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The Royal Horticultural Society’s Chatsworth Flower Show brought a dazzling display of colour to the country estate. Twist’s Deborah Wain was there
T HOUSANDS of gardening enthusiasts poured into the local area for Chatsworth’s five-day festival of all things horticultural.
And after torrential rain plagued last year’s inauguaral event, during this year’s show, visitors saw the magnificent show gardens, installations and other exhibits at their best.
A mass planting of 12,000 cosmos outside Chatsworth house was a first for the RHS and provided a pretty foreground for photographs. Also new to this year's show was a competition to create borders that showcased the theme of movement.
The Long Borders contest was open to students, garden designers, community groups and talented individuals, with the top eight being featured at the show.
The Long Borders, planted inside raised sleeper beds, featured high summer colour and masses of inspiration for visiting gardeners to take home and adapt.
The vital role plants play within cities was explored in a new Living Laboratory feature. Plants and technology were displayed to highlight how different varieties can help address a number of urban challenges including pollution, flooding and food scarcity.
The coveted award for best show garden went to Phil Hirst, from Sheffield, for his design ‘The Great Outdoors’. This was a celebration of the natural, local environment designed to evoke the beauty of woodland and moors through the structures and planting and provide a place to relax after enjoying the outdoors.
Of Phil’s design, an RHS judging panel spokesman, said: “The garden is exactly true to the brief, in that he made a beautiful domestic garden in a variety of beautiful materials on a limited budget. The planting is full of interest and variety, particularly with the lovely foreground meadow.”
A charity close to the heart of Chesterfield people Macmillan Cancer Support had worked with designer Michael Coley to create a Legacy garden.
Chatsw
Thanks to the support of local people and a significant donation from the National Garden Scheme, the Macmillan Chesterfield Appeal successfully raised the £2.5 million towards the cost of the NGS Macmillan Unit, which opened its doors at the Royal in June 2017.
A place of contemplation and reflection, the garden took its inspiration from the work of the charity and highlighted the importance of legacy- giving. It included a large oak tree which rose up from broken paving to represent strength and resilience amid some large boulders, which spoke of the chaos that cancer may cause.
The ancient Derbyshire tradition of well dressing, still practised in more than 80 towns and villages in the area, was displayed in the showground’s community section.
Among groups invited to create an artwork this year was the 1st Whitwell Scouts and Guides. They have been producing the village well dressing since 1972
Each year, one display is created entirely by young members and themes have reflected that including a design based on The Hobbit film series.
The Scouts and Guides were thrilled to have been asked to put their work on display outside Whitwell for
the first time.
The design for Chatsworth –
from the imagination of Darren Ellis and Josef Dawes – reflected Whitwell’s sense of belonging to three counties.
A ram’s head depicted Derbyshire, the oak trees represented the ancient forests of Nottinghamshire, while a rose stood for South Yorkshire.
The Chatsworth well dressing created by Scouts and Guides from Whitwell
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