Monday 27 May 2013

Chelsea Flower Show 2013

Setting up the stand at Chelsea is always enjoyable. We know what we want to do and how it should look. Building on last year we decided to go for a bigger stand and to do it 'in the round'. The effect was really atmospheric and gave the stand a real three dimensional quality. We had some new plants to show and also entered a Billbergia called 'Hallelujah' into the Plant of the Year. It was short listed and a lot of interest was generated from it. Tom Hart-Dyke spent some time filming several plants as did Carol Klein which we managed to see on catch up when we got home.

Every Picture stand Chelsea 2013, Gold Medal

Billbergia 'Hallelujah'

Tuesday 2 April 2013

Collection and Nursery Launch

There has been steady progress at the Nursery to get it ready for opening up the collection for visitors, and many interesting trips to other Bromeliad collectors. While in London collecting an award from the Guild of Horticultural Trade Display Judges we made time to visit Kew and met Marcello who looks after their Bromeliads. Next time we are down there we will be getting some 'pups' and will give Marcello pieces of plants they don't have.
A visit to Utrecht Botanic Gardens last month also was very useful in establishing contact with Eric Gouda, who gave me a tour around their collections. Winter has been very busy and difficult with the weather but has also revealed surprisingly what some plants can tolerate.

The Every Picture section of the Nursery will be open at Lydiate Barn Garden Centre on the Saturday 4th May.
Our section has an area for demonstrations and on the 3rd May it is also National Flower Arranging Day and local flower clubs will be putting up stands, promoting the flower clubs with mini demonstrations taking place throughout the day. The 'Jungle' layout of the collections together with an excellent cup of coffee in the Cafe should be just the thing to get the Summer started.

Saturday 2 February 2013

Tillandsia samantha does it again

After introducing Tillandsia samantha at Chelsea 2012 she did so well that one of the growers in the Netherlands put her in for the 'Glass Tulip Award' for the best houseplant and like at Chelsea the plant was shortlisted and this time scooped the top prize. It is great news that this fabulous plant certainly has the Wow factor. The plant was bred originally in America and for everyone who is involved in bromeliads it shows how popular they are becoming as a houseplant.
http://www.plantcompany.nl/nieuws