Dollops of Joy #4 - What are Those Purple Fields?

Plus a video of my highlights from RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival, Swift Bricks, and some honest thoughts on press day.

Monday was press day at the RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival, and oh my word, it was a scorcher! I arrived early as I had a very important date with a plant nursery come mid-morning (filmed and coming up soon), so time was of the essence.

I’m not going to give you a full run down of all the gardens as the BBC do an excellent job of that already. Instead, I thought I’d show you my favourites, along with a little video (I’m not on camera by the end of it, as I was a hot dripping mess), and some honest thoughts on how Hampton press day is handled.

Astonishingly, the garden I thought was the most beautiful only received a silver medal. I have no idea what the judging criteria is, and I’m sure it’s very complicated, but it’s obviously very different from the criteria I have as a viewer.

But first, if you’ve been driving around the countryside in England over the past few weeks, you can’t have helped but notice the swathes of purple fields stretching for as far as the eye can see. What on earth are they? I’ll give you a clue: It’s not Lavender.