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colour logo of RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024 with single multi-coloured flower and text
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RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024 /in , /by

RHS Exhibits

This year, our contribution to RHS Chelsea Flower Show took us inside the Great Pavilion, for two gardens designed for special Royal Horticultural Society exhibits and a special showground installation sponsored by Saatchi.

All About Hedges

This Discovery Zone feature, designed by Dave Green with RHS Science showcased the importance of hedges as part of urban and suburban landscapes.  Practicality Brown supplied Yew, Privet, Elaeagnus, Portuguese Laurel and Griselinia from our Practical Instant Hedge™ range for this special exhibit.

RHS x UBS A day on the nursery

This Feature Garden in the middle of the Great Pavilion, was sponsored by UBS and designed by Emma Tipping. It gave visitors an immersive experience of being in a plant nursery. We supplied Practical Instant Native Mix Hedge™ that surrounds the exhibit. The current mix in this very wildlife friendly hedge is Hawthorn, Hornbeam, Hazel, Blackthorn and Common Privet.

Abeba Esse

This showground installation, sponsored by Saatchi Gallery, by Zak Ové and Dave Green depicts a Black Diasporic journey, with planting representing Africa, the Caribbean, and the UK. The garden encourages important conversations about the themes. We supplied Practical Instant Native Mix Hedge™ as a back drop to the exhibit and the yew at the front.

Come and visit our nursery in Iver, Bucks and talk to our Horticultural team about your own garden. Call us on 01753 652022. You can also email us at hedge@pracbrown.co.uk. Or browse our website for specimen trees and instant hedges.

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RHS Chelsea 2024 /in , /by

RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024

RHS Exhibits

This year, our contribution to RHS Chelsea Flower Show took us inside the Great Pavilion, for two gardens designed for special Royal Horticultural Society exhibits.

All About Hedges

This Discovery Zone feature, designed by Dave Green with RHS Science showcased the importance of hedges as part of urban and suburban landscapes.  We supplied Yew, Privet, Elaeagnus, Portuguese Laurel and Griselinia from our Practical Instant Hedge™ range for this special immersive exhibit.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RHS x UBS A Day on the Nursery

This feature garden in the middle of the Great Pavilion, was designed by Emma Tipping to give visitors an immersive experience of being in a plant nursery. We supplied Practical Instant Native Mix Hedge™ that surrounds the exhibit. The current mix in this very wildlife friendly hedge is Hawthorn, Hornbeam, Hazel, Blackthorn and Common Privet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Come and visit our nursery in Iver, Bucks and talk to our Horticultural team about your own garden. Call us on 01753 652022. You can also email us at hedge@pracbrown.co.uk.  Or visit our website:  www.pracbrown.co.uk

BBC coverage Chelsea trees
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Trees at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2019 /in , , , /by

Specimen Trees at RHS Chelsea Flower Show

There was a strong green colour scheme at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show and the BBC coverage showed many of the talented garden designers’ creations. Once again, Monty Don, respected gardener and broadcaster chose his favourite Trees from this year’s show.

Including the impressive resident avenue of London Plane trees, these specimen trees that stood out:

Hornbeam

Hornbeam treesAndy Sturgeon used large Hornbeams in the woodland feature of his M & G Garden, which was inspired by nature’s power to regenerate. This Gold medal winning garden also received the Best Show Garden award.

Carpinus betulus (Common Hornbeam) is a native tree. It has bright green leaves which turn a shining yellow through to brown in the Autumn. Hornbeam often retains these brown leaves through the Winter and into the Spring.

 

Many large unclipped evergreens were left to their natural best in these Show Gardens:

Altas CedarAtlas Cedar in Wedgwood garden

Jo Thompson reflected 260 years of history in her Wedgwood Garden, creating an impressive architectural arched structure, and used textural and structural trees to line the boundary, including Atlas Cedar. The garden was awarded a Silver Gilt medal

The Cedrus atlantica is a fast growing tree, named after the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and Algeria, from where it originates. This imperial tree can reach 30 metres in height, with branches that growing horizontally from the base of the tree all the way up to the top.

