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Writer's pictureAlison Johnston

Show garden design: Round up of RHS Tatton Flower Show 2023

Updated: Oct 17, 2023

Designing and building a show garden at a national flower show


The dust has settled and it's back to the usual routine. But before I get share some of this autumns new designs, here's a little round up of my experience doing a show garden at RHS Tatton 2023.


Alison Johnston smiling, with RHS medal
Alison Johnston with RHS medal

It takes a village


My first solo show garden was certainly a labour of love, but while I was alone in the design and build, I had a raft of supporters behind me. From my wonderful hubby letting me borrow his beloved van for a few weeks, to my mum who came to fettle the plants, to my kids who were keen to assist in watering my plants whenever the need arose.

Two women wearing hi-vis jackets smiling in a garden
Dream team adding finishing touches to the show garden

During the build there was a real camaraderie amongst the designers on site, sharing tools, offering cake and sharing intel on the nearby nurseries open over a weekend. Even the event co-ordinators were friendly, approachable and gave lots of great advice.


I was also very lucky to get help during the show from fellow garden designers from my local region to help man my garden, helping people with questions about the garden when I couldn't be there.

A leaflet with pictures of dinosaurs, shells and leaves with drawings done by child
Explorer pack, completed by one of the visitors

Engagement with the public

A real highlight was the amount of engagement I had with the public. We used nearly all of the 200 explorer packs I had printed up, and it was lovely to see so many young visitors at the show. We had school groups, instagrammers, families and some visitors living with sensory limitations, who kindly took the time to chat with me about their own gardening experiences. Particularly inspiring was the number of school groups who came, who have in-turn inspired me to start up our own gardening club at my children's school.



Phormium 'pink panther' and Sanguasorba 'Little buttons' looking lovely in the rain
Phormium 'pink panther' and Sanguasorba 'Little buttons' looking lovely in the rain

Support for the build

I have been extremely lucky to have had the support of not just a wonderful plant nursery Johnsons of Whixley, but also the lovely folks at Rusty Rooster who loaned us the fabulous sculptures. This took pressure off the very tight budget and allowed me to use quality products I might not otherwise have afforded.


Corten velociraptor looking out through foliage
Corten velociraptor looking out through foliage


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