A couple of weeks ago I went to our annual county agricultural event, The Royal Cornwall Show, and this year in the flower tent was an amazing display by the Lifton Farm shop based on Shaun the Sheep!
The walls of the house are made up of potatoes, the bodies of the sheep are cauliflower florets - inspired!
'Fleece Lightning'
The ultimate message behind the piece of course, is to highlight the importance of our food and farming heritage, and encourage us to buy local, seasonal produce.
Two of the more unusual nursery displays: air plants and carnivorous plants.....
Gorgeous sweet peas
a traditional country garden theme.....
As well as displays by Cornish garden nurseries, part of the flower tent is dedicated to competition entries.
The title of these two entries was 'Breaking waves'
The colour and composition of this incredible display was just a joy to behold. I loved the use of dried elements such as cinnamon sticks and pinecones, as well as succulents amongst the flowers.
These were some of the entries in the category entitled, 'A burst of colour', and they certainly were!
Continuing the artistic theme but on a completely different note, I also recently visited the 'Hauser and Wirth' contemporary gallery in Bruton, Somerset, where a Swiss collector duo have converted a dilapidated farm complex into a stylish art space.
A Piet Oudolph designed garden at the rear will be a mass of swaying grasses and dainty flowers when it has matured in a couple of months' time.
Original farm barns blend in with contemporary colonnades around an inner courtyard with elegant modern planting. It was the first really hot day of summer and I was quite glad of the cool shade.
Two huge sculptural pieces stand at the entrance way in front of the lovely 'Roth Bar and Grill'. Entrance is totally free, and although the art on show this time was not my cup of tea, I found the grounds and the architecture very inspirational.
Find out more about the project and forthcoming exhibitions here.
