Thompson & Morgan has presented its entries for Plant of the Year 2019 at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
Clematis ‘Kokonoe’ - Uniquely changing flower shape; flowers open as single blooms and develop into flamboyant doubles.
Nepeta ‘Neptune’ - Abundant flowers ‘rebloom’ on a compact, bushy habit; firm foliage is perfect for making tea.
Ajuga ‘Princess Nadia’ - Brings together the best evergreen, variegated foliage and flower spikes of the genus. Year-round interest.
Agapanthus ‘Fireworks’ - The best bicolour agapanthus, offering bigger blooms, better colour and more stems per plant than previous bicolour cultivars.
Buddleja ‘Butterfly Towers’ - Grows up, rather than out, so it suits even the smallest garden without taking over. Thrives in containers; long-lasting; makes a great flowering hedge.
Osteospermum ‘Purple Sun’ - Previously unseen colour combination of orange and pink. The pink-purple centre spreads outwards as the season progresses.
Chlorophytum 'Starlight' - Hardy Spider Plant with the architectural appeal of an ornamental grass and the flowering performance of a bedding plant. Attractive variegated foliage and pretty white flowers.
Clematis ‘Little Lemons’ - Very unusual long-flowering, dwarf clematis. Excellent in pots and hanging baskets.
Thompson & Morgan also formally announced its partnership with Sparsholt College Hampshire on their Behind the Genes garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show next month.
The garden, which is in the Discovery area of the Great Pavilion (Stand GPA154), offers a visually inspiring insight into the processes of plant breeding and explains techniques used to bring about improvements in plant species. Students at Sparsholt College have been involved in the design of the garden and have nurtured the plants that will be featured on the garden to illustrate various key milestones in plant breeding over the years.
T&M can put its name to a number of breeding breakthroughs over the years, such as Foxglove or Digitalis ‘Illumination Pink’ which won RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year in 2012 and which will feature on the Behind the Genes garden. Also appearing at RHS Chelsea 2019 is last year’s Plant of the Year winner, Hydrangea hybrid Runaway Bride ‘Snow White’, and the sunflower Helianthus SunBelievable 'Brown Eyed Girl' which was placed third.
Part of the focus this year is also on Thompson & Morgan’s trainee manager, Lance Russell, who as an alumni of Sparsholt College and now working at the forefront of the gardening industry is part of a new generation of inspiring and social media-savvy young gardeners. Lance is fronting T&M’s recent increase in film content on its website.
For more information:
www.thompson-morgan.com
www.sparsholt.ac.uk
www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-chelsea-flower-show