 

Monkey puzzleMonkey puzzle tree

Jonathon Snow’s silver medal winning Trailfinders garden was inspired by the temperate rainforests of South America, where the Monkey puzzle is a native tree.

Araucaria Araucana (Monkey puzzle) is a stately slow growing evergreen and structural tree, well known for its distinctive long slender branches densely covered with overlapping spiking leaves.

 

Black pine

Black pine tree

Centre stage of Chris Beardshaw’s Morgan Stanley Garden is the Black Pine. This Gold medal winning garden is inspired by the UK’s love of beautiful gardens.

The Black, or Austrian Pine is a rich, robust evergreen tree, with deep green glossy needles and a picturesque (and usually) rounded growth habit.

Pinus nigra is excellent in exposed and coastal areas, and makes the perfect selection for wind break planting and protection from the sea.

 

Semi-mature trees can make a real statement in your garden; why not browse our Tree Finder or ask us about our in stock availability.

Please either fill out the contact form, email trees@www.pracbrown.co.uk or call us on 01753 652022

Semi-Mature Trees Common lime tree
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Semi-Mature Trees at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2018 /in , , /by

Semi-Mature Trees at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2018

There were very many beautiful gardens at this RHS Chelsea Flower Show and the BBC coverage showcased many of the designs. Monty Don, respected gardener and broadcaster chose his favourite Semi-Mature Trees from this year’s show; all of them spectacular specimens:

Morus nigra (Black Mulberry)

Centre to Paul Hervey-Brookes’s The Viking Cruises Wellness Garden is an aged mulberry tree, which designer Paul Hervey-Brookes has been nurturing for the last five years.

The Black Mulberry is a pretty, deciduous tree that is native to South Western Asia. It has very bright green leaves that are heart-shaped and have a serrated looking edge to them.  The bark is gnarly, giving even younger trees an old and historic appearance. As a mature tree, the Black Mulberry has a spreading, rounded shape to it which is almost domed, giving it a wide appeal architecturally.

The fruits emerge throughout the summertime, ripening towards the end of this period to be deep purple in colour and loganberry like in appearance. This tree will tolerate most soil conditions, preferring a lighter well-drained soil.
The Viking Cruises Wellness Garden is a space inspired by the spa and the idea of living well, both of which are intrinsic to the Nordic way of life. The garden is imagined to belong to a single person or couple and is a place in which to relax, feel at home with nature, unwind and recharge from the stresses of life. It is rich with traditional Nordic herbal and culinary plants, many of which are resurgent in Norway and Sweden.

Punica granatum (Pomegranate)

Sarah Price used Punica granatum (Pomegranate) for the M&G Garden

The M&G Garden is a romanticised haven designed for a warm, sunny climate. It expands on a timeless idea that a wall, a tree and a seat can create an intimate and beautiful place of repose. Using Mediterranean flora and raw materials dug directly out of the earth (clay, aggregate and pigment), the space celebrates the expressive language of colour, texture, light and shadow. The stand-out plants in the garden are a pair of beautifully gnarled old pomegranate trees.

Betula nigra (Black birch)

Trees take centre stage of Chris Beardshaw’s Morgan Stanley garden for NSPCC with a Betula nigra giving a genuine sense of maturity to the garden, allowing ground level planting to soften the rest of the space.

This tall tree forms a pyramidal shape, often having multiple trunks, with deeply ridged, dark brown bark. Younger trees have a uniquely flaky, orangey-red bark, which peels away from the tree without detaching. Foliage consists of soft, green rhombus-shaped leaves and yellow-green catkins are produced in April.

Designed to raise awareness of the work of the NSPCC, this garden’s design is a metaphor for the emotional transition that takes place in a child as they experience the positive impact of the NSPCC’s work

Tilia x europaea

Tom Stuart-Smith used a huge Tilia europaea in the Garfield Weston Foundation garden.

