There are two water gardens at Hampton Court this year and they're always something I look forward to as this category is unique to Hampton.
This year they are slightly different in that they both have large raised ponds within a garden setting. The Dorset Water Lily Company garden, (Silver) is a real corner of the Mediterranean, I had a good look at it on my way across the showground and with the early morning sunshine on it (yes the sun has made an appearance!) I felt as if I could have been in Tuscany! The lavender, thyme and santolinas are really shown-off by the crushed stone mulch, the ancient olives and Italian cypress add a true sense of classical drama. The raised pool, planted simply with water lilies, adds to the calming atmosphere of this convincing Mediterranean style garden.
The (Silver) also sports raised ponds but this time they surround a sunken patio area which you have to walk through to reach the timber shelter, the perfect spot to view the garden. This garden has a distinctly traditional lay-out that is cleverly is relaxed by the pretty mixed perennial and shrub planting around the raised pools, I think you'd have to invest in a pair of waders to maintain this one but it'd be well worth it.
(Silver-gilt) is a show garden but has water as part of its design, this time it is formal but works well in this modern setting. by Libra school (Silver) even brought us a canal complete with authentic narrowboat, quite an achievement.
(Silver) watery element is not what you might expect but it just goes to show there's something for all tastes, it's a bath! On a glorious sunny evening I can't think of anything nicer than an alfresco dip in the tub, don't know what the neighbours would think though!
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