Huntingdonshire garden designer Stephen Hall is preparing to showcase his latest creation at the Hampton Court Flower Show.

Mr Hall, of Upper Dean, near Kimbolton, has designed a Scandinavian-themed garden on behalf of show sponsors Viking Cruises, complete with turf-clad stone cottage, lake, and fisherman’s boat.

Mr Hall has been designing gardens for 25 years and this year’s appearance at the Hampton Court show will be his third.

Mr Hall, 54, said: “It really is hard work, particularly finding the right plants to use in themed gardens like ours, which can be rare and hard to locate.

“Getting all the elements to the show and keeping them looking good is also a challenge, and in some cases some plants don’t make it so you have to have a plan B.”

Putting the garden together, from the initial invitation through to the finished design, has taken more than six months and it will require a whole team to construct and maintain during the course of the show.

Mr Hall has won nine awards for his work at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea and Hampton Court shows.

His garden will feature a rowing boat resting on a pebble beach where large boulders will be placed. A gravel path will lead visitors to the door of a house which will nestle into an earth mound covered by meadow grass sparsely colonised with wildflowers. The design will also feature plenty of sedges, ferns and grasses, while native trees and shrubs provide the backdrop.

The RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show will run from July 5-10. For further information or to buy tickets, visit the RHS website at www.rhs.org.uk/hamptoncourt