We arrived bright and early to sunshine with only few clouds, and started making our way around the display gardens. It was pretty busy but we found that, with patience, we could get a turn at the front of each garden. It was very interesting; wildflowers and reclaimed materials are very much in vogue. The proud garden designers stood about chatting with and being congratulated by the crowd for their medals, and Gardeners’ World presenter Adam Frost was being filmed by a tv crew as he talked about the gardens. In the interest of complete disclosure, I didn’t have a clue who he was, so I asked a lady who was taking a photo of him. I then moved forward to take my own photo; Mr Frost noticed this and posed for me with a smile. I said “Thank you” and he benevolently replied “Bless you!” However we did not manage to spot Heather and Ewan’s favourite presenter, Monty Don, even though another lady told me that he had been seen earlier at the BBC Garden.
After ambling round the periphery of the site and seeing most of the gardens, it was time for an early lunch, which I had booked at the Ranelagh Restaurant. It was great to get a proper sit down, because strolling very slowly is strangely tiring. Our lunch was brilliant; four courses served with more good nature than experience by the very young waiting staff. But the most notable thing about lunch was the sudden change in the weather. A bank of dark cloud rolled in swiftly while we were eating, and suddenly we were assailed by flashes of lightning followed immediately by extremely loud thunder which sounded as if it was directly overhead. This was accompanied by a torrential rain storm which drummed on the roof of the pavilion; we could hardly hear each other speak. Outside we could see people running for cover, and on the open air terrace of the next-door “oyster and champagne” bar the customers were huddling with jackets and umbrellas under the wholly inadequate parasols that were above their table. After about fifteen minutes the clouds moved onwards to be replaced by sunshine. We were just about to leave when we spotted giant dark cloud number two, which produced exactly the same violent weather as its predecessor! The thunder was rattling the pavilion and everyone was flinching. We ordered another coffee as we waited for it to pass. As we chatted to the pleasant elderly couple at the next table (he was an ex-pilot so he and James got on famously!) we told them that the EXACT same thing had happened to our friends Heather and Ewan a few years ago at the Hampton Palace Flower Show, when they too were happily ensconced inside a nice restaurant during a sudden and intense rainstorm!
Yet again the clouds moved on and the sun came back out, this time to stay. However it had left some effects; the gardeners had to do a bit of tidying up and one of the paths was blocked by a giant puddle. A procession of valiant flower enthusiasts could be seen picking their way though a copse of trees to bypass it!
We finished our day by exploring the giant marquee in the centre of the flower show site and making a few purchases of bulbs and seeds. Even an horticultural ignoramus such as myself could see that the flower displays were absolutely outstanding. James had a deep conversation with an iris expert about the best variety to grow in our garden, and we met up for a chat with Lesley and Chris (whose enthusiasm for the event had also influenced me to attend.)
When our tired legs informed us that it was time to leave, James expertly navigated us to the river at Battersea Power Station where we caught a Thames clipper all the way into the city and on to Canary Wharf. It really was a very relaxing and happy boat ride with the buildings on the north side of the Thames all lit up by the late afternoon sun.
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