HORTICULTURE

RHS shows, new plants and the garden ideas worth watching

What recent RHS show gardens can teach ordinary home gardeners without copying a show garden wholesale.

Show gardens are idea banks

The best thing to take from an RHS show is rarely an entire design. Look instead at planting combinations, repeated shapes, ground-cover choices, water use and how paths or seating make a space feel larger.

Resilience is a recurring theme

Recent show gardens have put increasing emphasis on biodiversity, drought tolerance, reclaimed materials and planting that works harder through more than one season.

Borrow the principle, not the price tag

A home garden can use the same thinking with simpler materials: repeat a small group of plants, leave fewer bare gaps, collect rainwater and choose plants that suit the soil rather than fighting it.