Welcome to our 6th year of newsletters.
This month we preview our 2012 season and highlight plants to look out for during the year...
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and away This year will be challenging for us as we look to make significant changes at the nursery, whilst trying to maintain our commitment to the shows we attend. Our objective is to get more and more gardeners to appreciate hostas, and the extra dimension they add to any garden landscape. We do this by sharing our own enthusiasm for the genus directly with customers at shows, at the nursery, and through our website and newsletters. So here are a few suggestions of what to look out for in 2012...  Bling
for the gardenRegular readers will know that we like to promote the older varieties of hosta, because we feel they can be seriously overlooked. However, more recently there have been a number of introductions presenting improvement on their parents. One such variety is h. 'Midnight at the Oasis' - image on left. It caused quite a stir at Hampton Court last year when we exhibited it as part of the story of h. 'Francee' - we sold out within the first few hours of the show. This cultivar exaggerates the leaf shape and colouring of its parent, h. 'Pathfinder', and appears to be a stronger grower too. Contrast plants There are many brightly variegated varieties, so striking they put those surrounding them in the shade - quite literally. However, they would all be shouting for attention if planted together, so you need to pick companion plants to tone down the area around the brightly variegated cultivars, for maximum impact.  One
such cultivar, we used extensively last year in our displays, is h.
'Nightlife'. This is a very useful hosta for the garden. It has
dark, matt green leaves and fragrant lavender flowers - see below
right. It is a medium-sized cultivar having a pleasingly neat habit,
producing an evenly layered mound. Although it isn't new this year,
it is one we expect to use again, so keep an eye out for it.We have noticed a recent trend for developing single leaf colour varieties to exaggerate characteristics such as rippled margins and intense rugosity. Two cultivars to look out for this year are h. 'Neptune' and h. 'Clear Fork River Valley'. H. 'Neptune' has intensely blue, elongated leaves with very rippled margins. The plant has a prostrate habit with very long, arching flower scapes - it would make an architectural statement in a container. H. 'Clear Fork River Valley' has rich dark green, intensely textured leaves - we cannot wait for this one to mature. Collectors plants There are always lots of tempting new varieties being introduced, but we need to assess these carefully to see which we think are worth including in our National Collection, and offering for sale. There is also the danger that new varieties may appear only briefly because they do not reliably reproduce through tissue culture.  This
often forces our hand to take a risk on offering a new variety for
sale. Last year h. 'Pistache' fell into this category. This cultivar is a sport of h. 'Spilt Milk' a notoriously unstable variety that has a high level of reversion. When h. 'Spilt Milk' retains its subtle splashed variegation it is fabulous, but we suspected that the more striking variegation of h. 'Pistache' might be even harder to maintain. However, since adding it to our collection it has thrived, so we felt confident to offer it for sale last year, and will have more for sale again in 2012. Red-stemmed beauties Recent trends, such as the development of varieties with more vibrant coloured petioles and flower scapes, continue. This year is no exception as we will have another selection for sale. Perhaps the most vibrantly coloured scapes are those of h. 'China Girl', which look like forced rhubarb topped with very dark green foliage - a stunning plant, especially for a container.
Finally (for now)... This year the largest variety we will be offering for sale will be h. 'Empress Wu', and the smallest, h. 'Cat's Eye'. We will also have some aptly named varieties for sale, such as h. 'Titanic', h. 'Jubilee' and many with 'olympic' in the name. Our full availability list will be on the website very soon but if you would like to find out about any specific variety then give us a call - we are always happy to advise, and to reserve plants for sending out in the spring. |
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Once again we will be on our travels across the country in 2012.
Below is our calendar to date:
26-29 April 2012
Harrogate
Spring Flower Show
Details to follow
10-13 May 2012
Malvern
Spring Gardening Show
We will be in the same places in the Floral Marquee
(MFM23) and outside (beside the Rock Garden), as last year.
27 May 2012
Plant
Heritage Spring Plant Fair
Helmingham Hall
13-17 June 2012
Gardeners'
World Live
This year we will be in the Floral Marquee, Hall 16 stand FM96
- click on map to view.
We will be opposite the 'Birmingham Feature'
3-8 July 2012
Hampton
Court Palace Flower Show
We are delighted to be involved in a newly designed feature, The Plant
Village, which will be situated in the Thames Area (formerly Area A).
We also hope to be involved with Plant Heritage again and will pass on
the details as soon as we have them.
18-22 July 2012
Tatton
Park Flower Show
This year we will be in the Floral Marquee, stand FM20. This is
very near to where we were last year, so you can't miss us!
14-16 September 2012
Harrogate
Autumn Show
Details to follow
16 September 2012
Autumn
Plant Fair Helmingham Hall
Other shows
We plan to apply for the smaller RHS shows, held at Wisley and Hyde Hall,
when applications are invited.
We have also been approached to exhibit at the Suffolk Show. We will add
these to our calendar if we are successful with our applications.
Keep an eye on our calendar
and forthcoming newsletters for more details.
| Next month: | We feature another classic cultivar, h. 'Krossa Regal' |