As the garden retail industry’s most beloved charity, Greenfingers’ inaugural presence at the forthcoming RHS Chelsea Flower Show is something we can all take great pride in. Here the charity reveals further details about its proposed planting scheme, something the charity is encouraging retailers to offer in-store to help consumers recreate the ‘Chelsea look’ within their own garden spaces.
The Greenfingers Charity Garden, designed by Kate Gould for this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show will feature a soothing palette of green and white, with little explosions of yellow. Featuring trees, shrubs and beautiful flowering bulbs and plants, the garden will be a feast for all the senses, created to provide a sense of tranquillity, where life-limited children and their families can experience an uplifting and interactive garden experience.
Featuring a dual-level design, over 2,000 plants will be used, made up of over 60 different species, including trees, shrubs, perennials, ferns, grasses, annuals and bulbs.
Linda Petrons, Greenfingers’ Director of Fundraising & Communications, said: “The Greenfingers Charity Garden on Main Avenue (336) is going to be truly stunning. It will be a true festival of textures and gorgeous soft whites and greens, beautifully accented by splashes of yellow that capture the eye. And what’s really great about the planting scheme is that it is incredibly easy to replicate aspects of it, making it easy to add a touch of Chelsea in your own garden.
“With this in mind, we are encouraging retailers to consider a new merchandising idea to support our RHS Chelsea debut, whilst also helping to drive sales within the plant area this festival season. By grouping these plants – or similar varieties together – and adding some simple merchandising support material, retailers can make it so easy for consumers to recreate their own corner of Chelsea.”
One of the most exciting stars of the show will be the Aspidistra elatior, commonly known as the Cast Iron Plant. More commonly known as an indoor plant, the Greenfingers garden will be breaking tradition and placing it outdoors, demonstrative of the relatively unknown hardiness of the plant, and how a new generation of gardeners are pushing the boundaries.
Additionally, the garden will be featuring a new plant Choisya ‘Greenfingers’; a beautiful evergreen shrub that enjoys a blanket of delicate white flowers. Thanks to Peter Catt, a donation from every sale of Choisya ‘Greenfingers’ will go directly to the charity, enabling it to continue to build even more gardens at children’s hospices throughout the UK.
Other popular varieties on display at Greenfingers’ RHS Chelsea show garden will be David Austin’s Rosa ‘Claire Austin’, Iris ‘Benton Primrose’, Lupinus ‘Gallery Yellow’, Paeonia ‘White Emperor’, Aquilegia chrysantha ‘Yellow Queen’ and RHS Plant of the year 2011, Anemone ‘Wild Swan’. Look out for hardy tropicals, textured foliage and grasses such as Carex ‘Ice Dance’, the neon green of Deschampsia ‘Tatra Gold’, the ‘furry’ Stipa tenuifolia, plus the topiarised domes of Carpinus betulus and Taxus baccata.
To find out more about Greenfingers Charity, and how to get involved in a range of fundraising events please email Linda@greenfingerscharity.org.uk.
You can also join in the conversation by joining Greenfingers on social media – https://www.facebook.com/Greenfingerscharity/, @GreenfingersCha on Twitter, and @Greenfingerscharity on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Pull out box
In detail: The Greenfingers RHS Chelsea planting scheme
Retailers wanting to offer customers the chance to recreate the Greenfinger Charity RHS Chelsea show garden planting scheme should look out for these plant varieties.
Trees
- Diospyros lotus
- Cornus kousa
- Cercidiphyllum japonicum
- Eriobotrya japonica
- Liriodendron tulipifera
- Sycopsis Sinensis
Shrubs
- Viburnum plicatum
- Rosa ‘Claire Austin’
- Choisya ‘Greenfingers’
- Pittosporum vars
- Carpinus betulus
- Ilex crenata
- Taxas baccata
- Sarcococca confusa
Bulbs
- Allium ‘Mont Blanc’
- Camassia leichtlinii ‘Alba’
- Convallaria majalis
Annuals
- Ammi visnaga
- Orlaya grandiflora
Ferns
- Asplenium scolopendrium
- Athyrium filix-femina ‘dre’s Dagger’
- Plystichum polyblepharum
- Polystichum setiferum
Grasses
- Carex ‘Ice Dance’
- Chasmanthium Iatifolium
- Deschampsia ‘Tatra Gold’
- Hakonechloa
- Stipa gigantea
- Stipa tenuifolia
Perennials
- Acanthus ‘Rue Ledan’
- Anemone ‘Wild Swan’
- Anethum ‘Mariska’
- Angelica archangelica
- Aquilegia chrysantha ‘Yellow Queen’
- Artemisia ludoviciana ‘Silver Queen’
- Asarum europaeum
- Astrantia ‘Star of Billion’
- Baptisia australis ‘Alba’
- Brunnera ‘Alexanders Great’
- Campanula persicifolia ‘Takion White’
- Cenolophium denudatum
- Dicentra ‘Aurora’
- Digitalis purpurea ‘Camelot Cream’
| · Epimedium x youngianum ‘Niveum’ |
| · Euphorbia characias ‘Forescate’ |
| · Geranium macrorrhizum ‘White-Ness’ |
| · Heuchera sanguinea ‘White Cloud’ |
| · Hosta ‘Devon Green’ |
| · Hosta sieboldiana |
| · Iris ‘Benton Primrose’ |
| · Lupinus ‘Gallery Yellow’ |
| · Lupinus ‘Westcountry Polar Princess’ |
| · Paeonia ‘Border Charm’ |
| · Paeonia ‘White Emperor’ |
| · Rodgersia podophylla |
| · Salvia x superba ‘Merleau White’ |
| · Tiarella ‘Inkblot’ |
| · Viola sororia ‘Albiflora’ |
ENDS
WORD COUNT: 728
EDITORS INFORMATION
About Greenfingers Charity
Greenfingers is a national charity dedicated to supporting life-limited children and their families who spend time in hospices around the UK. The charity is committed to creating, beautiful, well-designed outdoor spaces for children to enjoy with family, friends and siblings, whether through play and fun, or therapeutic rest and relaxation. To date Greenfingers Charity has created over 55 inspiring gardens in children’s hospices around the country and has a further waiting list of hospices that need help.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT GREENFINGERS CHARITY from Linda Petrons – linda@greenfingerscharity.org.uk – Tel 07908 221240.