This week, the greatest flower show on earth celebrates its centenary year. An amazing achievement and promises to be the best show ever! Garden designers up and down the land have been pulling out all the stops to make their gardens dazzle like never before!
We here at How Green have grown quite extensively for Chelsea for the first time in our 30 year history! Back in January, we were approached by our regular customer Roger Platts. Just like the Olympic rower Steve Redgrave, Roger had almost called it a day with Chelsea show gardens! The well known sponsor M&G approached Roger and the lure of the centenary year proved too strong!!
Armed with a fantastic plan for a very adventurous garden, Roger has incorporated many of the popular design elements of the last 100 years. With a Victorian folly at one end, leading the eye to some contemporary planting and sculpture, it is a very ambitious garden!
We set about growing the following in 5 litre pots. Allium Round & Purple, Allium Gladiator, Verbena bonariensis, Delphinium New Millenium Hybrids, Calamagrostis Karl Foerster, Primula japonica Appleblossom, Euphorbia martinii, Euphorbia purpurea, Geranium Azure Blue, Geranium Eureka Blue, Angelica Vicars Mead, Stachys Silver Carpet, Cirsium diacanthum, Aquilegia’s, Linum perenne, Linaria Neon Lights, Primula beesiana, Primula bulleyana, Anchusa Loddon Royalist, Erigeron Proffusion, Marrubium, Woodruff, Blue Cornflowers, Verbena Homestead Purple and Salvia Royal Bumble.
Growing conditions were very, very challenging with the extended Winter and no Spring! Plants had to be grown under glass and given heat to encourage growth. Thankfully light levels increased with better weather in mid-April. The plants then had to be juggled between tunnels and outside to harden up, to be able to tolerate show garden conditions.
Roger was under no illusions that growing conditions were far from perfect, but with regular visits to inspect the stock 85% of the plants were rubber stamped last week!
We also grew for Coblands who are supplying the ‘Seeability‘ Garden. Alliums, Atriplex rubra and again Angelica Vicars Mead – we think this will be a very popular plant this year!
Good luck guys!!
