Budding inspiration

The DialAFlight Potter’s Garden

Many gardens in the show this year reflect on the centenary of the First World War, this one included. DialAFlight’s entry with Nature Redesigned has come straight out of 1914 harking back to ‘lost agrarian ways’ while also showing how gardens can evolve and develop. This quaint garden is inspired by the Farnham Pottery with a workshop and run-down kiln nestled among the plants.

The Massachusetts Garden

In some ways there is no better way to showcase a place’s natural landscape then to recreate it somewhere else. Sand and the coast are a heavy influence on this garden which aims to emulate sand dunes and the beaches on the Cape Cod coastline. Not content with just showing how it could look, the tourism board has also teamed up with UK tour operators to launch garden and nature-themed itineraries. Betsy Wall, executive director for the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism said: “This year we are promoting the natural beauty of Massachusetts in the UK market.  We are excited to be bringing a garden inspired by our stunning Atlantic Coastline to the UK, it truly represents the wondrous beauty found across Massachusetts.”

Le Tour de Yorkshire

Yorkshire’s in the cycling spirit with its garden this year, representing both the city and countryside background to the Grand Depart 2014. Cleverly it uses recycled bike wheels in its design, which draws on the roughness of the moors to the sleek cityscape. A dish of black water shows the city, with many of the materials including hawthorn trees coming from the region itself. Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: Our Tour de Yorkshire garden brings together all that is wonderful in our beautiful county, with a unique twist to celebrate the arrival of the

Grand Départ of the Tour de France in Yorkshire. Our famous scenery will take centre stage when the world’s greatest cycle race arrives in the summer, and the Tour de Yorkshire garden sets the scene perfectly for what will be the greatest event ever to have come to Yorkshire.”

The Viking Cruises Norse Garden

It is not hard to see why Viking Cruises would choose to take up an artisan garden at the flower show; it’s perfect for the passengers they are trying to reach. Naturally it’s garden is very Nordic and maritime themed, not only representing the cruise line but the importance of water to the Viking age. A large part of a Viking ship (the traditional type, not a modern river cruise one) protrudes from the garden as the centrepiece. The garden’s designer Sadie May Stowell told Viking’s blog: “The plants I have used have been chosen to represent the water through which the ship is travelling and, together, will create a sea of soft blue and green with a foam of frothy cream flowers.”