Plants for special occasions

Top plants for special occasions:

When buying a plant for a special occasion, the plant purchased could:

1. Bear the name of the occasion being marked
2. Be named after the person to whom it is being given
3. Mark an event by flowering at a significant time of the year
4. Be a known favourite for that person or bears flowers in their favourite colour or with an attractive scent

When purchasing a plant as a gift, try to consider the recipient’s circumstances. Key points to bear in mind:

• Do they have a garden? If so, is the plant suitable to the size of their garden or would it need to be kept in a container (which can make more work for them)?
• What sort of soil does their garden have? Can they grow acid-loving plants such as camellias and rhododendrons or would these have to be grown in pots?
• If they only have a small garden would a houseplant or plant to keep in a pot be more appropriate?
• Where there is doubt, consider garden centre vouchers that let the recipient choose their own plant

Many plants have been bred to mark special occasions and can be found using the RHS Plant Finder:

1. Open the RHS Plant Finder
2. Type the required name into the search box e.g. ‘Susan’ or ‘Golden Wedding’
3. Click ‘Search’ and you will get a list of all plants containing the name
4. Select ‘Show all records’ so you can see the full name of each plant. You can then look through them to find something appropriate

Remember: When searching for a person’s name, bear in mind that you may well turn up plants with combined names – for example a search for plants with ‘Alfred’ in the name will bring up Rosa ‘Madame Alfred Carrière’ – making it entirely unsuited for the purpose. When no suitable name can be found, alternative criteria for searching (as described in ‘Practical considerations’ above) will need to be tried instead.

There are a number of directories of rose names helpful to look for a rose with an appropriate name such as:
Rose locator
Find that rose

Below is a sample of special occasion plants. Many more can be found using the RHS Plant Finder.

Golden Anniversary

• Fuchsia ‘Golden Anniversary’: Spreading plant good for hanging baskets, green-gold young foliage. Violet flowers with white sepals
• Hosta ‘Golden Anniversary’: Golden foliage turning green as the season progresses, blue flowers in summer
• Lilium ‘Golden Joy’: A deciduous
  Deciduous refers to plants (mainly trees and shrubs) that lose their leaves seasonally, usually during autumn. This is a natural process triggered by the season's shorter days and lower temperatures and allows plants to conserve energy during the winter months. , bulbous, compact herbaceous perennial
  Perennials are plants that live for multiple years. They come in all shapes and sizes and fill our gardens with colourful flowers and ornamental foliage. Many are hardy and can survive outdoors all year round, while less hardy types need protection over winter. The term herbaceous perennial is used to describe long-lived plants without a permanent woody structure (they die back to ground level each autumn), distinguishing them from trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs. with strap-like dark green leaves
• Narcissus ‘Golden Anniversary’: Large-cupped daffodil with straplike grey-green leaves
• Rosa ‘Golden Wedding’: Large golden-yellow clusters of flowers, floribunda rose
• Rosa GOLDEN CELEBRATION (‘Ausgold’): One of the largest-flowered English roses, with plentiful healthy, glossy deep green foliage
• Rosa Happy Golden Wedding: An upright habit with flowers in a warm yellow colour

Silver Anniversary

• Agapanthus ‘Silver Anniversary’: A relatively compact herbaceous perennial with strap-shaped green foliage
• Buddleja ‘Silver Anniversary’: Creamy white fragrant flowers in late summer. Deciduous shrub with silvery leaves
• Camellia japonica ‘Silver Anniversary’: White flowers from January to March
• Rosa ‘Silver Anniversary’: Pure white double flowered
  A type of flower that has extra petals, often having a fuller appearance. Plants with double flowers are often considered more ornamental and showy than those with single flowers, though they are generally not as good for wildlife, having little or no pollen. Some plants naturally produce double flowers, while others may be bred for this trait. Examples of plants with double flowers include roses, sunflowers, dahlias, and zinnias. , hybrid
  A plant produced by crossing two distinct parents, often different species, to produce offspring that combine the characteristics of both. Hybrids can occur naturally, but crosses are often made deliberately by plant breeders to produce plants with better yield, improved flowering or vigour, or improved disease resistance. tea rose
• Veronica ‘Silver Anniversary’: A compact, bushy evergreen shrub with narrow, grey-green leaves edged with white

