Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants – New plants

Herbaceous perennial specialist nursery Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants are celebrating 2007 in grand style as it is the 10th Anniversary of their Priory Lane Nursery site, with events at the Nursery throughout the year and of course a flurry of new plant launches throughout the horticultural show calendar. it is also their 20th anniversary of trading as Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants.

New for Chelsea Flower Show 2007 is Salvia ‘Dot’s Delight’ which Hardy’s are launching on behalf an amateur Salvia enthusiast and grower from the Midlands. This hardy little plant grows vigorously from the base, does well through the summer, and is still in flower into December with pretty blue and white flowers.
Many gardeners have small plots and are short on time; hence the demand for long flowering, low maintenance plants is growing. Rob and Rosemary Hardy are constantly on the look out for new introductions which have these qualities This year they have found another very long flowering, easy to grow subject in Verbena ‘Seabrook’s Lavender’.

This chance seedling was found by Peter Seabrook growing in his Essex garden. The lavender seedling with a pretty, deeper eye has over wintered unprotected in the ground and in pots reliably over the past seven years. This short lived perennial grows in a mound of mid green leaves to 18″ (45cm) high and 24″ (60cm) across in its first summer from a rooted cutting. Plants reach 3’ (90cm) spread in their second summer in good soil.

When “Seabrook’s Lavender” is sheared back in full growth it quickly regrows to a neat smaller mound. This plant will flower freely from May to December and is rarely out of bloom. An excellent container and hanging basket plant it can be used alone and with other summer bedding. The Verbena, however, will still be flowering freely long after its tender summer partners have gone over!

The Writtle triumvirate will be at The Chelsea Flower Show 2007 for the plant’s public introduction. Rosemary Hardy was a student at Writtle College (1981-84) under the tutelage of Steve Bradley who now works with Peter Seabrook (Writtle College 1954-56) on The Sun gardening column!
Physocarpus ‘Lady in Red’ is bound to create a stir with its amazing bright young foliage colour on a compact plant, making it much highly suitable for the smaller garden.

The flowers are also slightly pinker than the other forms bred by John and Sue Tuite from Spalding.