Hillier Nurseries has continued its extraordinary unbroken sequence of success at the Chelsea Flower Show, picking up its 62nd straight gold medal at the 2007 event.
Designers Andy McIndoe and Ricky Dorlay’s exhibit included over 3,000 plants and trees, taking centre stage in the Great Pavilion.
The Presidents Award, selected by RHS president Richard Buckley, went to the exhibit from UK Horticulture, a display of British horticultural produce filled with fruit, vegetables, cut flowers, plants and herbs, all grown by NFU members.
Elsewhere in the Great Pavilion, a total of 45 firms and organisations collected gold medals, among them Raymond J Evison, Jekka’s Herb Farm, the National Chrysanthemum Society and Notcutts.
Those claiming silver-gilt floras included David Austin Roses, Blooms of Bressingham, Harkness, Kernock Park Plants and Potash Nursery.
Thompson & Morgan’s exhibit celebrating potatoes throughout time was awarded a silver-gilt lindley, while the Sun newspaper and Writtle College picked up a bronze flora.
RHS shows organiser Bob Sweet said: “The warm spring has not made things easy for growers, but despite everything the weather could throw at them, the Great Pavilion is simply stunning.
“During the lead up to Chelsea Jekka McVicar has been dry brushing hundreds of red lettuces to get rid of green fly; David Root at Kelways had to put his peonies into cold store and individual strips of foam material were tied around 1,000 flower buds to prevent them blooming and Paul Chapman from British Wild Flower Plants was moving hundreds of plants around all the time from fields to glasshouses. They all pulled out the stops and the Great Pavilion, the centerpiece of the show, is once again a sumptuous array of colours and textures and filled with wonderful scents.”
In the Lifelong Learning section there were golds for The Royal College of Pathologists, who aimed to raise awareness of food allergies; South East England Development Agency, which aimed to show the diverse range and uses of plants; and the University of Reading, which exhibited the Frozen Ark concept of conserving disappearing ornamentals.
Silver lindleys were handed to the Association of British Fungus Groups, British Beekeepers’ Association and Writtle College.
Other divisional winners included Goldalming Flower Club and Hans Haverkamp in the floristry divisions.
Outside, Sarah Eberle was presented with the Best in Show for her space-age, Mars themed Bradstone garden, a success she likened to winning an Olympic medal.
Bob Sweet commented: “The garden has brought a different perspective to the show and many garden designers would have been frightened by the prospect of designing a garden from Mars. Sarah’s garden is very different and offers a new dimension to gardening.
The show is due to be visited by 157,000 people by its close on Saturday.
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