This year’s Chelsea plants were a mixed bag – a combination of carefully planned and sown seeds, a panic buy of some seedlings to supplement them, and then a few shopping trips to fill up planters and top up the beds. After all, 27.4m² is quite a large planting area!

We started early in the year with seed sowing and used many varieties from She Grows Veg. There were some excellent tomatoes, interesting vegetables and salads, but the stand favourite was of course Broccoli Bastard. Asparagus Lettuce was also popular, and we are looking forward to a bountiful harvest of tomatoes at HQ this summer, including Black Beauty, Storage Piennolo del Vesuvio Yellow and Crazy Cherry.

The Shiraz pea was stunning in early May but was sadly really on the turn by Chelsea. The infamous Usain Bolt endive also made an appearance, making up for in height what it lacked in width!

Alongside these specialist varieties, we used Moles Seeds, a more commercial supplier where you can buy by weight, for many of our salad leaves and herbs.

Sweet Peas and Seedlings

We also sowed several sweet peas – always from Alma Proust. A handful of flowers were out towards the end of Chelsea, but we are enjoying them properly now back at HQ. Aurora Borealis, Henry Eckford and Burnished Bronze are current favourites.

To supplement our home-grown vegetables, I also bought some seedlings from our local family nursery, Rotherhills. We picked up trays of borage, which looked stunning at the show, along with wildflower mixes, sorrel and foxgloves. We also included the regular favourite Calibrachoa ‘Red Kiss’, which always attracts attention and seems to appear at every Chelsea in one of our greenhouses.

Plants With Purpose

We had a selection of medicinal herbs on the stand too, gathered from a variety of sources. Some of the best to set up your natural medicine chest at home are chamomile, feverfew, lemon balm, lemon verbena, valerian, rose-scented geranium and of course mints.

Growing and using plants as natural remedies is something we are becoming increasingly interested in after a fascinating talk from Jo Dunbar earlier this year, and it was lovely to share some of those plants with visitors at the show.

A Trip to Pennards

We supplemented our home-grown vegetables with a trip to Pennard Plants, the fantastic specialist in edible plants. Chris is packed with knowledge and a trip to the nursery is a must – just make sure you go with an empty van!

Some of the standout additions included a Medlar ‘Nottingham’, earth chestnuts, Worcesterberries, Bristol onions, Szechuan pepper, sea kale and our lovely stepover apples. These unusual edibles always spark conversations and help visitors discover something they may never have seen before.

Last-Minute Additions

The finishing touches came almost by chance during the weekend before the show.

We caught up with the infamous Jon Wheatley, who was helping Joy from Seaspring Seeds set up her first Chelsea display. In exchange for a regular supply of tea, Joy gave us a few chillies – Dawn and Hungarian Hot Wax – which added fabulous pops of colour throughout the stand. She also supplied Mini Munch baby cucumbers and Tiny Tim tomatoes.

Joy is a chilli breeder above all else, but she also has a fantastic range of vegetable varieties chosen as much for flavour as for beauty. Definitely worth checking out.

Family Connections

Finally, it is very handy having fruit growers as your in-laws!

Often you need something that stands out to fill a space or add a splash of colour, and this year the arrival of blueberries and strawberries from Hall Hunter was perfect. The large blueberry bushes made a real impact – it is surprising how many people cannot visualise how a blueberry grows.

The strawberries spilling out of the cold frames also received a lot of love throughout the week and became a favourite with visitors.

Back at HQ

Another year of immense internal effort, and a big shout out to Eddie and Uncle Jim.

We are certainly happy to have fewer trips to Alitex HQ each weekend to water, adjust blinds and carry out pest checks. Instead of growing to a deadline, we can now enjoy focusing on our gardens and greenhouses at Torberry, getting everything looking its best for our next open day and the many visitors who drop by throughout the summer.

For now, we’re enjoying watching everything continue to grow – and finally starting to enjoy the harvest.