Turkish-themed gardens exhibited at London's flower fair

In its 25th year, the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show is displaying two Turkish-theme gardens along with different plants, garden materials and furniture.

Featuring Islamic elements, the first one, "Cennetin Bahçesi" (The Garden of Heaven) was designed by Nilüfer Danış with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Danış said the garden displays traditional Turkish and Islamic figures. Working in the U.K. for 15 years, Danış said she was inspired by the tribal culture of the Central Asian Turks and today's colorful gardens. Her garden has attracted great interest in the fair. "I used fruit trees, cypress and plane trees to design the garden. Shadow and water elements are very important in Turkish gardens. The use of marble symbolizes relief and coolness. Aromatic flowers in bright colors are famous in Turkish gardens as well, bringing them softness," she said, adding that tulip and rose gardens ("lalezar" and "gülizar" in Turkish) have a long history in our country. "However, for the fair, it is high time to use tulips and we preferred to use roses and combined them with other flowers," she said. While walking around the garden, visitors can also listen to classical Turkish music.

The second garden, "Ege'nin Ruhu" (The Soul of Aegean), was designed by Esra Parr. "I was inspired by Bodrum's architectural style, and used white and blue colors alongside bougainvillea. For me, gardens are associated with holidays on the Aegean coast. People say they would like to go on a vacation to Turkey after they visit my garden," she said. For the flower show, the palace garden in London's southwestern part has been turned into a botanical garden every year since 1990. Running until July 5, visitors can see different landscape designs, colorful flowers, trees and many other garden-related items. The show hosts hundreds of visitors in the backyard of the Hampton Court Palace, which was built in the 14th century.