Fit for a QUEEN

Taking pride of place at this week’s Chelsea Flower Show, a rose to mark Her Majesty’s glorious 70-year reign

AGLORIOUS new rose named in honour of the Queen is set to make its glittering debut at this week’s Chelsea Flower Show. Introduced to mark her 70 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II is a tall, hybrid tea variety with sweetly scented, 5½in-wide, soft pink flowers with amber and cream hints.

Created by Harkness Roses over a seven-year period, the Platinum Jubilee rose was officially selected by Her Majesty from photographs of a few different varieties put forward by the Hertfordshire nursery. According to owner Philip Harkness, the Queen liked the ‘colour and shape’ of its blooms.

Ideal in beds and borders, large containers or planted in a row as an informal flowering hedge, this historic rose will be available to gardeners in the autumn. The Queen will get to enjoy a personal display from her namesake rose this summer, with several plants set to light up the gardens at Windsor Castle.

This regal rose will certainly grab attention, but it won’t be the only newcomer to be introduced at the Royal Horticultural Society’s annual extravaganza, which opens to the public on Tuesday. Many

This regal offering will certainly grab the attention

shrubs, climbers, bedding plants, perennials and houseplants will be unveiled by nurseries within the Great Pavilion.

Apart from Queen Elizabeth II, lovers of roses will be well catered for at the RHS’s prestigious event, with at least six other varieties making their bow. Oxford Physic is a shrub rose with shell-pink blooms, while Loyal Companion is a compact floribunda with fragrant, semi-double peach flowers.

Named after the song that was first recorded by The Mills Brothers in 1968 and later became the signature tune of comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, Bring Me Sunshine is a repeat-flowering English shrub rose. Bred by David Austin Roses, it boasts double, orange-yellow blooms with a strong, myrrh-like fragrance.

A cavalcade of fresh shrubs will appear in garden centres after the show. The result of 18 years of breeding, Azalea Starstyle Pink grows to just 20in and has unique, hot pink, star-shaped flowers in spring and autumn. Buddleia Butterfly Candy Little Ruby grows to only 3ft and is topped by bright red plumes in summer.

I’m fortunate in being able to trial some plants long before they make their official entrance. One shrub that has performed well for me, and will be appearing at the show, is Forsythia x intermedia Discovery. Its lightly scented, yellow flowers turn heads in late winter but it’s most notable for its twotone, green and gold leaves.

Of all the new shrubs, the one I’m looking forward to seeing the most is Weigela Magic Carpet. Growing to just 2ft, it’s more compact than other weigelas and has apricotorange foliage that make a striking foil for its pink flowers. Given such attributes, it should do well in the show’s Plant Of The Year contest.

More perennials get their premiere at Chelsea than any other type of plant. Among those to look out for are Heuchera Frilly, Alstroemeria Little Miss June and Salvia

A Little Bit. Dianthus Electric Dreams forms a compact mound of evergreen, grey-green foliage, topped with masses of clovescented, bright pink flowers. But pick of the bunch is Echinacea Evolution Colorific, a novel form of coneflower with blooms that change colour. Growing up to about 20in, this sun-lover produces red-orange daisies that turn pink, then purple-red. Flowering from June to September, it’s ideal in pots or in the ground.

Stockists: David Austin (davidaustinroses.co.uk),

Dibleys Nurseries (dibleys.com), Harkness Roses (roses.co.uk),

Hillier (hillier.co.uk), Parigo Alstroemeria (parigoalstroemeria.co.uk), Peter Beales (classicroses.co.uk), Marshalls (marshallsgarden.com), Raymond Evison Clematis (raymondevisonclematis.com), Surreal Succulents (surreal succulents.co.uk), Thompson & Morgan (thompson-morgan.com), Whetman Garden Plants (whetmangardenplants.co.uk).