July 8, 2009

Hampton Court Flower Show

Hampton Court Palace, just outside of London in Richmond, on the Thames, was home to Henry VIII, who came to the throne 500 years ago. Each summer, the Palace hosts the Hampton Court Flower show which has a more down-to-earth feeling than the Chelsea show.
In honour of the 500th anniversary, there are gardens for each of Henry VIII's wives. Do you know the rhyme to tell them apart? Divorced, beheaded, died; Divorced, beheaded, survived. Simple, no? This is the garden for his wife, Katherine Howard (beheaded, round two).As you take the train into London, you can still see a lot of these old gypsy caravans in gardens. It's a reminder of older times. Wow! If people have issues with clotheslines, can you imagine what they'd say about these planters? I love the way they've used an old postbox as a fountain. When you see these old boxes, you can tell their age by the initials on the front. This one is probably from the reign of King George VI. You can still see some with Queen Victoria's initials. This is a topiary of the shop Mary Rose, which sank in 1545 and was raised in 1982. I wish that we had shows like this here, but we don't have the gardening tradition that the UK does.

15 comments:

  1. What an interesting post. Last summer, I read a book by Alison Weir about Henry VIII and his wives. Katherine Howard was quite a tart and a cousin of Anne Boleyn. Both beheaded.

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  2. I adore the ship.
    Yes, if only we had shows such as these!

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  3. There were three Katherines that he was married to, and every time I looked them up, each was spelled differently, sometimes within the same article.

    I do like that little rhyme though!

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  4. love the little rhyme. What a fun post!

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  5. Thanks for sharing all those lovely photos. I have always adored gypsy caravans since spying in Ireland. Something so mysterious & carefree about that lifestyle.

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  6. i have a thing for TALL SHIPS,
    so the topiary is great to me.
    i enjoyed this whole post.

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  7. I so agree, Meg! Too bad we don't have garden shows of this caliber in the states. I am dying to go to Chelsea FS one day.

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  8. the gypsy caravan could be mine. these images are so wonderful and it would be WWonderful to have something like that to see in the states.la

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  9. That clothesline is really great. I'm clipping it for a sculptor I'm friends with, if you don't mind.

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  10. love the rhyme - listening to the Other Boleyn Girl right now while I work in the studio -

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  11. Love the clothesline!!!! Laughing my butt off, knowing that you need at least a D cup to hold all the dirt!!!

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  12. Adored this post. Totally agree about wishing we had a Chelsea. Going to local garden shows just makes the comparison worse! Loved the clothesline. Here in Lawrence, we had Bras Across the Kaw (Kansas River) to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness. Donated bras covered both sides of the bridge in an amazing rainbow of colors and sizes. What fun. Stupidly did not take picture.

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  13. Meg-Delightful post. I of course agree, but the Philadelphia Flower Show is wonderful, and I love Philly having gone to Bryn Mawr undergrad, so I always enjoy it very much.

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  14. The ship topiary is my favorite!

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  15. I wish I had a garden! Though, I think I would be insufferable, always boasting of my roses and beds of peonies.

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