Reckless Gardener - Show report - Tropical Sun Brings out Best at RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

The tropical heatwave conditions for the preview day at Hampton Court Flower Show certainly gave many of the gardens perfect conditions to show off hot colours and tropical themes as well as several gardens which were just perfect for helping you cool down!

The 2006 show promises to be another success and certainly there are lots of ideas for visitors to take away and use in their own gardens. From the quirky to the sublime there is plenty to stimulate the senses. On preview day all that hot sun seemed to bring out the very best of scents - go into the Festival of Roses marquee and prepare to be bowled over by the smells - with wonderful aromas wafting on the air at every turn.

For those designers who opted for a jungle or hot theme the conditions were probably near perfect even if there was a worry about keeping everything watered and fresh. So I was completely bowled over by the Christian Aid Garden 'Wish you were here...?' (Gold) - (pictured below) which for me was the best garden in the show.

Created by award-winning designer Clare Whitehouse, the garden is inspired by Christian Aid funded HIV projects in Jamaica. Behind a glossy brochure image of Jamaica lurks the reality of poverty and illiteracy for many young Jamaicans and so behind the colourful tropical front of this garden we are led into a contrast dominated by ramshackle buildings and corrugated iron. This garden stimulated my senses but also awakened my conscience so much so that I think I actually feel guilty at the joy of seeing those beautiful Bourgainvillea hybrids intense in colour against a delicate blue wall.

Everyone is talking about 'The Cockler's Garden' (Gold) (pictured above) brought to the show by Southend on Sea Borough Council. The garden has taken the Tudor Rose Award for best Show Garden and is really a delight. This is a garden with two themes - first the drought-tolerant maritime planting and second the Essex cockle, scallop and oyster fishing industry. There are some good ideas here for natural planting and use of plants such as sea kale and fennel but it is the combination of planting which has delighted everyone who has seen the garden.

Also shining in the tropical conditions is 'Banrock Station, a Wetland Journey' (Silver-Gilt Flora) designed by Jonathan Martin and Loi Man, for Banrock Station Wines and Anglo Aquarium Plant Co. This is one of the gardens in the water garden category and is planted to evoke the ephemeral landscapes of the Austrialian wetlands using plants that are readily available in this country.

The Tudor Rose Award in the Water Gardens section goes to the Dorset Water Lily Company for 'Hot Springs' (Gold) (picture above) designed by Claudia de Yong. Again a fantastic garden which just revels in bright sunshine. Look across the lushly planted pond with its soothing bubbling water and lose yourself in lotus, ferns and cannas.

'The Weleda Garden - Garden of Wellbeing' (Bronze) designed by Anny Konig with its purple water fall to represent a garden of well-being I think worked really well with hot reds and golds contrasting with cool blues. 'Come rain or shine' (Silver-Gilt) (pictured below) designed by Pete Sims, with an expanse of still water and a delightful little jetty extending across the water from a wooden building built on stilts made me feel cool. 'Memories of a Long Hot Summer' (Silver) designed by Simon Harman, seemed aptly named given the weather conditions on the day.

In the small gardens category, best small garden goes to Merrist Wood Campus, Guildford College for their 'Immaculate Square Garden' designed by Alison Sloga. (Gold). This was one of the gardens where you instantly got that 'cool' feeling. Dappled shade is created under a canopy of box-headed Acer campestre within a garden which is an interpretation of a garden square brought to a smaller scale with key plants to evoke all the conventional garden square attributes.

First time exhibitor Robert Emby brings us 'The Essence & Inspiration of Clodgy Point' (Bronze) (pictured below) sponsored by the Eden Project and Heligan Garden. What a delightful small garden this is - it has a cool feel about it and for me perfectly catches the essence of Cornwall. Robert also designed the garden furniture including an eye catching table which folded to make a bench and a really distinctive garden chair which incorporates a canvas print of Cornwall for the back. He is an architect by profession and partly grew up in Cornwall spending many happy holidays there.

The garden is designed to encourge biodiversity and to be practical, low maintenance and organic. The Prince Charles clematis (Duke of Cornwall) on the walls set a dramatic backdrop and every time I passed the garden I seemed to find something else to catch the eye. Robert has enjoyed designing his first garden and admits that he would be keen to do one again for Hampton as he has found everyone so friendly.

City College Brighton and Hove's 'A Garden to Convert the Couch Potato' (Silver) (pictured below) was fun and entertaining as well as colourful. A garden aimed at extending the limitations of modern life and to convert the contents of a couch potato's life into a beneficial reality and rediscover the potato behind the chip!

'A Scandinavian Summer' (Silver-Gilt) (pictured below) designed by Marianne K Ali was another garden where you could pass it several times and always find something new and interesting. It is a garden where you want to linger - a peaceful place to sit and have coffee within a lovely planting theme. Lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote' and Lilium regale dazzled, Geranium 'Jolly Bee' invites you to look further and the choice of hostas and Rosa 'Iceberg' gives you that cool elegance which I felt was a signature of this garden.

Two other gardens which inspired me to feel cool and relaxed were 'Volvo - The Artist's Garden' (Gold) designed by Thomas Hoblyn and 'Croft Spot' (Bronze) (pictured below) designed by David Domoney. The planting scheme in Croft Spot features golds and greens and a range of tones from sunshine yellow to lemon. Cool and fresh this garden really appealed to me.

As I reflect back on one of the hottest days of my life, if visiting this week I'd advise taking a good supply of water with you, to keep hydrated! ... and one other abiding memory of this year's show; the smell of lavender. Several gardens used lavender in their planting, but put your foot in the Daily Mail Marquee and you will get a blast of lavender to die for!