Autumn Chelsea Flower Show - National Collections Everywhere!

Plant Heritage celebrates autumn at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2021

Dahlias, spider plants, Hedychium and Salvia will be on display, showcasing how National Plant Collections can be held in a variety of different settings

This year, Plant Heritage’s display will celebrate all things autumn, showcasing a number of different autumn flowering National Plant Collections. The display will demonstrate to all who visit that a National Plant Collection can thrive in any environment, and be of any size.

The range of plants showcased will be found in three different settings:

Suburban Jungle

Andrew Gaunt’s Hedychium (flowering gingers) will be one of the plant groups showcased in the Suburban Jungle. Andrew’s collection started in 1998, and he now has 245 species and hybrids in an old tomato glasshouse in his garden in Sussex. This collection has helped support research into pests and diseases, too.

This area also features plants from the National Plant Collections of Canna, Solenostemon, Dahlia and Neoregelia.

Potted Paradise

Look out for Penstemon – plants popular with bees that add late summer colour to a border, with flowers often lasting up until the first frosts. There are three National Plant Collections of Penstemon, including one held by a nursery attached to Pershore College, Worcestershire, one at Kingston Maurward College in Dorset and another in Mr J Lee’s one acre garden in Northamptonshire.

This area also features plants from the National Plant Collections of Aster, Salvia, Nerines and Chrysanthemum (hardy)

Indoor Garden

Spider plants take centre stage in this display, as they are one of the most popular houseplants due to being easy to grow. There are two National Plant Collections of Chlorophytum comosum (spider plants) – one held by Sam Green which is in her garden and also on display at Coventry University, and another held by Mercy Morris in her home in Kent. They are great for hanging baskets too, and a bonus is the small star shaped flowers and the new plantlets that follow.

This area also features plants from the National Plant Collections of Aspidistra, Streptocarpus, Begonia, Peperomia and Crassula.

The collections on display, like all National Plant Collections, would not be possible without the passion, dedication and commitment from their Collection Holders and Plant Heritage. 

Could you start a National Plant Collection? Find out more here.