Best of the Floral Marquee and Plant Village

Displays inside the Floral Marquee

French nursery Vacherot & Lecoufle won Best Exhibit in the Floral Marquee for this vibrant display of orchids from many different genera.

Take a tour inside the Floral Marquee to see the beautiful displays and plants
 

Cornish nursery Kelnan Plants put on a sumptuous display, which included restios, a speciality of the nursery, but also beautiful Watsonia knysnana, its spires of sugar-pink trumpets complementing perfectly the silver-blue foliage of Melianthus major, pinkish tones picked up further by Tulbaghia and the swaying bells of Dierama igneum. In the centre of the stand there was a resplendent yellow Kniphofia thomsonii var. thomsonii.

Floyds Climbers and Clematis of Wiltshire put on a quirky and inventive display of Clematis, with plants growing from the top and sides of a wonderful pirate ship; red flowered Clematis Picardy (‘Evipo024’) and purple C. ‘Amethyst Beauty’ (‘Evipo043’) being especially effective.

The Heather Garden, c/o Forest Edge Nurseries of Dorset demonstrated an effective display of different selections of heather, showing the diversity to be found among these useful garden plants. In the foreground silvery Erica tetralix f. alba ‘Alba Mollis’ contrasted with vibrant Calluna vulgaris ‘Yvette’s Gold’ and dark red Erica cinerea ‘John Ardron’. A lovely new Daboecia cantabrica f. blumii ‘Pinky Perky’ with its large pink bells provided a splash of colour too.

Todds Botanics of Essex had an unusual round display, a circular bed with a narrow central gravel path edged with step-over plants of grape ‘Boskoop Glory’. Flowering plants of Aloe striatula were particularly effective; their yellow-green pokers contrasting with Agapanthus ‘Navy Blue’ and Agastache ‘Blackadder’. Yellow Echinacea ‘Aloha’ mingled with heleniums and crocosmias while a standard pomegranate tree provided structure.

Hardys Cottage Garden Plants of Hampshire provided planting arranged according to the colour wheel. In the respendent yellow section wonderfully tall-stemmed Hemerocallis ‘High Tor’ opened its golden trumpets above Coreopsis verticillata ‘Moonbeam’ and dazzling Crocosmia ‘Paul’s Best Yellow’ while yellow striped grass Miscanthus sinensis ‘Zebrinus’ formed an ideal foil.

 Plant village display highlights

 
A sumptuous display from A&J Plants of Essex of mainly purple and bronze flowered perennials growing in a shingled border, with wood step boards and an appealing seat. Plant highlights included Scabiosa ‘Chile Black’ with its pincushion-like flowers of dark purple, slender pink Echinacea pallida and the lacy, blackcurrant-tinged heads of ornamental carrot, Daucus carota ‘Dara’.
 

Hydrangeas filled the stand of Golden Hill Nurseries from Kent - a wonderful array were on display including Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Royal Red Blue’ with florets of reddish-purple, H. macrophylla ‘Cardinal Lilac’ heads formed from huge flowers up to 5cm (2in) across and of shimmering blue-purple. By contrast H. quercifolia ‘Munchkin’ a low growing selection whith white cones of blooms was also displayed.
 

Hortus Loci had a wonderful stand at the show, the display effectively mixing red, orange and blue tones; Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’ mingled with startling red Achillea ‘Pomegranate’, orange Helenium Mardi Gras ('Helbro') and vibrant red Echinacea ‘Hot Summer’. Grasses and fennel helped to blend the contrasting colours together.
 

P&K Davis put on a super, formally influenced display that involved a wide range of different kinds of plant. In the centre, a box edged border mixed white Gaura with blue Catanache, mauve Thalictrum and pink Achillea. At the front, a neat checkerboard of low-growing alpines including silvery Raoulia, white flowered Pratia and bronzy Leptinella made an interesting touch.

See also

The Festival of Roses - scent, colour and unusual roses to take home