Tuesday, October 23, 2012

RHS Shades of Autumn Show 2012

The last RHS plant show for the year, how quick time flies! It seems only a few months since the show season started back in February at the Horticultural Halls in London, and now the season closes, once again in the same location. It has come full circle indeed and that's it now for this year.

And since I work in Central London I took the opportunity to visit this ongoing show after work today to see the exhibits as well as check out what plants are on offer. I'll let the photos do most of the talking from here on...
Dahlias galore! This display is the first one to greet you the moment you step inside Lawrence Hall
Aeschynanthus 'Hot Flash'
Streptocarpus 'Lyndee'
Streptocarpus 'Harlequin Lace'
Coleus can provide late season colour to the garden, right until the first frosts.
Some autumn produce...
Who says Autumn isn't colourful

Colourful Heucheras and Heucherellas! Evergreen and hardy, they are useful for adding colour to a garden even in winter
This one especially caught my eye - Heucherella 'Solar Power'
Nerine sarniensis 'Red Pimpernel'
Nerine bowdenii 'Ostara'


Buddleja glomerata 'Silver Service'
Like or loathe? Nandina domestica 'Ohime'
Ohh Freaky!! not..
Impatiens bicaudata
Oh and more Dahlias. Such cheerful blooms!
Dahlia 'Honka', Strange flower and an ever stranger name!


What would autumn be without grasses?


Great colour on this one! Coprosma 'Pacific Sunset'
Tillandsia display (with a well deserved gold medal too!)
Tillandsia tectorum


Tough Alpines, lovely troughs! Can pick one or two ideas from here...


Nice!
Very nice!!


Some autumn and winter flowering bulbs on display...


Colchicums!

And speaking of shades of autumn...


Ginkgo biloba bonsai





And to cap it off...


More Dahlias!
It's nice to see so many cheerful blooms, lush greenery, and yes, autumn colours on such a typically dreary autumnal London day. And as I left the hall I could almost hear myself saying Roll on Spring 2013!

Mark :-)

12 comments :

  1. I was there yesterday too! must have just missed you.... I thought there was a nice mix of things and I liked seeing the Dahlias, and there were lots of good Salvias but it is beginning to feel a bit samey as the same exhibitors come back again and again....I think I have seem the exoticy one and the Heuchera one 4 times this year! roll on spring and Crug....Very odd to see the hall being used as a sports hall!

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    1. Hi Clive, shame to have missed you but I was only there for just over half an hour and only popped in after work. Should arrange a meet up much better next time. There was a nice mix indeed but yes it was a bit samey. The flowers bought some colour and cheer to the place, especially as the lighting indoors are rather dull (but that's beyond their control I think?).

      Roll on Spring and Crug indeed! Looking forward to the February show already :)

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  2. What beautiful plants. I would have had a heck of a time not choosing most of those flowers. Had to be a site to behold.
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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    1. Hi Cher, it was a sight to behold indeed and was bright and colourful, almost lighting up the hall by itself :)

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  3. Love the dahlias and the miniature rock gardens... And oh those colchicums!

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    1. The miniature rock gardens are nice, little garden landscapes in troughs :) And yes the Colchicums were nice to see, a definite sign of autumn!

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  4. Everything is lovely! Colchicum is a favorite of mine but Buddleja glomerata 'Silver Service' is new to me & that foliage is gorgeous! I did a quick search and it looks as though it hasn't arrived in the U.S. yet. One often finds that some great plant introductions are available to you long before they are over here in the colonies.

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    1. Silver service is lovely, well worth looking out form hopefully it will turn up for you soon! Interesting that you notice the difference in timings as often we see plants available on your side of the pond that we don't get here at first.

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  5. Great pics - lovely plants - actually makes me miss the UK! But not for long! Lovely to see Coleus (or must I say Solenostemon?) 'Pineapple Beauty'- originally introduced as a novelty in 1877. Amazing to think that this cultivar has been grown, protected from frost and propagated repeatedly for 135 years and is still a good garden plant!

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    1. Hi Ian, it is amazing that its been kept for so long.

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  6. Now why I am envious of people who work in central London? :) Unfortunately getting to an RHS show has to a rare treat for me so have only ever been to a couple. Enjoyed your exclusive tour - many thanks.

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    1. Hi Anna, its handy to be able to pop along without having to make specific plans. Glad you enjoyed the tour though :)

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