Where some shows have a small table devoted to each one, at Tatton they do things differently, grouping all the plants together to make displays of mixed plant types from all the different exhibitors. The effect is a great display which really relates to everyday gardens, and shows that anyone can be a national collection holder and still have an interesting and varied garden.

For me the best part of the marquee was the stall, manned by groups from across the north of England and featured a wonderful mixture of different perennials, vegetables and houseplants all grown by the members themselves. Each plant was lovingly grown and labelled, and sold with the helpful advice of the person that propagated it. The effect was like a giant garden fete and certainly offered something for everyone. I was in my element buying far too many plants. Oh well at least I'll be able to take some cuttings and bring some plants back for them to sell next year.

Once again their display was awarded gold, and I have to admit that it was very striking so I could see why. While nobody is going to create an arrangement on anything like this scale at home, there were some nice plant combinations of orchids and exotic foliage that would look great on anyone's dining table.

While wandering through the display my eyes were also drawn to a large exhibit created by North Warwickshire and Hinckley College that has been inspired by the planets of the solar system. Very apt considering it was only a few days ago, that we were all celebrating the anniversary of the first moon landings. Each of the planets were created in different colours, with red anthuriums for Mars and equisetum strands for the rings of Saturn. At the centre of the display the Sun was created with a stream of exotic orange and yellow arum and some kangaroo paw cascading down like flares radiating out from the centre.

If you prefer things a bit paler then the yellow theme, used by Phillipa Probert in her office courtyard entitled 'Revolution'. This would be a welcome retreat for any office worker, taking time out from the stresses of work to relax among the pastel plantings of white agapanthus and pale yellow anthemis.

Sticking with the single colour theme, the bright orange colours of 'Lose the Shoes' are the perfect antidote to a grey day (and today was very grey). Here, designer Bernie Quinn has carefully woven together bright orange crocosmia, geum and dark flowered Cosmos atrosanguineus, the perfect complement to the vibrant orange walls.

This is all well and good for people in the country with large gardens, or even those lucky enough to have a small plot in the city, but what do you do if you only have a balcony or large windowsill? This is a problem the RHS have tackled at Hampton with a whole range of displays showing you how to grow in a very restricted space.

Some of the ideas go a bit far, containers made from old lampshades and hard hats aren't to everyone's taste and are unlikely to catch on, but hidden among the more wacky ideas, were some handy pots for growing lettuce and seeds made from old fruit juice cartons and boxes. Being made of waxed paper, these make perfect pots and can look surprisingly good when stacked together. If you only have a windowsill this is an easy and inexpensive way to get into gardening.

On another balcony, the designers have created a makeshift hanging mini -propagator from an old lemonade bottle with a hole cut in the side. This allows small pots to be placed inside so that they get a bit of protection as they grow. It's certainly something I'll be trying next year to get my seedlings through the cold nights of spring.

I put my hands up, after all this thinking I nearly always go with an impulse buy. This year is was salvias. Not the gaudy red ones you see in park bedding schemes but the more refined shrubby perennial ones. I've found these to be surprisingly hardy and they provide a subtle display of flowers right through the summer without much effort from me. They are definitely a plant that deserves wider popularity, and are clearly in fashion this year as different varieties including the vibrant red and white Salvia 'Hot lips' and magenta 'Pink Blush' were present on a number of the stands.

I bought a couple from Wall End Nursery, Salvia greggi 'Desert Blaze' with variegated foliage and scarlet flowers and 'Raspberry Royale' a compact variety with reddish pink flowers. Both of them will look great in my sheltered borders, where they can fill in the spaces left by early flowering perennials.

After that things really went down hill and I succumbed to buying another Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum'. For the past five years I've bought one of these from Hampton, telling myself that I'm going to bring it into the house early and really treasure it. Sadly each year I forget and it is killed off by the cold weather. Fingers crossed this time I'll remember. I wonder if they'll do a discount if I order 12 months in advance?

Now that the show has arrived we can see some of the 'hanging braskets' in action (their pun not mine). I was sceptical about the idea at first, but it has to be said that some of them make surprisingly good containers, provided of course that the lady who donated her undergarment was fairly well endowed.

Much has been made of the historical feel to the show this year, and references to Henry VIII are everywhere. While I'm not sure the display is something he would have chosen for his front lawn, I think he would have approved, he was fond of the odd buxom wench or two after all.