Very few things entice Caroline out of her Highland hideaway these days, a family wedding, Chelsea Flower Show, a litter of puppies maybe, or … an invitation to The
So it was that we 3 Growbags gathered from all corners of the UK like lemmings responding to the siren call of Islington Design Centre as it hosted the
I won’t lie, worthy as all new lawnmowers and hedge trimmers are, it’s the new plant introductions that really get our juices flowing. The excellent Andy Jeanes of Guernsey Clematis Nursery was lucky not to be crushed by a group hug as he gifted each us a goodie bag of baby specimens of three new cultivars, ‘Eliza’, ‘Ithemba’ and ‘Queen’s Nurse’. So the race is on to see which of us will be the first to get ours into flower, (and yes Caroline did manage to squeeze them into her cabin bag for her flight home that evening).
On the National
If petunias are your thing you will be in petunia heaven this summer with a new collection from Suttons called ‘Allegra’. Huge blooms on sturdy stems that can be trained onto pyramid supports to form relative mountains of blooms. Not usually a lover of such flouncy things, which are more Elaine and Caroline’s vibe, even I could see the statement they would make.
More to my taste was a diminutive but perfectly formed euphorbia bred by the Far Plants group in their Sussex nurseries. ‘Ascot Petite’ is a compact 30 cm tall with gorgeous dense foliage, flushed red in winter. Drought and cold tolerant it would look smashing in a trough for year round structure and I’m definitely ordering one (or maybe three….)
On the edibles front there was an intriguing new tomato from Thompson & Morgan that apparently tastes like and has the texture of a fruit pastille. Tomato ‘Meltaway’ is virtually skinless and seedless and best eaten plucked straight from the vine like a sweetie. Lucky enough to be given young plants, we’re all three trialling this as well.
Another snacking option to look forward to was a new melon from Dobies, ‘Honey Drops Dara’ with a skin so thin that you can bite into it like an apple or pear. We’ve put links at the end where you can read more about these groundbreaking new plants and order them yourself.
Away from the plant introductions the main topic seemed to be new composts and mulches; as prolific as barbers’ shops on the Hight Street, almost every alternate stand was promoting a growing medium of some sort. Many of the new peat-free concoctions were pleasingly based on agricultural and forestry by-products such as chopped straw and wood chip, a throw-back to a time before peat was the ubiquitous substrate for most composts. Elaine’s concern that they might be too light and blow off around the
In another re-invention of the wheel, young farmer Eddie Mordue founded his new business based on his grandparents’ recollection of sheep’s wool being regularly used to improve the fertility and water- retaining properties of the family veg patch. Creating pellets from the otherwise wasted fleece on the underbelly of his sheep ‘Wooltiser’ improves the water retention in soil and pots and gently fertilises it as it breaks down. I was kindly gifted a pack which think will be just the thing for maintaining the moisture levels in my tomato pots, compensating for my erratic watering regime which results in split skins.
To be honest there was an only so long we could focus on utilitarian compost ingredients before the lure of prettier things became too much. We all absolutely LOVED the new Burgon &Ball Woodland Wonders pattern and colour scheme.
And the conversion of a Mason jar into a self-watering plant pot for herbs and houseplants was a touch of genius from Mr Fothergill’s which won them the coveted award of best new product at this year’s event.
As ever it was a pleasure and a privilege to attend this event as it celebrated 20 years of its existence. It seems to grow and improve year on year and we would like to thank the HTA and GIMA for once again inviting us to be a part of it.
So a quick recap on the 10 new products we were excited about for the coming year.
Firstly those new Guernsey Clematis bred by Raymond Evison which will be officially launched at Chelsea in May but available to pre-order now for delivery in late March:
1 Clematis ‘Queens Nurse’ with a donation of £2 going directly to The National
2 Clematis ‘Eliza’
3 Clematis ‘Ithemba’
4 If it’s that amazing petunia you’re after it’s the ‘Allegra’ Collection
5 Join me in ordering one (or three!) Euphorbia ‘Ascot Petite’
6 Join us to trialling the groundbreaking new Tomato Meltaway
7 And if you fancy picking and eating a melon in your hand try Honey Drops Dara
8. That gravity defying mulch is Incredimulch Plus
9 To learn more about Wooltiser and the other products that Eddie Mordue is developing on his Oxfordshire farm visit his excellent website Traditional Garden Growers
10 Finally the new Product of the Year is Mr. Fothergill’s Oh So Simple Self-Watering Grow Kit
To watch a short video of all these new products click on the image below..
5 replies on “Our 10 best new gardening products 🤗”
Great info especially Elaine’s bum at the top of the ladder. She gets everywhere! Will definitely be curious to see whose clematis blooms first!!!
Hello Joan, yes that photo of Elaine’s back-side pops up everywhere- apparently she was in Horse and Hound recently 😂. I’ve already potted on my clematis, determined to win the challenge over the other two! Best wishes Laura
My sweet peas germinated on the wet kitchen roll beautifully- now to pot the on into compost – in a group of 5 so they are ready to plant at the base of support when the time comes….
Well done Laura – it’s good fun isn’t it and just lovely to have something sprouting at this dismal time of the year.
They can be moved somewhere cooler now but please watch out for mice….they love to
dig them and eat them given half the chance. Best wishes Laura
Interesting post, thank you.