“For many, the Great Pavilion displays are what the Chelsea Flower Show is all about,” notes Alex Baulkwill, RHS Chelsea Flower Show manager.
“There is something quite breathtaking about seeing all those flowers under one roof. Whether it is a small independent nursery or a large household name the displays are always spectacular.”
Roses will feature strongly as always at this year’s show. Harkness Roses of Hitchen have nine introductions including Rosa ‘Parky’ - a white shrub rose in honour of TV personality Michael Parkinson. David Austen Roses is introducing five new tough and reliable English Roses including the soft rose pink Rosa Princess Alexandra of Kent ‘Ausmerchant’, named after the garden and rose loving Princess.
Other new plants to look out for include: Four new grasses from Knoll Gardens in Dorset, whose exhibit will focus on the way grasses create beautiful, yet low-maintenance and sustainable gardens that can cope well with changing climate.
Cayeux Iris from France is bringing seven new Iris cultivars - these robust, good looking plants stand up well to summer drought. Hilliers Garden Centres and Nurseries will launch six new plants at Chelsea this year including Albizia julibrissin ‘Summer Chocolate’ a Japanese bred small tree with fern-like foliage and pink fluffy flower heads and Phormium ‘All Black’, a new New Zealand flax cultivar bred by Hilliers, with very dark purplish foliage.
Matthewman’s Sweetpeas will bring two new sweetpeas - ‘Promise’ is an interesting and rare pink and white colour combination and ‘Betty Maiden’ is named after BBC local radio gardening personality Joe Maiden’s wife.
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