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SANDRINGHAM FLOWER SHOW
We are proud to have been awarded a Large GOLD Medal at Sandringham Royal Flower Show. Our display focused on alpines and grasses that are particularly drought resisting and wildlife encouraging. With our title "Planting for the Future....Relaxing like Years gone by", we aimed to encourage thoughtful planting, that's water and wildlife wise, which also gives time to sit back, unwind and relax.
Many alpines and ornamental grasses are suited to our changing environment such as low rainfall, high temperatures and losses of natural habitats. Being highly adaptable and resilient plants, they also suit being incorporated into a modern planting design using mulches to minimise water loss and weed growth - giving you more time to relax and enjoy your garden. By choosing the right combination of plants, the result can be a garden that's full of interest and colour all year round.
One grass such as Helictotrichon sempervirens (Blue Oat Grass), native to the dry hillsides of the Mediterranean, is a good example of a drought resisting plant. Despite being a clump-former and non-invasive, its roots naturally hunt around for water. Other plants have adaptations for when water is scarce such as hairy, fleshy or tiny leaves.
Many alpines and grasses are great for encouraging wildlife into the garden, helping to create a balanced ecosystem. For example, aphid-eating hoverflies are attracted to the nectar of sedums, delospermas and drosanthemums. Slug-eating birds love the nest building material from Stipa tenuissima grass and finches in particular enjoy the seed heads of Anemanthele lessoniana. Grasses have the added benefit of providing winter hibernation sites for insect predators such as ladybirds and lacewings: just one good reason for delaying the cutting down of grasses until spring.
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