CHESHIRE’S Gardens of Distinction will be represented by four show gardens at the region’s horticultural celebration.

Arley Hall and Gardens, Bluebell Cottage Gardens in Dutton and Adlington Hall in Macclesfield will be joined by newcomer Port Sunlight Village Trust at the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park.

Sam Youd, chairman of Cheshire’s Gardens of Distinction, said: “This will be a dazzling display of clever design, vibrant colours and wonderful planting by gardeners who are at the top of their game.”

Katrina Michel, chief executive of Marketing Cheshire, added: “Cheshire’s Gardens of Distinction are always firm favourites at RHS Tatton. People enjoy seeing top Cheshire gardens showcasing in this way.

"We hope everyone will come and see the gardens and linger awhile in Marketing Cheshire’s restful ‘Art in the Garden’ area next to Cheshire’s Gardens of Distinction. Here we will be encouraging visitors to sit and think about the inspiration that gardens bring to our lives.”

Arley Hall and Gardens

Essence of Arley

Designer James Youd will be attempting to captures the character of the garden and its ‘jewel in the crown’ the famed double herbaceous border.

In 1846, Arley Hall planted the first double herbaceous borders of their kind in England and despite changing garden fashions has faithfully maintained this tradition.

In the show garden, this is referenced with an herbaceous border with a palette of deep blues, deep reds and deep purples.

Bluebell Cottage Gardens

Don’t Chop Me Down

Owner Sue Beesley’s design will feature borders filled with hardy perennials and grasses in their summer finery.

In a twist, all the plants have been selected that will look good in winter too, if left alone and not cut back in autumn.

Take-away leaflets with ‘plant portraits’ will show how the cones, spikes, spears and flat-head plants of these summer flowering plants are transformed by winter frost, providing great structure for winter interest, but also seeds for birds and hibernating homes for insects.

Adlington Hall

Bee and Bug Hotel

This design, by head gardener Anthony O’Grady, takes its inspiration from the hall’s rose garden, featuring a central bed in a palette of blues, pinks and whites, edged with old English lavender and a planted stone urn.

But this is not simply a tranquil paradise of sight and smell. It also pays homage to the significant role played by the garden’s bees, which for centuries, before the invention of stand-alone bee hives, were encouraged to make their hives in 63 man-made ‘bee boles’ on one of the hall’s walls. A striking feature of the garden is the contemporary ‘bee and bug hotel’ for its winged visitors.

Port Sunlight Village Trust

Celebrating 130 years

The vision of ‘Soap King’ William Hesketh Lever, Port Sunlight village, with its formal and open spaces, was specifically designed to provide a healthy environment for Lever’s workers in the nearby Lever Brothers Soap Factory.

So Liam English’s garden will attempt to capture the essence of this extraordinary model village 130 years on.

It will highlight the diversity of Port Sunlight with a structure defined by hedges, a water feature and original cobblestones.

On one side, with its blue colour scheme there is a formal border with box hedging and lavender.

The other half of the imaginative back-to-back garden is devoted to banks of naturalistic woodland planting – a key feature of the garden village.

  • The five-day festival runs from July 18 to 22 and here is what you can expect from the four gardens.