For a quarter of a century, the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park has been showcasing northern talent. It arguably launched the careers of the likes of Ula Maria, who won the Young Designer competition at the event in 2017 and this year took home Best in Show from Chelsea. Then there’s 2021’s winner Freddie Strickland whose feature, the RHS Adventure Within Garden, brought playfulness to this year’s Hampton Court.

Tatton is not just a launch pad though, says head of shows development Sarah Poll. “It’s lovely to see people who are local come here year on year and to see it help their businesses. We’ve seen local designers get fantastic opportunities from exhibiting here.” Then there’s the northern nurseries such as Holden Clough who can showcase their varieties.

It’s a “gorgeous show” that the RHS is “proud to have been at Tatton for 25 years and to have such an incredible following,” says Poll. This year marks the biggest change in the show’s history, though, as it’s set to go on the road. Next year, the northern flower show will be held at Wentworth Woodhouse in Sheffield instead followed by the Sandringham Estate, not returning to Tatton Park for three years.

“It’s so important that the RHS is seeing talent across all regions, across the whole country. We have these touring shows” – Hampton Court is also set to take a break after next year’s show, returning in 2027 – “and also the urban shows which are still going on around the country as well. So, we’re hoping to hit as many regions as we can within the next few years.”

The highlights that have given Tatton its “nurturing” reputation over the years will taking to the road too, including the RHS Young Designer of the Year competition, for which industry mentors help budding designers to make their show debut. This has gone from “strength to strength”, says Poll.

The Woodland Trust 49% Garden. Credit: RHS / Neil Hepworth

This year’s winner, Ashleigh Aylett – who is also one of Pro Landscaper’s 30 Under 30: The Next Generation alumni – created the Gold-medal winning The Woodland Trust: 49% Garden to draw attention to the loss of nearly half of Britain’s trees since 1850 due to pests, diseases and other threats. The garden’s contractor Evergreen Chesire also won the Best Construction award within the category. Part-time wrestler Callum Corrie, who was also vying for the title, won his own Gold medal for Entertaining Meets Nature.

“It’s been so exciting to see young designers under the age of 30 come through Tatton and then go on to do other shows – but also come back here. Alex Pettit did a show garden here two years ago and has since been to Chelsea and Hampton Court, but he’s come back to this show to offer support to the young designers this year.”

Then there’s the new Career Changers category. Former police officer Chris Reynolds’ The Safe Space Garden won the inaugural RHS Career Changer of the Year award, as well as a Gold medal. He competed alongside Nadine Mansfield, who spent 25 years in marketing before retraining, and Jon Pilling, previously a higher-level teaching assistant.

“We thought this category worked well with the young designers; so, you’ve got young designers coming through but we’re also looking at those who have decided later in life that they wanted a change. You can get into gardening at any age. It’s a really exciting category and we had a good number of applications for it. Often with the gardens, it’s the stories behind them that people warm to or want to know about – it’s how they got there.”

The Long Borders at Tatton also support budding designers, with students and novices trying their hand at exhibiting. The show was famous for its “beautiful borders” right in the beginning, and now 40 people applied to take part in the Long Borders category this year, with 21 being successful, covering everything from a suffragette-inspired Barbie-themed garden to one that promotes LGBTQ+ rights. Last year, a new judging criteria was introducing for them too, around smaller space gardening, “to bring people in.”

My Name’5 Doddie Garden. Designed by Pip Probert and Rory Tompsett.
Built by Actual Landscapes
Credit: RHS / Neil Hepworth

Other highlights this year include My Name’5 Doddie, a show garden designed by Pip Probert who has been at Tatton for each of its 25 years. It celebrates the life of the late rugby player Doddie Weir, whose position was number five and who passed away earlier this year from motor neurone disease. He launched the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation last November to help tackle the disease. Probert’s garden, designed with Rory Tompsett and built by Actual Landscapes, won Best Construction for a Show Garden.

As with every other major RHS show this year, starting with Chelsea, the Environmental Innovation Award has been introduced to Tatton. The inaugural prize went to Ollie Pike for This Garden Isn’t Finished Without You, designed to showcase the Methodist’s Church commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, which also won Best in Show. The Best Terrace Garden – a category introduced last year to “show what’s possible to do with small spaces” – was awarded to Christine Leung for her Glean exhibit.

It might have been taking place for more than two decades, but the spirit of Tatton – to showcase the best of the north – remains, and “pausing” after its milestone year is not likely to dampen this.