We were thrilled to receive an RHS Gold Medal for the Plant Heritage display at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2021, imaginatively designed by Collection Holder and garden designer Jackie Currie. Plant Heritage display at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2021 'National Plant Collections Everywhere!' included plants from collections that look great in autumn, arranged in three …
We are currently finalising the annual re-registration of Plant Guardian plants, which usually sees an influx of new registrations, some of which are plants shared through our annual Plant Exchange. We are delighted to include an additional 95 new registrations, with 72 new rare plants being added to the scheme. Sadly though, this year has seen a loss of 41 registrations from the scheme, which perhaps indicates what a …
Continue reading Rare plant of the month – Santolina chamaecyparissus ‘Weston’
We have recently celebrated the Winner of the Threatened Plant of the Year competition with the judges' choice awarded to Camellia × williamsii "Yesterday”. The judges were won over by the charismatic blooms of this rare Camellia, along with its breeding, by Gillian Carlyon. The story of how it was found in the garden of a Plant …
When the Plant Heritage AGM in April 2020 went online and the Plant Exchange, which normally happens alongside the AGM, inevitably couldn’t go ahead, offers of plants were kept on hold in the hope of being back to normal and in Durham for the 2021 AGM. As we know, circumstances didn’t allow for this, with …
Cultivar names are not always what they seem …. unravelling the mystery of Dahlia 'Little Tiger'. This story begins with a glamorous Plant Exchange orphan, adopted as ‘Little Tiger’ and appearing to be eligible for our Plant Guardian conservation scheme. However, this very photogenic dahlia required a closer look into its origins. Upon further enquiries …
When John Moore was looking for plants named for Churchill College’s namesake, Sir Winston Churchill, he never imagined the search would take him to the far side of the planet. Rosa 'Sir Winston Churchill' Churchill College, Cambridge is the National and Commonwealth Memorial to Winston Churchill and holds the archive of his papers. Included in these are …
Continue reading Rare plant of the month, March 2021 – Rosa ‘Sir Winston Churchill’
Celebration of Calendula 2019 - celebrating the conservation of calendula through the dirspersed National Collection held at Bristol zoo, woth the help of local community groups
Many thanks to our Yorkshire group for the wonderful 2017 AGM, based in Harrogate, with some excellent garden visits and talks. Particular thanks go to Richard Laurence, Cathryn Denby, Dean Lockwood, Simon Crawford and Ruth Wood. Plus many thanks to Pat Cooke from Floral Tours for organising the event. The weekend kicked off with a very successful …
2017, the year of Scotland's History, Heritage and Archaeology, was the perfect time to launch Scotland’s first Daffodil Festival. It was held on 15-16 April at Backhouse Rossie Estate in Fife. It was a great success with visitors enjoying woodland walks, an egg hunt, artisan stalls, talks, planting demonstrations, nine-hole putting and, of course, the …
Continue reading Debut Daffodil Festival puts Scotland’s Backhouse Daffodils on the map
A superb gold medal winning display was created by our Plant Heritage London Group, at the RHS Early Spring Plant Fair. The display illustrated a range of plants that are in flower or fruit now. At first glance the display catches your eye with the wide variety of plants, but then you start looking at the details. It's a feast for the …
