Garden designs at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show 2009 - a review by Tom Turner

7th July to 12th July 2009: Like Chelsea 2009, the Hampton Court Flower Show showed signs of recession-damage in 2009. There were fewer designed gardens and too many looked as though they were designed on the cheap and, on the whole, it was more like a Gardener's market than a Flower Show.

But good things come from belt-tightening and it was a pleasure to see designers' increasing emphasis on sustainability and on vegetable growing. And, as last year, the conceptual gardens were interesting.

The Garden Energy feature was designed by Sarah Eberle and explores the use of green technology in garden design.
Concreation, by Flemons Warland Design
Monstruosa by Metagardens (left) and Its Hard to See (by Rebecca Butterworth, Victoria Pustygina and Ludovica Ginanneschi (right)
I Promise was designed by students from Year 6 at St John The Divine Church of England Primary School. The garden is about sustainability and is built with reused and recycled materials.
A fabulous hanging basket of cherry tomatoes and a cabbage in The Growing Tastes Allotment Garden.  The allotment garden won Best in Show, making it the first allotment design to win this award at an RHS show.
Urbanise, designed by Ian Rochead. The garden was designed with a young couple in mind.  It is functional with attractive low maintenance planting.