Light and easy does it!
Lightweight containers make gardening easy for everyone, says Peter Erskine, one of the RHS plant specialists on the Alpine Trials Assessment Panel. It means that heavy alpine troughs or sinks are a thing of the past, and allows anyone to create miniature gardens.
Both Ward Alpines, pictured above in the Plant Heritage Marquee, and Rotherview Nurseries, in the Floral Marquee, used the containers to create wonderful plant displays.
The containers - originally created by Elmdene - are made from a lightweight polymer resin which has been blended with crushed stone in order to make them frostproof, weather-resistant, affordable as well as visually attractive.
By not using solid stone, each planter or trough only weighs a fraction of the real stone alternative, thus making them easier to move around your garden. Find them at the show, at your local garden centre, or even online.
Peter's Top Tip: Looking for something easy to grow in your containers? Campanula glomerata acaulis is a low-growing form of an easy rock garden plant. "It's hardy, and very easy to grow," said Peter. See it on the Harperley Hall Farm Nurseries stand in the Floral Marquee.
Other 'must-see' plants in the Floral Marquee include:
- Dahlia coccinea var palmeri (Avon Bulbs, above) This tall, feathery foliaged species has single, rich orange flowers and has been hardy on the Somerset-based Avon nursery for the last 10 years but needs treating as tender elsewhere. Normally produces scattered flowers all through the late summer and autumn.
- Eucomis 'Leia' (Jacques Amand): short with a strong colour. While you're at the Jacques Amand stand, look out the Lilum martagon hybrids. "They have a delicate range of colours, and are good in woodland positions," says Peter.
- Rhodohypoxis 'Hope' (Tale Valley Nursery): Bred in New Zealand, and a wonderful colour.