Friday was a beautiful, warm, sunny day so I headed to a Garden Festival after work to see what they had to offer. The garden event takes place every year but this is my first year going - I had a free admission ticket so felt I must check it out. It wasn't anything close to the Chelsea Flower Show however there were a few things of interest. UK's own garden guru, Monty Don, was at the event and did a question and answer session. I'm a fan of Monty so enjoyed this. Some of the plant prices were quite dear at the show - e.g. £10 for a tiny bit of hosta. Needless to say I didn't make any purchases.
I did find some inspiration at the show and enjoyed the surroundings. Below are a few photos of what I thought were interesting features.
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| The theme of the garden design competition at the show was 'Painting with Plants'. The teams had one day to plant up their design in a 3mx3m space. Below are some of the designs as well as some of the other displays at the show. |
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| Above and Below: A wildlife garden - maybe you can spot a hedgehog home and frog home (a close up of the frog home is in the photo below). I like the little pond in an old barrel. |
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| Isn't the little bunny cute which made up part of a designer's display. |
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| Flower cupcakes - a great idea for parties! |
Hope you enjoyed the tour. More info on the event can be found by clicking here.
Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.
It looks like a fun event! I loved the theme, Painting with flowers. There were some neat ideas, too. I love the party flower cupcakes. What a great centerpiece for a tea, then serve real cupcakes with an edible flower, too. Inspiring!
ReplyDeleteI love the designs. They are very spirited. The flower toppings on the cupcakes are charming. A great idea for entertaining. Cheers, Jenni
ReplyDeleteI don't usually get to flower shows as there are no big ones in our area, but I enjoy them when they're featured on television. The themed gardens are my favourite part of the event and those featured at your show are charming.
ReplyDeleteThe poor little creature would have to climb the log roll to get into it's house! I rather like the artists palette idea.
ReplyDeleteLovely pictures! Looks like a gorgeous sunny day too, we are still waiting for some sunshine. I'm hoping to go to the Tatton Park Flower Show in the Summer, I agree definitely worth a visit for inspiraton even if you don't buy anything xx
ReplyDeleteSuch fun. I don't know any garden shows per say here. Perhaps on the East coast. I have always wanted to go to the Chelsea Flower Show. I keep saying maybe next year. Your spring photos are beautiful. After pretty dreadful spring weather, flowers are beginning to make a show. I'd say things are about two weeks behind. While you didn't spend any money, I am sure that you took home inspiration.
ReplyDeleteThe "Painting with Flowers" displays are very clever! I reckon you could do that well (maybe with some extra advice from your Mum!)
ReplyDeleteWhat fantastic inspiration! I really love that garden shaped like the artists palette. I can just imagine it spilling over with flowers.
ReplyDeleteHi Kelli, you did say you had sunshine and heat?! No such luck down here, overcast though warm (ish). Great ideas in the gardens and the idea of having to put them together so quickly too. I am going to Chelsea for the first time ever so I'm really looking forward to that.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting that people had such different interpretations of the theme, very varied but all of them inspired in their own way.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great theme, the displays are very clever. I find plant prices at these kind of shows quite expensive, but the shows themselves are very inspiring. It looks like you had a wonderful day.
ReplyDeleteThose garden shows are so much fun, even if the prices are too high. I do love the flower cupcake idea!
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