With the sun shining, flowers in full bloom and the scent of barbecue lingering in the air, I really didn’t want to spend my week days in our grey Notting Hill office! What to do, what to do…

Image credit: mydeco.com

Then the lovely girls from Frank PR invited me to view Kathryn Hibberd’s Refresh & Revive Garden at the esteemed RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.  Set in the beautiful, wildlife-filled park that rolls away from from the royal surroundings of the Hampton Court Palace, once home to the legendary King Henry VIII, how could I refuse such an inconspicuous morning off work?

Behind the scenes

After many an email about steel toe boots and hi vis jackets, I sacrificed a morning at the office for a look at the Flower Show ‘behind the scenes’. And it was certainly worth leaving my computer for: the sun was scorching, everyone had a smile, sweat on their brows, and earth under their nails.

Image credit: Kathryn Hibberd

Kathryn’s sustainable garden, in partnership with Sadolin, was in mid-construction yet already looked charming and idyllic. Yet hardly anything is new: she nabbed her neighbour’s leftover flint; ‘bought reclamation timber and old Victorian floorboards’; and the pavilion consists of ‘roof joints from an old factory, unwanted scaffolding boards and a manky old table from ebay’. Painted white and protected by Sadolin, it now looks stunning and the cost is minimal.

Kathryn said: ‘We were really keen on using reclaimed timber and it can still have a modern look, especially as Sadolin can make it look as good as new or even better.’

Image credit: mydeco.com

As well as Kathryn’s garden, I loved The Pansy Project’s artistic contribution, a garden dedicated to bees, a mass of bright swaying sunflowers, the Shakespeare section – especially The Taming of the Shrew garden, and the many mounds of earth yet to be transformed.

Kathryn (pictured below) commented that ‘there’s a real passion behind the scenes’. And as of tomorrow, and for the rest of the week, you can experience the fruits of this passion yourself (quite literally in the food tent!).

Want a closer look behind the scenes? Read the editor’s blog of my sneaky peak around the site.

Image credit: mydeco.com

How the fruits tasted…

Ever since my sneak preview of the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show construction site, I’ve been longing to see the final result. So Kate and myself went back for the press day.  See what Kate thought of our second visit in our blog tomorrow!

Have you been to the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show before? Or planning to go this year? We’d love to know.

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