Right Plant, Right Place - Notcutts Know How!

The theme for Notcutts Garden Centres' exhibit at the Chelsea Flower Show 2003 'Right Plant, Right Place' was based on the highly successful blue pages of the long established Notcutts Book of Plants. These pages, which are dedicated to identifying plants to suit the gardener's particular purpose, have been turned to by gardeners of all generations for many years.

Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal winning designer Jason Lock, General Manager of Notcutts Landscapes, created this year's design. This was Jason's sixth consecutive year at Chelsea and he was supported by four other Notcutts Landscapes designers, many of whom are also RHS Gold Medal winners.

Notcutts Nurseries in Woodbridge, Suffolk and Bagshot, Surrey grew all of the plants in the exhibit. The preparation principally took place within the Shows Department glasshouse at Woodbridge, which measures 9,000 square feet. Additional plants were drawn from the container nursery, which totals in excess of 100 acres, and the field nursery of 450 acres.

The exhibit was split into five areas, based on soil type or aspect:

Clay Soil is a common problem for many gardeners throughout the country. This area displayed the plants that are suitable for growing in soils that are wet in the winter and dry in the summer. The design was based on a classical garden, featuring roses from Mattocks Roses, the specialist retail mail order rose nursery, and also incorporated a Laburnum arch and other clay loving plants. Mirrored columns and false doors gave the illusion of greater depth and space to this part of the exhibit.

The Damp Shade area boasted a dense canopy of lush foliage surrounding a pond with bark paths, and the area set the scene for the collection of plants which thrive in damp/wet shady conditions, such as Aucuba, Dryopteris and Gunnera. The pond slowly trickled through and under a culvert to the adjoining area.

Dry Shade represents the most difficult of problem areas to many gardeners and this theme was portrayed by the culvert developing into a dry stream that was covered with forest litter, creating an ideal setting for plants that thrive in these conditions. The dry stream continued through the exhibit and under a simple bridge to the adjoining zone where the conditions became even more extreme.

Hot and Dry conditions present a real challenge, especially on very light soils. This section showed a wide range of plants adapted to coping with this environment and it included grasses, alpines and flowering shrubs. The planting naturally complemented the timber shelter and jetty under which the dry stream finally rested.

Windy and Exposed conditions can periodically dominate the entire country, but usually these conditions challenge only a select number of frontier gardeners. The right choice of plants need not be difficult and Notcutts blow the myth away that not all plants that tolerate these situations need to be dull and boring! In fact, plants that tolerate varying degrees of exposure can still provide spectacular colour and interest throughout the year.