I must admit the show couldn’t of come at better timing for myself; a perfect distraction to put a smile on my face, get me excited and full of ideas!
The storm from Thursday had left it’s mark; the ground was rather muddy and it was trying to rain but on went my boots and nothing was going to dampen my spirits.
I hadn’t even pulled up the car, but my eyes and empty stomach were set on the Cinnamon bun stand I had seen immediately. Anyone who knows me knows that I cannot resist an cinnamon bun, nothing compares. Yes it was 10am and it would be my breakfast; Oh what an amazing breakfast it was, the best I had ever tasted! The perfect fuel for being on my feet all day.
PS. I don’t usually encourage high sugar baked goods for breakfast but sometimes its a must.
Now I was on a caffeine and sugar high, I was ready to get browsing, idea stacking and bank card spending. Note to self for next year…take a trolley!
As I went round the endless stalls of beautiful plants; flowers and grow your own I made my own little mental wish list. I could enjoy the show as hands free as possible then go back towards the end and treat myself silly.
I began by making my way to the right towards the Grand Floral Pavilion, featuring over 30 individual plantsman, growers and societies that excel in their field. The displays had been judged earlier by Geoff Oke and Tim Miles; now the awards were all proudly on show. I could only imagine the sense of pride they must of felt, I know I would feel incredibly proud no matter how experienced I had become.
That’s just a few of the many photos I took! I was certainly snap happy, but who can blame me!
Next I made my way to the Talk Stage with my lunch to listen to Robert Longstaff who leads The Oxford Garden Project, a not for profit social enterprise offering a new innovative programme which aims to teach the skills needed to complete the cycle of food from plot to plate. It certainly gets my support and I will be looking into volunteering when I get more free time if they will have me.
Robert led a full Q&A session, a perfect opportunity for myself and many others to ask for advice and get some top tips. Predominantly on discussion was rats, slugs, perennial weeds, composting correcting and the relatively new no-dig gardening method. Robert is an avid no-dig supporter and I am certainly sold on the idea.
One bit of advice for you that he passed on; “The darker the slug, the less of the problem”.
Full of answers to my never-ending list of questions, I made my way to the Indoor Shopping village, selling a brilliant collection of unique and handmade giftware. Lastly, it was onto the show gardens and outdoor shopping village, full of inspiration from colourful blooms, hardy perennials to garden furniture, making even the most stubborn crave their own outdoor space of tranquillity.
Right…now it was time to get the money out and treat myself. I think I was actually quite restrained considering. The only reason being that I do not have a permanent garden that I own, I either have the allotment or the garden which I rent. There will be no stopping me when I own a slice of outdoors I can create into my own paradise. There will be ladybird poppies and lupins galore.
As well as a few handmade food treats, I left with two mini cucumber plants, a lime mint plant and a chocolate mint plant. I can’t resist mint related plants as my readers will know.
I definitely recommend you visit the annual show if you get a chance, I live nearby but would certainly says its worth a longer drive. There was plenty of coaches and organised trips that arrived too, how you would get all your shopping back I don’t know though.
Lastly, who can resist these views!
I am off to the allotment now, to plant out my new well-loved delights that will hopefully reward me plenty.
Have you been to any gardening shows recently? I know Gardeners World Live is this weekend too. For me I had to pick out of the two and the Flower Show won.
Have a great day! x
It sounds as if the show lived up to your expectations – and perhaps a bit more! In the circumstances, I think you were very restrained in your purchases. I’m trying NOT to visit any such shows at present, because I know I would spend too much money. Having recently retired (thus, getting a lot less income) I want to see how the financial situation goes before I have any spending sprees! It’s nice when you have a place of your own, because then your garden can become a long-term project – with trees, shrubs and perennials of your choice instead of just short-lived annuals. You can often get cuttings of plants from your neighbours’ gardens too.
Lovely post! No dig is not a new idea though, Charles Dowding has been using this method for 35 years and he was inspired by people who had been doing it for decades before him 🙂
Thank you! I know from my research and as you say the method has been around a long time but do think it is a relatively new concept to the wider audience. If I mention no-dig to most people on my site they don’t know what it is. Makes complete sense to me though 😊
A most enjoyable post and lovely pictures. It sounds, and looks, like you really enjoyed the show.
I tend to go to small local shows nowadays rather than big events. xx
Thank you! I did really enjoy it 🙂
I do love the local shows, less people and more chance to take everything in. Glad we went Friday before the main rush of the weekend