A great start to Hampton Court Palace Show with sun after the last few years of rainy shows this was very welcome. Glorious weather, fabulous setting and beautiful displays of flowers, plants and produce, no wonder the crowds were flocking in. This years Home Grown feature complete with fields of gold (sunflowers,) the biggest cabbages you have ever seen, sprouts ready to pick and sensational hanging baskets of tomatoes shows the trend for growing your own.There was an orchard home to the best fed ducks and hens and a well groomed dapper Cock who definitely had something to crow about. In the market garden section there was a display of outdoor cut flowers and showed a return of many British grown flowers for florists. This is very welcome and it showed what can be done on a small patch of land, so if you have a garden at the back of the shop, perhaps it's time to plant a few easy to grow varieties of flowers. Self sufficiency can pay off and what a marketing feature, "Grown by master florists.' In the Vintage England floristry and fashion marquee the college floristry exhibits went to town on nostalgic themes. Here is a list of the medal winners. Gold Medal - Best in show and Best College Exhibit - Hadlow College (Kent) Silver Gilt Medal - Keits Ltd Silver Gilt Medal - Writtle College Silver Medal - The Traditional Flower Company Silver Medal - Jane Packer Ltd Bronze Medal - Somerset Postal Flowers Bronze Medal - Bournemouth and Poole College Bronze Medal - Ohara School of Ikebana, England Chapter See the photographs of the floristry exhibits and snapshots of the show on My Gallery