Hampton Court Palace, located just outside London, was built by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey between 1515 and 1530. When it was first built, Hampton Court was not meant to be a royal house. Mr. Wolsey gifted Hampton Court to King Henry VIII around 1526 and King Henry began enlarging the estate. I was lucky enough to visit on my recent trip to London.
Hampton Court Palace, is owned by the Historic Royal Palaces Charity and is open to the public for visiting for a small fee.
The photo above was taken from the Great Fountain Garden looking to the back of the castle.
The estate, landscape and gardens are a unique, historical and horticultural resource of international value. The park covers 750 acres, the formal gardens 60 acres and the palace buildings 6 acres, all set within a loop of the River Thames.
The photo above is the main entrance to the grounds. You enter through huge wrought iron gates and walk several hundred yards to the front of the castle.
Once inside the castle grounds include the Great Fountain Garden, the Tiltyard & Rose Garden, the Privy Garden, the Knot Garden and the Home Park Garden (below).
It also has the Great Vine, the Rose Garden, the Magic Garden and the Pond Garden (below) which has two separate sunken walled gardens with beautiful stone statues and water features.
My favorite part of the grounds was the trellis which is over 100 yards long and has a beautiful formal structure at the beginning of the walkway.
Looking into the trellis. The filtered light on a really hot day was magical.
Hampton Court Palace hosts an annual flower show which was happening the day I visited. It is a huge event with growers, landscape architects, garden supply shops, guest speakers, florists and everything garden.
The Floral Marquee in the main tent included 87 hand-picked nurseries displaying their award-winning stock. It truly was a spectacle. The Allium grower was displaying all the different varieties he grew and you could purchase the plants you wanted.
There was the Chrysanthemum grower.
The Begonia grower below; plus every kind of rose, orchid, lily, bonsai, fuchia, cacti, hosta, salvia, agapanthus and you name the plant grower, beautifully displayed and available to purchase.
The show also had garden statue and art works, furniture, garden supplies, seeds, solariums, hats and clothing and anything else you might need as a gardener. If it wasn’t a plane ride away, I would have bought a lot.
One of my favorite exhibits was a whimsical menagerie of large animals made out of artificial grass.
I highly recommend visiting Hampton Court Palace and Gardens when you have the opportunity. I was lucky enough to visit while it was hosting the flower show.
