This was the year that I finally got to go to the Tatton Flower Show. My cousin, Jean had invited me some 15 years or more, to go & stay with her so we could go to the show together. Tatton week had always clashed with other planned holidays, but this was the year that I decided that a week in Congleton & a week in North Wales was on the cards.
We had booked in advance to go on the Thursday & the weather forecast for that day at the beginning of the week did not look very promising, with cloudy skies & heavy rain. But I think that I willed the day to be glorious & it was ! Scorching hot sunshine from the off with only a quick shower just before lunch. It did get more cloudier as the day went on, but that did not spoil the occasion, which had been so long in the making.
For the last 17 years I have been to Gardeners's Live Show at the NEC, Birmingham, which I have always enjoyed & I was expected Tatton to be the same, but It wasn't. Tatton had the atmosphere of a country show, but just for gardeners. It felt more local than national, as there were more local stallholders selling plants etc & there was more of a connection with the community, as local schools had produced themed garden displays. The children were very enthusiastic about telling people about their displays & collecting their comments. The next three photos are the children's gardens - Egypt - Silk Route - Great Fire of London.
The Floral Marquee was brimming with plants to buy, some of the prices were little high, but there were still bargains to be had. We went in the marquee at the right time & managed to have a good look round before it got to packed.
We then went around the show gardens. The next two photos are gardens from the Galaxy themed section, with the designers of this first photo portraying the universe & the second portraying a black hole. These two gardens attracted the most interest during the day.
I was fascinated with this display & so were the children. Water was endlessly pouring into the cup & overflowing on to the tray. I watched it for ages.
We had planned to have lunch in the one of the restaurants but they were packed & the queues to get in were horrendous. Luckily we had taken some sandwiches, after which we had an ice-cream from the Purbeck stand & I can honestly say it was the best ice-cream that I have ever had. I even queued up again to have as second. So if you are ever in Dorset, look out for the Purbeck Ice Cream sign. You won't be disappointed ! The treats did not end there, I then purchased a large muffin which was filled with jam & cream. I can still taste that muffin even now. It's a pity that the company which made them is in London & that's a long way to go just for a muffin.
The Flower Arrangement marquee was our next port of call. The standard was very high. I took quiet a few photos but many of them were spoilt by people getting in the shot & that distracts you from end result, you can't win them all.
By mid afternoon we were ready for a sit down, so we headed for the display marquee. We had read in the programme that my friend (I don't like to brag) Matt Briggs of Radio 4 Gardeners Question Time, was the presenter for the talks. I had first got to know Matt at the NEC & I am going to cover that story & more in my Gardeners's Live Show post. I arranged with Matt to meet my cousin, who was a big fan of his, but this had to wait as the next talk was just about to start. Jekka McVicar presented the talk about wild plants in our countryside which are edible. After a very interesting talk, which involved sampling & smelling various plants, my cousin got to have her chat with Matt. I think she was on cloud 9 after that. (The photo of Matt is one taken at the NEC).
Another trip down memory lane. I nearly had a go on the slide. They were letting adults go on !
In my opinion this was the best of the display gardens. You could have so easily said, I will take this one home with me !
This was nearly the end of a wonderful day, enjoyed by both of us. There was just enough time to go & look at the Ducks again, which had attracted large crowds all day. It had quieten off enough to get a decent photo.