Tilia europaea is an impressive, fast growing tree which has a broad crown at maturity. It has fragrant yellow flowers that hang in cymes, whilst it’s lush green leaves turn a vivid yellow just before they fall in autumn. This is a tough tree, thriving on most soils, and is frost hardy. It is good for urban areas and is wind resistant.

Celebrating 60 years of the Garfield Weston Foundation, The Weston Garden is a private, enclosed and romantic space that emphasises the simplest and most enduring characteristics of a private garden

 

Instant native hedge
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RHS Chelsea Flower Show – World Horse Welfare Garden /in , /by

World Horse Welfare Garden

Practicality Brown are proud to have supported Show and Artisan Gardens at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2017 by supplying top quality large hedging plants to talented Garden Designers.

The World Horse Welfare Artisan Garden creates a moving story; designed by Woolcott Smith and built by Conway Landscapes, the garden celebrated the 90th  anniversary of World Horse Welfare charity and highlighted the plight of ‘invisible’ abandoned, neglected and abused horses in the UK and abroad.

Background

A traditional wildflower garden, it told the story of Clippy, a 12hh dapple grey pony who was rescued from terrible conditions.  The small, derelict stable surrounded by plants that are dangerous to horses, represents that actual place where he was found. Thankfully rescued by World Horse Welfare, Clippy’s journey concludes by him being re-homed and moving into an open and safe meadow surrounded with horse friendly plants including native mix hedging.

Central to the garden is a life-sized sculpture of Clippy, made from reclaimed horseshoes by Tom Hill Sculpture, standing upright and proud looking to a future filled with contentment and hope.  The sculpture has been made from horseshoes donated by nearly 40 famous equines; including Her Majesty The Queen’s Windsor grey horses and Olympic gold medallists Big Star and Valegro.

The real Clippy travelled to London on Monday to pose with the garden at the Chelsea Flower Show Press Day where he met celebrities including Kirstie Allsopp, Clare Balding, Charley Boorman, Sara Cox, Monty Don, Susan George, Peter Kay, Deborah Meaden, Rachel Riley, Victoria Pendleton, David Seaman and Nigel Slater.

Awards

This Artisan Garden was awarded a Gold medal by the RHS, making it four Gold medals for Adam Woolcott and Jonathan Smith and also won affirmation from the public with The People’s Award for Best Artisan Garden at Chelsea.

To find out more about World Horse Welfare and the RHS Chelsea Garden, click here

Practicality Brown are proud to have supplied native mix hedging plants for this award winning garden.

The BBC created a film about the garden and its designers, as part of their Chelsea flower show coverage, which can be seen here

Practical Instant Hedge for Woolcott Smith Chelsea

Chelsea 2017 World Horse Welfare native hedge

Chelsea 2017 World-Horse-Welfare Gold crop

Chelsea 2017 World Horse Welfare Gold

Clippy the inspiration for the garden

Chelsea 2017 World-Horse-Welfare clippy

Chelsea 2017 World Horse Welfare Garden

Chelsea 2017 World-Horse-Welfare

native mix Practical Instant Hedging

Native Mix Practical Instant Hedge – Chelsea 2017

Chelsea 2017 World Horse Welfare Garden

Chelsea 2017 World-Horse-Welfare Garden Peoples Choice winner

Chelsea 2017 GOLD
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Gold and Silver at Chelsea /in , /by

RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2017 Awards

Congratulations to everyone at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2017, particularly:

The Welcome to Yorkshire Show Garden designed by Tracy Foster awarded Silver Medal

The World Horse Welfare Artisan Garden designed by Adam Woolcott and Jonathan Smith awarded Gold Medal.

We are proud to have supplied our Native Mix hedging to both these gardens.

The Welcome to Yorkshire Show Garden
Chelsea 2017 Tracy Foster Native Hedges

Welcome to Yorkshire

The Welcome to Yorkshire garden is inspired by the Yorkshire coast, the drama of the county’s many historic buildings and Yorkshire’s special relationship with its agricultural heritage.  The garden featured a ruined abbey, chalk cliffs, a beach and the sea, with gently rolling waves lapping the shore. The trompe l’oeil painting within the ruin linked the coastal beauty to the farmland beyond. The stone used to build the ruin is sourced from a Yorkshire quarry, and the cliffs are created from material with the same geological composition as Flamborough Head. The natural–themed colourful wildflowers, grasses and shrubs in the garden are native to Yorkshire’s coastal area.

