$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\nWhen Mary and Terry Baker did their first solo Chelsea exhibit, some 30 years ago, they featured The Botanic Nursery\u2019s rare trees and shrubs<\/a>, plus the foxgloves<\/a> that have since become their signature plants. They included species foxgloves that hadn\u2019t been seen before at Chelsea, having put them under lights to get them to flower. Ironically, they\u2019ve rarely been able to have those particular ones in flower since. \u201cFoxgloves are nice and easy to grow in the garden,\u201d explains Mary, \u201cbut once you put them in a pot and try to force them into flower, even by two or three weeks, they become soft and flabby and susceptible to aphids<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Often show judges are not so keen to see a shrub that\u2019s not in flower, but we\u2019re quite happy to show this beautiful lilac in leaf <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
It\u2019s thanks to Terry\u2019s constant nurturing of the 500 or so specimens they pot up for Chelsea that the nursery\u2019s romantic exhibits have been awarded Gold medals for many years now. Since 2018, the RHS has allowed small nurseries like theirs to sell plug plants at Chelsea, which works particularly well for Terry and Mary as they now grow stocky plugs from seed specifically for the show, and it\u2019s the right time for visitors to put them in their gardens. \u201cWe get the opportunity to speak about foxgloves and share our passion for them. People think they know about foxgloves, that they\u2019re biennial<\/a> and so flower every second year. But that\u2019s not necessarily the case. You can have foxgloves that flower every year, but they won\u2019t go on flowering ad infinitum<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although foxgloves have been their bread-and-butter plants, Terry spends a lot of time propagating the nursery\u2019s unusual shrubs, and the couple want to become known for these woody plants again. This year\u2019s exhibit will include interesting deutzias \u2013 a fantastic family of shrubs, says Mary, in a range of colours, shapes and sizes. They also plan to show a lesser-known lilac, Syringa emodi<\/em> \u2018Variegata\u2019. \u201cOften show judges are not so keen to see a shrub that\u2019s not in flower, but we\u2019re quite happy to show this beautiful lilac in leaf, even if it means we only get a Silver medal, because it looks so pretty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plot<\/strong> GPD056. Address<\/strong> The Botanic Nursery, Coombe Lane, Atworth, Wiltshire SN12 8NU. Tel<\/strong> 07850 328756. Web<\/strong> botanicnursery.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n
Showstopping sights <\/strong><\/h3>\n
No Name Nursery<\/strong><\/p>\n
$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> \u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
This is Steve Edney\u2019s fourth experience of exhibiting in the Great Pavilion and he\u2019s hoping it might be his most relaxed. He started as a gofer in his student days, and then in his role as head gardener at The Salutation in Kent, he created a Gold-medal winning display of seedheads. This year, he has returned with his partner Louise Dowle to show off hardy and half-hardy plants from their specialist No Name Nursery.<\/p>\n

Steve and Louise don\u2019t use artificial heat to bring on plants for Chelsea <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
Along with seven other small nurseries that belong to the 40-strong South of England group The Plant Fairs Roadshow, Steve can be found on a ten-metre square stand where more experienced exhibitors like him will be mentoring newcomers. \u201cMan, are we going to pack things in there,\u201d says Steve. \u201cI hate bare bottoms, so there won\u2019t be a square inch to be seen. We\u2019ve been growing specimens of Pseudopanax, one of our National Collections, for several years to use them at shows and we\u2019re taking one that\u2019s about 2.5m tall. We\u2019re hoping to feature other showstoppers such as Hosta<\/em><\/a> \u2018Empress Wu\u2019, which we\u2019ve grown, with leaves that are a metre across, and Farfugium japonicum<\/em> \u2018Aureomaculatum\u2019, an exotic-looking relative of Ligularia, which has leaves like lily pads.\u201d<\/p>\n
As with many small nurseries, Steve and Louise don\u2019t use artificial heat to bring on plants for Chelsea, but growing surplus plants helps to take the stress out of the unpredictability of the weather<\/a> in early spring. \u201cNo matter what the size of your exhibit, you should grow three times the number of plants you need so that you can cherry pick the best. You also need different cultivars and varieties that you can substitute if something just isn\u2019t ready.\u201d He was thrilled for his young team to win Golds at both Chelsea and Hampton Court<\/a> in 2019, but feels that medals shouldn\u2019t be the aim. \u201cWhat you should be doing is satisfying your own creativity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plot<\/strong> GPC040g. Address<\/strong> Nursery not open to the public, but Steve and Louise open their exotic garden for the NGS: Sweetbriar, 69 Chequer Lane, Ash, Kent CT3 2AX. Tel<\/strong> 07753 965741. Web<\/strong> thenonamenursery.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n
Tumbledown romance <\/strong><\/h3>\n
Peter Beales Roses<\/strong><\/p>\n
$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
Forty-six years after his first trip to Chelsea to help on the Peter Beales Roses stand, Ian Limmer, now nursery manager and ambassador for the nursery, is still excited to be in the Great Pavilion, exhibiting. The nursery is renowned for its rose-festooned arches and arbours, which visitors flock to for photo opportunities, and for its romantic stone features.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve got 1,000 roses and they\u2019ve all got to face the right way <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
This year the new feature is a potting shed with tumbled-down roof, made by Redwood Stone, which will be smothered with ramblers and climbers<\/a>, creating a focal point at the back of the display. The whole look will be old-fashioned and dreamy. \u201cWe\u2019ve now won 27 Gold medals at Chelsea and last year we got the President\u2019s Award,\u201d says Ian, \u201cbut you can never, ever take it for granted that you\u2019ll get a Gold.\u201d On the first day of the build, it\u2019s always the same challenge for Ian. \u201cYou\u2019ve got 1,000 roses and they\u2019ve all got to face the right way. For me, it\u2019s a matter of picking a rose and saying, yes, I know where that can go.\u201d It may be a bit daunting for first-time exhibitors to hear Ian say that he reckons it takes new members of staff about eight years to get a real feel for the stand but then, he explains reassuringly, \u201csuddenly something clicks and you feel confident\u201d. Ian\u2019s lack of nerves stems from his long experience of exhibiting and the teamwork involved.<\/p>\n
Chief among the long-serving members of the team is Michael Baldwin, who makes sure the plants are in top condition in time for the show. Last August, once Ian had drawn up the plan with the nursery\u2019s head gardener, he selected the cultivars he wanted. In total, some 2,500 roses<\/a> were potted up, including Chelsea favourites Rosa<\/em> \u2018Madame Boll\u2019 (= \u2018Comte de Chambord\u2019), Rosa<\/em> City of York (=\u2018Direkt\u00f6r Benschop\u2019) and Rosa<\/em> Macmillan Nurse (= \u2018Beamac\u2019), and transferred to glasshouses in February under Michael\u2019s care. \u201cHe lives and breathes Chelsea, and if he has to open up the vents in the glasshouses at midnight, he\u2019ll be there. Getting the plants out in flower, with no blackspot or rust. It makes my job so much easier.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plot<\/strong> GPF091. Address<\/strong> Peter Beales Roses, London Road, Attleborough, Norwich, Norfolk NR17 1AY. Tel<\/strong> 01953 454707. Web<\/strong> peterbealeroses.com<\/a><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Right perennials, right place <\/strong><\/h3>\n
Binny Plants<\/strong><\/p>\n
$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>