The ' Tatton Show 2024

Maureen and I took the free shuttle bus that connects the Tatton Flower Show with nearby Altrincham so as to relieve her of the burden of driving. We alighted on the wide coach parking place and made our way  through a small clump of trees and over a stretch of grassland over which we could espy the tents and cabins of the show. We made as if to join the  queue, but the security man on duty waved me through via the disabled entrance. Walking with the assistance of a mobility aid has its advantages, but I would rather not be needing it. We were running a test. Two years previously my walking had been so constrained by my medical condition that it was deemed impossible for me to walk around the park without help and so had a wheelchair. This year we were seeing how well I would do with a rollator. 

Some well positioned plant stalls greeted us. These stalls near the Mansion House entrance were taken by a flower nursery, which was attempting to sell its wares to eager customers. Nurseries live by shows like Tatton, and so they time the production of stocks for maximum quality at show time. I noted a plethora of luxuriant blooms. The first that greeted my eye were hydrangias, their blooms on a spectrum of colours from the rainbow. Hydrangias change colour according to whether or not the soil is acid or alkaline, and I thought that a great deal of careful soil preparation had gone into their production. There were also members of the allium family, with their globular inflorescences, and there were also specimens of nepeta, cat mint, to name but a few others from a beautiful  smorgasbord of floral luxuriance.    

We decided to snack at one of the mobile vans that were surrounding us, so we chose a gourmet sausage roll from the Yorkshire Sausage Company. It was delicious. 

Flowers were spread throughoùt the show. There was a variety of show gardens, and every year there are two produced by young garden designers. There are gardens designed for companies and institutions such as charities, to promote their causes. But while these large show gardens are spectacular celebrations of the floral imagination, there are smaller gardens produced sometimes by schools, and there are gardens which celebrate urban horticulture in tight spaces. These are becoming more important in modern times as pressures on urban space grow heavier. But there is always the floral marquee,  which is filled with a luxuriance of floral displays. The largest displays, such as chrysanthemums, are set against the sides of the marquee, but in the centre there are displays from smaller nurseries laid out on tables, and here there is a rainbow of colours spelling each table. As usual the display produced by the master grower has no medals, for being chosen as the master grower for the year transcends any medal awards.

Maureen knew the stall that she wanted to see, as she had seen it on the previous night's television. It was the stall of one of the two young designers who are every year selected  to produce a show garden. The young man concerned was twenty six and split his time between wrestling and gardening. She had a friendly conversation with him, got a photo and moved on. 

The gardens come in a variety of sizes. Some are large and detailed constructions with running water and edifices constructed on them. They cost thousands of pounds and are sponsored by companies or charities keen to promote their causes. The designers are highly paid professionals with a history of success. The terms of the design contract are that at the show's conclusion the garden will be dismantled and reconstructed on  a site connected with the charity or one of the sponsor's choosing. 

Some of the gardens are small, in tribute to the working class gardeners who made the most of their paved back yards in the industrial slums of British cities, the sort of place where I grew up for the  first five years of my life. Some of  these gardens are back to back, in memory of the worst kind of housing abolished in the nineteenth century. These residents needed allotments or window boxes. But there is another kind of urban gardening that is returning: the ginnel garden. Where I grew up we called ginnels entries, narrow back  passages between terraced  houses, but the word ginnel has become standard. A ginnel garden is a passage lined with containers for growing. These are made of durable materials.

We entered the ginnel garden at one end. There was ample room to walk between the containers. A large plastic cubic box nurtured a youhg apple tree, about a year old. Boxes, barrels and metal laundry tub filled with compost lined the walls. A second apple further on made a pair. Well tended flowers, some standing to six feet or more added beauty to the display, and vegetables, salads for example, grew in boxes. Potato planters were visible. A team of young women stood at entrance and exit, answering questions and giving out leaflets. I did not record the charity's name. It was, however an impressive exhibit.

Otherwise, the rest of the displays were found in the nursery stalls, which were showing the world what the nurseries had to offer. People were  entering the stalls with trolleys provided by the show and exiting either directly to their cars, only to return for the rest of their load or depositing it for safe keeping in the marquee providing storage facilities. Some cars heavily loaded with plants went home that night.

 Many women relish the high quality garments on offer at the stalls and they love the scents.  There are other goodies on offer. Garden tools can be purchased, and there are glass house firms with their wares fully erected to demonstrate what high quality edifices can be had for gardens. Maureen refrained from purchasing anything. Instead, before we shopped we got lunch. We did not choose the luxury pop up restaurant withnits afternoon tea, with Prosecco, on sale at over sixty five pounds. We chose a take away stall selling cheese toasties. Very filling. We dined to the gentle background music of a singer and small band. 

We then made our way to the food stalls. There were several retailing spirits, but we ignored those in favour of the pies and cheese, which always draw me.I purchased some craft cheeses and some pies, four for fifteen pounds. The pies contained pork with other ingredients, such as black pudding, stilton cheese and apple. But we were beginning to feel a bit tired. The experiment to see how well I would cope on foot had been successful, I had managed to go on foot around the show ground and was not feeling unduly tired We took the shuttle bus home 

There was a touch of nostalgia as the show ended. With the show going on tour we will not be back at Tatton for three years. I am unsure of the destinations, but I know that in 2026 the show will go to the king's private estate at Sandringham in Norfolk. But it will still be open to the general public. Travelling to the East of England will be too long a journey, so I will miss that one. We know that the king is keen on gardening, so the show will be in good hands. Then in 2027 it will return to Tatton. But in the meantime there will be other shows. Southport will run in August and Chatsworth with its friendly duke gave the general public a warm welcome, and it is only around forty miles away in Derbyshire.

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