Amateur plant group gears up for Chelsea test

They picked the title last year because it indicated toughness,

hardiness and endurance, an ideal description for plants which have to cope with extreme conditions – but the group could not have anticipated what lay ahead.

The worst winter for almost 30 years has put that resilience to the test and for weeks has left those involved in staging the exhibit anxiously watching for the signs of life stirring again in pots of perennials.

Exhibit co-ordinator Pat Inman said: "I'm glad to say that they are growing and we can only hope that as the temperatures rise the plants will make up for lost time. We do have fingers crossed."

The group, which has over 100 members from North and West Yorkshire, was selected to stage a display in the Floral Pavilion at Chelsea after successful recent gold medal exhibits at the Harrogate Flower shows.

Ms Inman added: "Amateur societies at Chelsea are judged to the same exacting standards as the professional exhibitors so we will have to have plants in prime condition, absolutely pristine with no sign of pest or disease and those grown for their flowers, as opposed to foliage, have to have the correct amount of flowers open on judging day.

"That is going to be no easy task given the winter we have had. But then everyone else is in the same position."

The group will need around 750 plants to choose from and to ensure they are ready for May members dug up their prized favourites from their own gardens in the autumn. These were then potted up and overwintered in an empty unheated polytunnel kindly lent to the group at the Harrogate Council's central nursery.

As a contingency measure some of the plants were sent to a nursery in Norfolk which specialises in preparing plants for such events and has the facilities to bring plants on or hold them back. "I don't think the latter will be needed much this year," Ms Inman said.

The display will feature five different planting areas ranging from dry and stony, to boggy, and include such favourites as verbascum and foxgloves.

David Smith, who has designed the group's display, is tackling his first Chelsea project after setting up his own business Trillium Gardens with two other people following his completion of a design course at Leeds Metropolitan University.

"We have tried to move away from the traditional perception of what Yorkshire is all about, such as cloth caps and stone walls, and chose an idea echoing Leeds as a vibrant city, we have gone for something really quite modern as a backdrop to the plants," he said.

The theme may be modern but some of the materials used are recycled, such as the York stone path through the plants which has been cut from old stone roofing slates from the former St Margaret of Antioch church in Cardigan Road, Leeds.

The building was consecrated in 1909 and is a listed building with a late Gothic interior and is currently undergoing renovation as an arts and event centre.

Some of the 100-year-old stone roofing slates had to be replaced and the group was given use of some of them.

Members of the group have spent months holding events such as coffee morning, open gardens, and even a bridge afternoon to raise funds towards the anticipated 20,000 cost of staging the display and they are still looking for help transporting everything south. Contact group secretary Gill Evans on 0113 2576188 if you think you can help.

Building on the display will start on May 18 and two students from Askham Bryan College will be helping members in the construction to gain experience.

The group also knows there is lots of Yorkshire support around them including the Leeds Parks team building their own garden nearby. Until then members will be looking anxiously at the daily weather forecasts.

Group chairman Pat Clarke said: "It is such an honour to be showing at Chelsea – of course we would love a gold but a silver or bronze would go down very well."

Their Chelsea display will be recreated using late summer perennials in September at the Autumn Flower Show and after that the structure will go to Askham Bryan College to be reused there.