Ruby Anniversary

• Astrantia major ‘Ruby Wedding’: Ruby red flowers from June-August
• Camellia williamsii ‘Ruby Wedding’: A vigorous, upright bush, with deep, ruby-red, medium, paeony form flowers in spring
• Clematis ‘Ruby Wedding NLP2’: A deciduous climber bearing deep pink-red flowers
• Rosa ‘Ruby Wedding’: Deep red double, hybrid tea rose
• Rosa ‘Ruby Anniversary’: Rich crimson blooms, repeat flowering floribunda rose

Birthday

• Camellia japonica ‘Happy Birthday’: Large creamy white flowers, produced in early summer and again in late summer
• Lathyrus odoratus ‘Happy Birthday’: A hardy, medium scent producing plant with large, double flowers
  A type of flower that has extra petals, often having a fuller appearance. Plants with double flowers are often considered more ornamental and showy than those with single flowers, though they are generally not as good for wildlife, having little or no pollen. Some plants naturally produce double flowers, while others may be bred for this trait. Examples of plants with double flowers include roses, sunflowers, dahlias, and zinnias. in an unusual shade of cerise
• Rhododendron yakushimanum ‘Birthday Girl’: A compact rhododendron with pink flowers in May
• Rosa BIRTHDAY GIRL (‘Meilasso’): Cream, yellow and pink flowers, repeat flowering, floribunda rose
• Rosa ‘Birthday Boy’: Lilac purple scented double flowers, hybrid tea rose
• Rosa ‘Happy Birthday’: Yellow flowers from summer-autumn, patio rose growing ideal for containers

Wedding

• Clematis ‘Wedding Day’: Creamy-white flowers produced in May and June and again in September
• Delphinium elatum ‘Blushing Brides’ (New Millennium Series): Tall spikes bear flowers in shades of rose and pale pink with brown 'eyes'
• Dendranthema ‘Wedding Day’: Daisy-like single white flowers with yellow-green centres
• Exochorda × macrantha ‘The Bride’: A rounded deciduous shrub with arching branches bearing pale green leaves and white, in short racemes
• Fuchsia ‘Happy Wedding Day’: Lax plant, good for hanging baskets, flowers are double white with rose-pink bases to the sepals
• Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Blushing Bride’: Large, rounded clusters of semi-double white flowers mature to a light pink or light blue (depending on soil)
• Lathyrus odoratus ‘Wedding Day’: A vigorous climbing annual with strongly fragrant white flowers
• Malus ‘Wedding Bouquet’(crab apple): Single white flowers produce in spring, followed by small dark red fruits
• Rosa ‘Wedding Day’: Vigorous rambler with creamy yellow flowers turn white with age

New Baby

Shutterstock

• Dahlia ‘New Baby’: Pompom dahlia with orange-red flowers
• Narcissus ‘New Baby’: Pretty yellow-flowered, late season daffodil

Celebration

• Camellia × williamsii ‘Celebration’: Large deep pink flowers in late winter
• Delphinium ‘Celebration’: Semi-double pale cream flowers with grey-brown eyes
• Hosta ‘Celebration’: Pale purple flowers are borne on upright stems in summer
• Streptocarpus ‘Celebration’: A tender perennial with hairy, wrinkled, strap-shaped leaves and clusters of pink flowers from spring into autumn
• Rosa ‘Jubilee Celebration’: Medium shrub rose with fragrant salmon pink double flowers throughout the summer

Other Occasions

• Erica carnea ‘Memory’: Racemes of rose-pink flowers are borne from winter into spring
• Dianthus MEMORIES (‘WP11 Gwe04’) (Scent First Series): Pure white double flowers that feature outstanding, spicy scent in summer
• Rosa ‘Warm Wishes’: Fragrant peach blooms, dark foliage, hybrid tea rose
• Rosa ‘Golden Wishes’:
• Rosa ‘Loving Memory’: Dark foliage and long stems, red flowers throughout the summer. Good for cutting
• Rosa ‘Sweet Wishes’: Double dark red blooms, repeat-flowering from summer to autumn
• Rosa Sunset Celebration: Fragrant, cupped, double, pale orange-pink flowers, with dark glossy leaves
• Salvia ‘Kisses and Wishes’: Soft-pink flowers with darker pink streaks are borne in open racemes on dark stems over a long period

Useful information

• Best houseplants to give as gifts
• A year of trees – the gift that keeps on giving