Sponsored by Welcome to Yorkshire, the garden’s aim is to highlight the beauty of Yorkshire and inspire people to experience the county for themselves.

This garden was awarded a Silver Medal by the RHS

The World Horse Welfare Artisan Garden
Woolcott Smith Chelsea native hedge

World Horse Welfare

The garden has been designed to celebrate the 90th anniversary of World Horse Welfare charity and aims to highlight the plight of ‘invisible’ abandoned, neglected and abused horses in the UK and abroad. The garden is a traditional wildflower garden that will tell the story of one of these ‘invisible’ horses. A derelict stable in one corner will be surrounded by plants harmful to horses, which open up into an open, bright and secure meadow, with horse friendly plants. It will feature a life-sized sculpture of a horse made from reclaimed horseshoes by Tom Hill.

This garden was awarded a Gold Medal by the RHS and also won affirmation from the public with The People’s Award for Best Artisan Garden at Chelsea.

If you would like a garden inspired by RHS Flowers Shows please contact us on 01753 652022 to talk to our friendly Horticultural team.

RHS Chelsea Flower Show
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BBC RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2017: People’s Choice Award

There are three People’ Choice awards that the public can vote for at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show:

  • Best Show Garden
  • Best Fresh Garden
  • Best Artisan Garden

Voting for Best Show Garden is via the www.bbc.co.uk/chelsea website only and voting is only open for one day, opening 21:00 Wednesday 24th May and closing at 21:30 on Thursday 25th May 2017.

This vote is for the best of the large 8 Show Gardens. These display the latest innovative designs and must-have plants, crafted with skill by highly-talented designers and their teams.  Each of these gardens feature on the BBC’s coverage of the RHS Chelsea Flower show. The winner will be announced during the BBC’s coverage on Friday 26th May 2017.

Voting for Best Fresh and Artisan Gardens is via theThe RHS Peoples’ Choice Award web page; voting is open now and closes on Friday 26th of May 2017.

Vote for the best of the 5 Fresh Gardens: Bold and daring, the Fresh category uses innovative materials and daring design to present and question concepts

Vote for the best of the 9 Artisan Gardens: The artisan category demonstrate traditional designs, materials and craft skills revitalised by contemporary approaches

The RHS medals have been awarded at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, and the next big honour is BBC/RHS Peoples’ Choice Award, which as its name suggests, is voted for by the public.

See the BBC’s Chelsea coverage to a review of the gardens or RHS’s Chelsea pages for more details on each of the gardens.

Practicality Brown is proud to have been able to supply our Native Mix hedging to two gardens this year:

Welcome to Yorkshire Show Garden

Welcome to Yorkshire Show Garden

World Horse Welfare Artisan Garden

World Horse Welfare Artisan Garden

Read more →

Welcome to Yorkshire show garden design by Tracy Foster
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RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2017 preview /in , , , , /by

RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2017 preview

Practicality Brown are proud to be supporting garden designers for Show and Artisan Gardens at RHS Chelsea 2017 this May by supplying top quality large hedging plants.

Show Garden: The Welcome to Yorkshire Garden

Welcome to Yorkshire show garden design by Tracy Foster

Welcome to Yorkshire

 

Designed by Tracy Foster | Built by Landform Consultants

This Welcome to Yorkshire garden is inspired by the Yorkshire coast, the drama of the county’s many historic buildings and Yorkshire’s special relationship with its agricultural heritage.  The garden will feature a ruined abbey, chalk cliffs, a beach and the sea, with gently rolling waves lapping the shore. The inclusion of a trompe l’oeil painting within the ruin links this coastal paradise to the farmland beyond. The planting has a wild feeling with plenty of colourful wildflowers, grasses and native trees.

