Garden Shows – Our History At The Biggest And Best

Garden shows are the best place to find inspiration for garden design and landscaping and we have a rich history at these shows. Ahead of our final appearance at RHS Chelsea Flower Show later this year, we wanted to take a trip down memory lane. Read on to come back with us to some of our favourite shows.

The world's most famous flower show, Chelsea features the cutting edge of garden design. Displays are legendary and trade stands just as impressive. Chelsea is the pinnacle of the landscaping calendar. London Stone first made their appearance at RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2013. Since then, we have attended year after year, supplying products to award-winning gardens. Over the years we have supported over 30 gardens and trade stands at Chelsea alone. Those gardens have won a wide range of medals and awards from Gold to Bronze, Best Show Garden, Best Construction and more. We are also strong supporters of young designers and have supported several newcomers during our time at Chelsea. One of our favourite gardens over the years was Ann-Marie Powell's Greening Grey Britain Garden from 2016. The first time London Stone’s porcelain paving appeared at Chelsea this garden was truly spectacular. Golden Stone Porcelain Paving was used to create an impressive walkway and circular open space. The porcelain was enveloped in lush green and vibrant planting. Into the porcelain was inscribed the word happiness, in various languages. Using our CNC machine, the words were skilfully cut by our in-house stone masons. The garden was designed to inspire people to consider how to make more than just a parking lot out of their front garden. Our Golden Stone Porcelain has a more relaxed, natural appearance to it ,whilst still having the durability of porcelain – the perfect combination for a front garden.

The largest flower show, RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival, previously known as RHS Hampton Court Flower Show, is full of inspirational garden designs. With stunning floral displays in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace, this show has a majestic charm. 2013 was a busy year for us, seeing us also making our first appearance at Hampton Court. That first time, we sponsored two displays. From there our support at this flower show has only grown. Over the last few years, we have provided materials for over 25 show gardens and trade stands. This year alone our products featured in 5 gardens and stands. 2018 was perhaps one of our most successful years at Hampton Court. Being part of three Gold Medal-winning gardens, as well as a Silver Gilt and Silver award. One of our favourite gardens from this year was The South West Water Green Garden from Tim Simpson and Rosebank Landscaping. Full of soft edges and circles, this garden had an impressive beauty. The stone circle is made from London Stone Jura Limestone with a chamfered edge. The garden was designed to promote the sustainable management of rainwater and the chamfered edge assists with this, allowing water to run easily into gravel fillets. Once again our in-house team of stone masons were involved in making this award-winning garden possible.

RHS Flower Show Tatton Park is another must in the calendar for those that love everything gardening. It offers colourful flower displays, garden inspiration, family activities, workshops and more. It is a great day out, and we have been there since 2014. This year saw us contributing more products then ever before to show gardens at Tatton and we were rewarded greatly. Gold, Silver Gilt, Silver and Bronze awards for all of the gardens we were a part of - a massive result. One garden that we still think of today is The Phytosanctuary Garden from Kristian Reay and Steven Foxcroft Landscapes from 2019. Winning a Gold medal and Young Designer award, this garden once again showcased the talent of, not only the designers and contractors, but our stone masons and products. Harvest Sandstone was used to create an impressive feature wall with a unique engraving. The sculpture represented the cell make-up of Xylella. The garden itself is about this plant disease, which has taken a foothold in southern Italy. Matching Harvest Sandstone copings and Mint Sandstone Wall Cladding are also used throughout the garden to give it that Mediterranean character. Plants that are at-risk from this disease were used throughout the garden, such as lavender and Portugal laurel. Curves, warm colours, and textural differences add interest to this garden with stunning results; it is easy to see why this garden won its awards.

London Stone is proud of the industry we are part of and are proud to be in attendance at as many industry events as we can. Some other events where you may have seen our products over the years include BBC Gardeners World Live, RHS Chatsworth Flower Show, RHS Malvern Spring Show, Ascot Flower Show, as well as trade-only events. We are excited to continue attending these prestigious flower shows year after year. Our products can next be seen at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2021.