The expert plants people of the RHS chose the shortlist for the 2012 Chelsea Plant of the Year. Thirty seven entries were brought down to a Top Twenty of new plants from all over the world. The winner, as I forecast yesterday, was Digitalis Illumination Pink ('Tmdgfp001') (below, lick to enlarge). Here's the full Top Twenty.
Aeonium 'Cornish Tribute' makes a tight mass of succulent green rosettes turning red with age. Ideal in a container, and drought tolerant. (Trewidden Nursery)
Aeonium 'Logan Rock' has glossy purple-bronze rosettes with green centres. Ideal in a container, and drought tolerant. (Trewidden Nursery)
Choisya × dewitteana 'Aztec Gold' is a bushy shrub with aromatic, golden-yellow foliage. (Hillier Nurseries) Find out more.
Clematis 'Shikoo' has densely double, purplish blue flowers in May and June. (Thorncroft Clematis)
Dianthus barbatus Green Trick ('Temarisou') has extraordinary fluffy green flowers the size and shape of tennis balls. Ideal for cutting. (Thompson & Morgan)
Dianthus Memories ('WP11 Gwe04') has double white flowers with an exceptionally strong spicy perfume (Whetman Pinks) Find out more.
Digitalis Illumination Pink ('Tmdgfp001') has pink flowers with honey centres. (Thompson & Morgan) Find out more. This is my tip for the winner! (Above, click to enlarge)
Digitalis 'Silver Cub' with multiple flower stems carrying white blooms, from a rosette of silvery-white, woolly leaves. (Thompson & Morgan)
Heuchera 'Circus' has foliage which changes from deep to light to silver green then in autumn it turns pink. (Plantagogo)
Hyacinthus orientalis 'Royal Navy' has spikes of deep blue double flowers. (J S Pennings "De Bilt")
Leucanthemum × superbum 'Freak!' flowers repeatedly throughout the summer (Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants)
Lilium 'Bethan Evans' is an extremely hardy yellow and pink Martagon lily with a powerful fragrance. (HW Hyde & Son.)
Lilium 'Cream Tea'. (HW Hyde & Son.)
Nepenthes 'Linda' has large dusky red pitchers up to 40cm long. (Hampshire Carnivorous Plants)
Osteospermum 'In The Pink' is repeat-flowering with vivid pink daisies. (Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants)
Petunia × atkinsiana Gioconda Series, which is a free-spreading plant in five colours and said to be the first hardy petunia. (Ideal World)
Rosa The Queen's Jubilee Rose ('Beajubilee') from has fragrant blooms that are white-blushed with peach. (Peter Beales Roses)
Streptocarpus 'Harlequin Lace' has large lobelia-blue flowers withy purple and white patterned lips. (Dibley’s Nurseries)
Streptocarpus 'Sweet Melys' is the first streptocarpus with a strong scent, the pale blue flowers mature to pale pink (Dibley’s Nurseries)
Tillandsia 'Samantha' has pale green and pink candelabra-like flower head above glossy green leaves. (
Every Picture Tells A Story
)
Last year’s winner was Anemone ‘Wild Swan’ while the first Chelsea Plant of the Year. In 2010, was Streptocarpus 'Harlequin Blue'.