2013 RHS Show Cardiff

The RHS Show Cardiff is in town this weekend in Bute Park behind Cardiff Castle. Matt and I went on the Saturday last year and vowed to go back this year when we had a garden and could buy the plants we wanted. This year we both booked the day off work and headed off to Bute Park, arriving just after the show opened. The show was much quieter than last year when we went on a Saturday, the main reason why we decided to go on the opening day.

For those who don't know much about the flower show, it brings together the world of horticulture along with regional food and craft. You can expect to go away from the show full of ideas and inspiration for your garden as well as information on how to get involved in gardening and gardening projects. There are talks and demonstrations that allow you to learn new skills or perhaps just get advice.

The two floral marquees are where the large cut flower displays are as well as stands that sell the plants you see on display.

The bonsai trees were there last year, the one in the middle of the upper row dates from 1910, which is incredible.

 How sweet is this bird bath?!

Matt and I don't really have a big enough garden for space for a bird bath and bird house but we're planning on getting the biggest garden we can when we move house in a few years and I would love something like this in it to try and attract plenty of birds to our garden.

There were plenty of stunning displays like this, the fuchsia display by Roualyn Fuchsias really caught my eye as I'd read that fuchsia plants are suited for the type of soil we have in our garden. I ended up buying two plants, Patti Sue and Dollar Princess.

Really wish I had taken note of the name of this one, it's so pretty!

As well as large floral displays there were also displays from florists that showcased flowers in unusual ways. Despite my utter hatred of dragonflies I really liked this one.

As well as the marquee displays there is plenty to see in the show ground.

Summer house display

Love love love this! They had a smaller fountain for sale but we don't have the room in our garden for it.

Really impressed with this display which shows a before and after garden. Look how neat the right side is!

I like the idea of using tree trunks in this way but this would scare me if I looked out of my window and saw it.

In addition to garden displays there are lots of food stalls (I had the most amazing pork roll ever, literally the best pork I've ever eaten), craft stalls and a bandstand. When we arrived Laurence Made Me Cry was playing, she was great. Definitely someone to watch out for if you're in and around Cardiff.

All in all we had a good morning at the show, we came away with our hands full of plants and plenty of ideas of how to make our garden look good. The show is open tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday, it's something I'd recommend for all ages whether you have a large or small garden or even no garden - there are plenty of indoor planting ideas.