With seven RHS medals to her name including four gold, Tracy Foster has also won Best in Show, People’s Choice and Best in Category at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.

Tracy is keeping her facebook up to date during the Chelsea 2017 building phase.

 

Artisan Garden: The World Horse Welfare Garden

World Horse Welfare designed by Woolcott Smith

World Horse Welfare

Designed by Adam Woolcott and Jonathan Smith | Built by Conway Landscapes

The garden has been designed to celebrate 90-years for World Horse Welfare charity and aims to highlight the plight of abandoned, neglected and abused horses in the UK and abroad. The garden is a traditional wildflower garden that will tell the story of one of these ‘invisible’ horses. A derelict stable in one corner will be surrounded by plants harmful to horses, which open up into an open, bright and secure meadow, with horse friendly plants. It will feature a life-sized sculpture of a horse made from reclaimed horseshoes by Tom Hill.

Woolcott Smith have won three Gold medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and two BBC/RHS People’s Award for Best Small Garden in Show as well as Best Courtyard Garden in Show.

Adam and Jon had kept a diary of their work during the process for Chelsea 2017.

The designers have been working hard in the preceding months, sourcing materials and plants for their gardens, ensuring their vision comes to fruition at the world’s most prestigious flower show. The show opens on Tuesday 23 May 2017.

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Pro Landscaper Nursery Factfile /in , , , /by

Practicality Brown have a full page editorial feature in the January 2017 edition of industry publication, Pro Landscaper in their Nursery Factfile section.

Pro Landscaper

Pro Landscaper January 2017

Our top five bestselling plants

  1. Prunus laurocerasus Novita semi mature trees
  2. Carpinus betulus pleached tree (great for screening)
  3. Betula jacquemontii semi mature trees
  4. Practicality Brown Instant Native Hedge
  5. Elveden Instant Hedge Green Beech

Pro Landscaper also sourced some testimonials from top Garden designers to accompany the feature with thanks to

Rae Wilkinson

We used an instant hedge from Practicality Brown for our RHS Hampton Court garden this year. I had struggled to find what I was looking for with other suppliers and Practicality Brown was extremely helpful and accommodating.  It found what I wanted and sent me photos prior to delivery as I was not able to visit to hand pick them. I have specified its hedging on other projects which has always been good quality.

Tracy Foster

I have loved working with Practicality Brown over the years because I know it offers sturdy field grown stock, including the lovely mixed native hedging that I recently ordered for RHS Chelsea.  The other great thing about ordering is the service, which is always friendly and helpful.  Its cliché but really nothing is too much trouble.

Paul Martin

I have had the pleasure of working with Practicality Brown on major projects and show gardens over the years. It has helped enormously in our attaining of three Gold medals at RHS shows including Chelsea and Hampton Court, which is a testament to its staff, products and company

and Lisa Cox

I worked with Practicality Brown on a domestic project where we needed to screen off a house. We wanted a solution that would do the job from day one and chose Elveden beech instant hedging. This was more subtle than a wall or fence and looked amazing from day one – you wouldn’t have known it had just been planted

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RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2016 /in , , , /by

RHS Flower Shows

Practicality Brown are pleased and proud to supply our Elveden Instant Hedge to gardens at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show again this year.

 Congratulations to David Austin Roses on another Gold medal!

A fantastic achievement and well done to everyone involved with producing David Austin Roses stand. We are pleased to have supplied our Elveden Instant Hedge, both Hornbeam and Box, which sets off the beautiful roses to reveal their perfection!

Congratulations to Papworth Trust on Silver Gilt medal

A wonderful acoustic garden, a first at Chelsea, was created in the artisan garden section of this prestigious show.  The Silver Gilt medal is a superb achievement for the team behind the #‎TogetherWeCan  garden! Well done to everyone involved including Peter Eustance, Papworth Trust, Dame Evelyn Glennie andLandform.  We supplied Holly instant hedge as part of the naturalistic planting.

If you cannot see these gardens in person, check out @BBCFlowerShow on twitter ‪and BBC television coverage!