RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2017

At this years RHS Chelsea Flower Show Rosy Hardy celebrated her 25th year of exhibiting within the most famous floral marquee in world.  Rosy has now earned herself an impressive 22 RHS Chelsea Gold Medals. Here are a few pictures of her Chelsea display for 2017.  

Above : Tall flower spikes of VERBASCUM (Cotswold Group) 'Cotswold Beauty' act as the perfect backdrop for the spherical flower heads of ALLIUM 'Mount Everest' which in turn has its unsightly leaves hidden by the grey-green foliage & blue flowers of NEPETA 'Summer Magic'. CRAMBE maritima provides a sea of white honey-scented flowers in front of which other sun loving perennials mingle - the cornflower CENTAUREA 'John Coutts' and the rather tender AGERATUM petiolatum. Annual COSMOS bipnnatus 'Rubenza' adds a  splash of deep red whilst ERIGERON karvinskianus acts as a perfect edging plant with a profusion of small daisy flowers.

 Above: The bright yellow flower spikes of  VERBASCUM 'Freefolk Yellow' add a vibrant punch of colour to the display. Although this is one of our very own homebred plants we have rarely had an opportunity to display it , this actual plant normally resides in one of our raised propagation beds and is used as a stock plant.  Other plants pictured include ANGELICA archangelica with its large green umbelliferous flower heads, SAXIFRAGA umbrosa with masses of tiny pinky-white flowers and BRIZA media more commonly known as Quaking Grass.

Below: Foxgloves are without question a quintessential cottage garden plant, here Rosy has combined DIGITALIS purpurea 'Sutton's Apricot' with a white flowered form of  our native wild flower, Ragged Robin , LYCHNIS flos-cuculi 'White Robin'

Below :  This corner of the display is devoted to perennials which are happy to grow in moist soil. Purple-blue IRIS 'Tropic Night'  intermingles with the pink flowers of  LYCHNIS flos-cuculi. The bright yellow grass,  HAKONECHLOA macra 'Aureola' creates contrast within the planting. Tall thistle-like, lilac-pink flowers belong to CIRSIUM heterophyllum. And finally edging the front of the display PRIMULA beesiana .

Rob & Rosy Hardy celebrating the launch of Rosy's new book   

Launched by us at the show - SALVIA nemorosa 'Crystal Blue' runner-up in RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2017 Plant of the Year