Today the Royal Horticultural Society launched a competition inviting the public to vote to decide the winner of the prestigious accolade of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Decade. The nominated plants are all winners of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year Competition. Here are the nominees……
Anemone ‘Wild Swan’Back in 2010, Anemone ‘Wild Swan’ ‘Macane001’ was the winner of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year Competition.
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant Of The Year Award was first presented in 2010 to promote and celebrate the continuing work of breeders and nurseries in producing improved new plants. The RHS Chelsea Plant Of The Year Award celebrates and recognises the exciting and diverse range of new plants which are launched at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show, every year.
The Big Butterfly Count is a nationwide survey of butterflies that we can all take part in. This year Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count starts on the 15th July 2016, and runs until the 7th August 2016. During this time, if you want to take part, you simply spend 15 minutes, on a sunny day, counting butterflies and day-flying moths. You can choose to take your Big Butterfly Count in your garden, or in the gardens of your school, college or university, in a forest, at a park, or nature reserve, or whilst you’re taking a walk.
Although it’s still jolly chilly outside, the daylight hours are lengthening each day, which means there’s more time to be outside enjoying the garden!
There are so many beautiful plants and flowers to be enjoyed at this time of year, many of them scented to attract pollinating insects. As there aren’t as many insects around in winter the scent is often incredibly powerful as well as sweet; look out for deliciously scented Sarcococca confusa, Sarcococca hookeriana, Lonicera x purpusii ‘Winter Beauty’, Hamamelis mollis, and, my favourite, Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’.
