Getting ready for RHS Gardeners' World Flower Show

Although RHS Gardeners' World Flower Show does not start until Wednesday, 16 June some of us who exhibit in the Floral Marquee at any show need to start our preparations the week beforehand.  Exhibiting a display of herbaceous perennials, grasses, shrubs and ferns takes a lot of preparation - first of all in deciding which plants are going to be featured in the display.  We do not grow plants specifically for our displays but like to select from the plants growing on our nursery so that all the plants on our displays are flowering at their natural flowering times!  If visitors like one of the planting combinations on our display, they can then be assured that if they buy our plants to replicate the planting idea in their own garden it will work well.

Peonies will be featuring strongly on our display this year.  As the show is happening a week later than last year we thought that our Peonies would already have flowered this year.  However, that has not happened and they are just going to be flowering beautifully.  It is hard to choose a favourite as they all have such wonderful flowers and really make a statement in any garden.  We sold out of some varieties at the show last year but are pleased to be able to take orders both at the show and by mail order (please ring 015396 61126 for details as they do not fit into our online ordering system at present).  Plants are sent out bare rooted in late October, an ideal time to plant them and the same time that we are potting up next year's stock at the nursery.

Some of the Potentillas are starting to flower, especially some of the brightly coloured varieties like 'Flamenco' which we sold out of last year. Astrantias are looking good (Astrantia 'Roma' as shown) and are good plants for a long flowering period. Some of the long flowering, compact Dicentra varieties 'Burning Hearts'(as shown) and 'Red Fountain' are also flowering well.  Grasses for display need to be looked over carefully and any marked leaves trimmed.  It can be an eye-crossing job at times.  All the display plants need to be checked at the nursery before being loaded but are then checked again before being put in the display.  All the plants on the display need checking regularly as the foliage soon discolours in the poor light inside the Floral Marquees.

Plant are selected for selling,labelled then put onto our Danish trolleys at the weekend ready for being transported on Sunday when we are allowed to arrive on site and start to build the display.  The trolleys are wrapped at the last minute to ensure that plants do not sweat and deteriorate.

There are so many things to remember(I need to have a check list) especially as the nursery is still open whilst we are exhibiting at a show.  Labels to be made for the plants on the display (as we try to exhibit different or newly released varieties and each of our displays is different to any previous display) I am always having to make new labels.  As this year we are exhibiting at RHS Hamton Court Flower Show for the first time and we only have a week to turn around in I am hoping that some of the labels and plants may be able to be reused!