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  • New Plants and RHS Trials

    Blog post by Trials on 24 Apr 2008

    Welcome to this new blog shared by the team at the RHS Trials Office at Wisley and plantsman Graham Rice. Here in the Trials Office we'll be bringing the latest news from the trials and of the awards which are given. Of course, we'll also be continuing to publish the final trial reports, AGM... Read more..

  • Second welcome to the New Plants and RHS Trials blog

    Blog post by Graham Rice on 25 Apr 2008

    New plants. There are more and more of them accompanied by more and more hype. But we all like to see the latest varieties and to try those which look especially enticing in our own gardens. So here I'll be bringing you news of the latest introductions - some too new even to be in the very latest... Read more..

  • The new RHS Plant Finder is out!

    Blog post by Graham Rice on 28 Apr 2008

    Have you got your copy yet? Don't make do with last year's Plant Finder. Apart from anything else there are over four thousand new plants included this year - 4,183, to be precise. I know, some of these are returning after not being available last year - but still, that's an impressive number... Read more..

  • More news of new plants and trials

    Blog post by Graham Rice on 07 May 2008

    This is not the only place I'm writing about new plants. Last month I wrote a piece for the Daily Telegraph about the top ten new perennials this spring. You can read it here . And over the last year I’ve been posting on new plants over on my Transatlantic Plantsman blog. You can find them all here... Read more..

  • New at this year’s Chelsea

    Blog post by Graham Rice on 11 May 2008

    Many of the Chelsea exhibitors will have new plants on display this year, but what does "new" actually mean? There are three main types of "new" Chelsea plants. 1. Plants which have never have been seen on display anywhere in the country - or perhaps anywhere in the world - before... Read more..

  • ‘Tiki Torch’ – a new orange echinacea

    Blog post by Graham Rice on 16 May 2008

    In the last few years echinaceas have come a long way - in terms of new colours at least. So far these have all been raised in America and Antonia Fiander at Future Primitive Plants in Worcestershire has just emailed to say that she now has stock of the latest to hit these shores - ‘Tiki Torch'.... Read more..

  • Two re-launched plants at Chelsea

    Blog post by Graham Rice on 18 May 2008

    As well as over eighty new plants at Chelsea, this year sees the arrival of a couple of old timers - one over a hundred years old. Cayeux Iris from France will have four impressive new introductions at the Show but also on display will be Iris ‘Ma Mie', originally introduced in 1906. Click on the... Read more..

  • New bicoloured salvia, dwarf phlox and green echinacea

    Blog post by Graham Rice on 23 May 2008

    Derek Jarman at Hayloft Plants just emailed to tell me about the newcomers in their latest catalogue. Salvia greggii ‘Icing Sugar’ looks one of the best. Recalling the bicoloured flowers of Salvia x jamensis ‘Hot Lips’, the two-tone purple flowers of ‘Icing Sugar’ are carried on bushy, twiggy plants... Read more..

  • New sweet peas at Chelsea

    Blog post by Graham Rice on 30 May 2008

    Sweet peas are always a special feature at Chelsea, and both sweet pea exhibitors were awarded Gold Medals this year. But somehow, in the hurly-burly of the show, my news of their four new sweet pea introductions never made it on to the new plants pages on the RHS Chelsea website. So let me just run... Read more..

  • Coreopsis with fluted petals

    Blog post by Graham Rice on 04 Jun 2008

    In the last couple of years, a number of perennial coreopsis with fluted petals have arrived at nurseries. The fluted petals are formed when individual rays of the daisy-like flowers roll inwards at the edges and join to form a tube. This feature is also seen in a number of other members of the daisy... Read more..