Winners all the way!
Keep an eye open for this superb range from the National Plant Show
Gardeners should be on the lookout for a range of award-winning varieties recently showcased at the annual National Plant Show.
Overall winner was a narrow form of Laburnum anagyroides called ‘Yellow Rocket’. Reaching 4m (13ft) and 3m (10ft) after 10 years, it’s ideal for space-challenged city gardens or for use as an accent plant. For local stockists, contact www.frankpmatthews.com; tel: 01584 812800.
Second in the tree and shrub category was Canadian apple ‘Eden’ (from the same supplier) . This dark red and green-skinned apple has juicy, firm, white flesh, which doesn’t discolour for up to two days after cutting.
Winning the annual plant category was Thompson & Morgan’s multi award-winning sunflower ‘Sunbelievable Brown Eyed Girl’. Runner-up was with another long-flowered, multi-branched sunflower H. hybrida ‘Sunfinity’. Flowering from spring to autumn 1.2m (4ft), bushy ‘Sunfinity’ took trade breeder Sygenta 10 years to perfect, with stock now available in garden centres.
Best herbaceous perennial was eryngium ‘Magical Blue Globe’, producing a 90cm (3ft) mound of blue bobbles, with sister variety ‘Magical Blue Lagoon’ coming second. The former is currently available from www.larchcottage.co.uk; tel: 01931 712404.
Best shrub was brooding ‘Timeless Purple’ from trade supplier Whartons Nurseries. This romantic, 90cm (3ft) tall shrub rose is highly fragrant, producing a succession of blooms, and has been bred in Bavaria for cutting, as well as general garden use. Others in the Timeless series are ‘Timeless Cream’, with creamy, light salmon tones, and ‘Timeless Pink’, in light pink and apricot.
The National Plant Show was staged at the National Agricultural Centre at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, and run by the Horticultural Trades Association.