The world famous show takes place from 19th – 23rd May and the Cornish team are hoping to repeat previous show success, having won more than 20 of the coveted gold medals and a number of silver gilt medals over the past 25 years whilst exhibiting at Chelsea.
For the seventh year the Burncoose exhibition will be sponsored by Terra Firma Capital Partners, a unique private equity organisation who are also generous supporters of youth charity The Prince’s Trust. This year Burncoose and Caerhays Estate has renewed its relationship with another estate with a plant collecting heritage - Tresco Abbey Gardens on the Isles of Scilly.
The 2009 exhibit has been designed to incorporate the ideas of climate change, which can be seen in a typical Cornish woodland garden and on the Isles of Scilly. One side of the stand will show plants that thrive in cool moist shady conditions, whilst the other side shows plants that like hot, dry and windy conditions.
“Climate change will cause our summers to become hotter and our winters wetter.” Commented Garden Designer, David Tricker, “Gardens will have hot dry areas in the summer and other areas in the winter will be cool and moist. We have designed our stand to showcase the diversity of plants that thrive in both such environments and to give people ideas on how they can make best use of the space in their garden.”
The Burncoose stand will be exhibiting a number of plants from both the mainland and from Tresco. Plants from Tresco Abbey Gardens will be integrated in to the stand to show which plants tolerate hot, dry conditions as well as plants that, with climate change, may become more widespread on the mainland.
The two aspects of climate change will be shown through drought tolerant planting, inspired by Tresco and plants that thrive in moist, shady conditions, inspired by Burncoose and Caerhays.
The front of the stand will concentrate on a Tresco Abbey Gardens style of planting with such plants as agaves, palms, grevilleas. leptospermums and osteospermums. The Cornish woodland garden will include favorites like acers and rhododendrons.
Owner of Burncoose Nurseries, Charles Williams, said: “We have been a regular exhibitor at Chelsea for the past 25 years and pride ourselves on our show success. Our 2009 garden is particularly topical and is intended to show the public how to make the most of the changes in the climate and how to maximize the potential of their own garden conditions.
“We began planning our 2009 exhibit a year ago and we are now in the final and most delicate stages of planning and preparation, nurturing our plants so that they are in prime condition for the show.
“Without a shadow of a doubt, Chelsea has a worldwide reputation as the most important date in the horticultural calendar with the competition getting stronger every year.”