Compared to Chelsea and Hampton court, shows in the RHS halls in Victoria are small, almost intimate affairs and I love them for this. It’s the sweet spring scent that first hits you as you enter Lawrence hall, then as you hone in on the plants, it’s the details of all the different cultivars that lure you in. Choice nurseries from all over the country have their finest plants (and wares) on show and I have to admit being instantly smitten by this whopper of a snowdrop, Galanthus elwesii ‘Millers Late’ on the Harveys stand (@£16 a pop). Friend Catherine is holding a smaller (nivalis sized-ish) snowdrop next to it to give some idea of scale. Most of the snowdrops here are varieties you’ll never see in garden centres and they’re an absoute joy to behold.
Another beauty that caught my eye is Crocus korolkowii on the
HW Hyde & son nursery stand and it’s definitely on my list for next year. Looks like it clumps up beautifully too.
Now I’ve bought natty metal hoops from Plant Belles before
to make a cloche to wrap up my winter veg, and they’ve worked really well. This time I was on the lookout for supports for slightly floppy Dahlias and the Sidney support at 87cm tall, 46cm wide (bottom left of pic) should hopefully fit the bill. I also have a client with a rather untoward climbing rose in the middle of a large bed and I’ve been hunting around for a tall support that I can wrap the rose around, inspired by the rose training at
Notre-Dame Prieure D’Orsan in France. Always keen to help, Jenny at Plant Belles has been asked by another designer to develop a taller version(1.5-2m?) of their wider (74cm) George support (at back of pic), so looking forward to seeing what she produces for both us later in the season (will keep you posted on this). I can’t wait to start experimenting!
As Clive commented on in my previous post,
Jaques Amand’s reticulata Irises were absolutely gorgeous. Plant breeder
Alan McMurtrie was over from Toronto, generously sharing information on the new cultivars he had developed alongside Dutch bulb growers.
Iris histriodes ‘George’ seemed to glow in the light,
and the more subtle tones and slightly torn looking petals of I. ‘Sea Green’ were very alluring too. ‘George’ is in their autumn bulbs catalog and I’m in the process of checking whether ‘Sea Green’ will be available too. Will let you know. Hope so!
And finally, these lovely shiny bronze (94%copper) tools from Implementations had ‘buy me’ written all over them. The tool heads come with a 25 year guarantee (tools shalfts 2 years) and according to their brochure their sharp edges stay sharp. I thought the pointier of the trowels looks fantastic for bulb planting, and was very tempted by the hoe. This has sharp edges back and front of the head, so it will cut through weeds when you both push and pull. As I get more into ‘no dig’, this seems like a perfect tool to keep weeds down and copper tools are alleged to deter slugs and snails too. Now firmly on my birthday list!
I hugely enjoyed the opportunity to chat to some wonderful growers and makers and can’t wait for the next RHS show on 14-15th April.
