FURTHER DETAILS

How to find the plants chosen by our plantspeople – and more about their work

If you would like to grow any of these recommended plants, check which nurseries have stock in the annual publication

RHS Plant Finder, or via the website apps.rhs.org. uk/horticulturaldatabase/ index.asp

• Becky Crowley is tasked with growing flowers for the house and estate at Chatsworth. It’s a task she relishes, sharing her enthusiasm through social media and regular tours and talks. She’s also a talented photographer, selling her own botanical images via her Etsy shop. chatsworth.org, @beckycrowley_

• Joshua Sparkes is head gardener at Forde Abbey on the Dorset/Somerset border. In his work to reinvigorate the planting, he is also introducing more sustainable and ecological approaches to soil and plant health. fordeabbey. co.uk, @joshua_sparkes, • Landscape designer Jack Wallington works and designs in London but has a wide field of interest when writing his column for the Telegraph. He has also just written his first book Wild About Weeds encouraging us to see the botanical and ecological worth in including weeds in our plant choices. jackwallington.com, @jackwallingtongarden design

• Steve Edney is head gardener at The Salutation in Kent, and on the team of trials judges with the

RHS. His display at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2019 highlighted the diversity and interest of seedheads left standing after flowering to extend the season of interest.

the-salutation.com, @stevenedney4

• Nigel Dunnett is renowned for his immersive, diverse planting in what he describes as ‘low-input, high impact’ schemes for gardens and public spaces. nigeldunnett.com, @nigel.dunnett

• Flora Starkey is a floral designer working with a list of high-profile clients.

Based in London, she also has a farm on the DevonDorset border where she grows supplies of foliage and flowers. florastarkey.com, @florastarkey

• Elizabeth and Alasdair MacGregor run a small nursery in Scotland, focused on the best, gardenworthy perennials. They are renowned for spotting and developing new cultivars, including the featured Geranium ‘Dark Eyes’, which will be available from their nursery from spring. Ellenbank, Tongland Road, Kirkcudbright DG6 4UU.

Tel 01557 330620, elizabeth macgregornursery.co.uk

• Based at a private, Arne Maynard-designed garden in Sussex, head gardener Benjamin William

Pope created stylish planting combinations for our Pots of Style series in 2019 and is now focused on developing his own market garden. theworkinggarden.com, @theworkinggarden

• Alexander Hoyle is a Kew-trained plantsman and garden designer developing planting schemes for projects, including terraces, courtyards, town gardens and larger country gardens in the UK and Tangiers. alexanderhoyle.co.uk, @alexander.hoyle

• Matthew Pottage is the RHS’s youngest curator, heading up the flagship gardens of Wisley in Surrey and is now tasked with having an overview of the current period of transformation, including developments to the entrance, trials beds and new National Centre for Horticultural Science and Learning. rhs,org.uk, @matthew_pottage