We were lucky enough to visit the RHS Tatton Park Flower Show 2021 on a day with beautiful sunshine. It was incredibly hot but that was certainly preferential to rain!

After a year off we felt the show had come back bolder and brighter than ever before. The themes of love and colour were abundant in the show gardens.

Young Designer Gardens

This year five finalists were tasked to design a thought-provoking garden which highlights issues of sustainability and mental health. 

The main reason for our visit was to see the Young Designer Gardens. This was because we supplied our stone into two of them. Both Ellie Edkins and Max Parker-Smith chose our aggregates for their amazing show gardens.

Ellie created the incredible ‘Dreamscape Garden‘ which features our Goldpath Self-Binding Gravel. Her garden is based around the surreal landscape of dreams, with soft ethereal planting and interesting pink sculptures. It is designed with mental health and well-being in mind and offers an escape from reality, taking the visitor to a more positive place.

Our Goldpath creates pathways that wind in and around the garden and provide a rustic feel to the space.

Earth Garden

Max used our White Limestone Gravel 10mm within his glorious ‘Earth Garden’. His focus was on letting nature and wildlife thrive. Therefore everything was carefully selected as sustainability was important.

Therefore our White Limestone was chosen as it has a low carbon footprint and will be crushed down and re-used as hardcore.

Max told us he enjoys feeling inferior to the planting within a garden. Therefore the stunning planting dominates the space with an abundance of textures and shapes. This truly green garden won Max a very well deserved Silver-Guilt Medal.

The winning Young Designer Garden was designed by Freddie Strickland and called ‘On Tropic’. It highlights issues of climate change, and celebrates the sub-tropical gardens found in Cornwall. The garden therefore speculates on future garden design and planting.

Back To Back Gardens

Our favourite back to back garden was ‘Petrus: Full Circle’ designed by Rachael Bennion. Created in collaboration with the homeless charity Petrus Community, it highlights issues of flooding and how to let nature provide solutions. Cotswold Gravel is used in a small area of the garden. A selection of boulders and rockery stone also line the pond.

We thought ‘United Utilities Garden of Resistance’ was very impressive. This garden similarly highlights issues around increased rainfall, along with periods of drought as predicted in the future. There are practical and creative ideas on how water can be conserved and reused within the garden. This garden also featured porous pathways similar to our Goldpath Self-binding Gravel.

Tatton Gardens

All of these gardens were spectacular and therefore rated highly with the judges. The ‘Macmillan Legacy Garden’ won Best Tatton Garden alongside a gold medal. This stunning garden raises awareness of leaving a gift in your will to the charity.

We thought the large stones used for seating were a fantastic addition. The garden also uses small White Limestone Chippings to act as a neutral backdrop to the colourful plants and flowers.

We also loved Pip Probert’s ‘Garden With A View’. It’s a stunning coastal garden that features a selection of decorative aggregates similar to our Scottish Pebbles and Oyster Pebbles 10mm. An expanse of vivid planting really catches the eye and the whole garden had a calming effect on the visitor.

It also offers a place to relax and unwind, whilst enjoying the stunning scenery.

Overall a fantastic day out at the RHS Tatton Park Flower Show. Watch our video below to see more of each of the spectacular show gardens.