Plants breeders bring ‘gold’ to Sussex shows this September

Following an extraordinary sweep of Gold medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and a clean sweep of golds for PFR exhibitors at Badminton, the Plant Fairs Roadshow (PFR) is bringing its award-winning collective of specialist nurseries this September to two fantastic venues in Sussex. 

West Dean: Sunday 13th September (10am - 3pm)

Borde Hill Gardens Sunday 20 September (10am - 3pm)

Planting in our south east gardens has been “off the menu” this summer due to the long and extended drought, but it's hoped the cooler wetter weather in September should encourage gardeners to break ground again and plant once more.

Tom Brown Head Gardener at West Dean says: “Saying farewell to such a difficult summer and welcoming a new season I see as somewhat of a celebration. During September we can help our gardens to recover and be optimistic in replacing plants that may have succumb to drought. The joy in talking to knowledgeable and experienced nursery folk at PFR is that your new planting choices can be informed to help our gardens thrive in these more extreme conditions.”

Advice on the right plant for the right place and right reason is central to the PFR events and visitors to the September plant fairs will have the unique opportunity to seek advice and buy unusual perennials directly from some of the country’s leading propagators and growers. 

Paul Seaborne, coordinator of the Plant Fairs Roadshow (PFR), and owner of Pelham Plants says:  "What visitors to our September events really love is the personal connection. There is no substitute for chatting directly with the person who raised the plant from a seed or cutting. Whether you are looking for shade-lovers for a Wealden clay garden or drought-tolerant gems for the coast, our growers understand the local conditions because many of us garden here ourselves."

Among the expert growers attending at the September PFR events is Suzanne Graves of 'Flowers And Earth' nursery in Cuckfield West Sussex.  Suzanne will be sharing her brand of resilient plants that cope well with little rainfall and have adapted to dry conditions : "At Flower & Earth, our small nursery operates entirely without chemicals or pesticides, using only peat-free compost to keep nature at the heart of everything we do. The intense drought we've experienced this summer has really highlighted the need for resilient gardens. Because our area of Mid Sussex naturally receives very little summer rainfall, our plants are perfectly adapted to these dry, challenging conditions, and we've found that the drought-tolerant varieties are exactly the ones our local pollinators prefer. We are thrilled to be heading to the forthcoming plant fairs at Borde Hill and Mount Ephraim, where visitors will be able to buy our tough, tried-and-tested bee-friendly perennials, ornamental grasses, and herbs to create their own resilient wildlife havens."

The Plant Fairs Roadshow, is a non-profit cooperative and is renowned for bringing keen plant buyers together with expert growers at prestigious venues across the South East. This year, the collective’s vibrant talent was on full display at Chelsea, with all 5 members who exhibited securing Gold medals.