Hartley Botanic win 5 stars at Chelsea 2021

English Greenhouse and Glasshouse manufacturer Hartley Botanic has been awarded 5 stars by the RHS for its Chelsea Flower Show 2021 stand. The display celebrates the business and brand over the decades - portraying the change in style, design and structure over the years. The show stand traces the manufacturer’s incredible legacy using its beautiful handmade structures – from a 1950s vintage Semi-Dodecagon Greenhouse to a modern-day Opus Grand Botanic.

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The award is the second for the manufacturer this year, who was also awarded a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for its international growth – the US is now this quintessentially English Glasshouse maker’s largest market.

Hatley Botanic's exhibition celebrates and showcases its business through the decades – as well as displaying some truly stunning, beautifully styled handmade structures. Hartley Botanic’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show stand features a vintage Semi-Dodecagon Greenhouse (built in the 1950s,) a Hartley 6 Grow and Store(representing the 60s and 70s), a Victorian Terrace (90s) and a Modern Horticulture Opus Grand Botanic (present day). The structures have been dressed to represent the relevant decades using planting schemes, garden tools and accessories typical of each decade.

The stand has been built and planted by Show Garden Gold Medal winners Stewart Landscape Construction, and designed and styled by Llevelo Garden Design. Within the designs, there are four handmade Hartley Botanic structures, each representing different eras in its trading history.

From the 1950s Semi-Dodecagon Greenhouse with its Hydrangeas, Pelargoniums, deck chair and sparse accessories (which would have been typical post-war) and the Hartley 6’s beginners’ ‘grow your own’ edibles, Busy Lizzie’s, Hanging baskets and abundance of plastic capturing the 60s and 70s, right up to a modern day Opus Grand Botanic filled with herbs, a large citrus tree, a palm and trendy hanging houseplants planted with peat free compost in biodegradable pots, the show stand is truly a journey through Hartley Botanic’s legacy and the history of Greenhouse gardening as a whole.

Of the 5* award, Tom Barry, CEO of Hartley Botanic said; “We are thrilled to have received this award, at what is a truly historic Chelsea for the RHS. Our team worked tirelessly to create an extremely stylish and sophisticated stand, and their efforts are particularly commendable due to the extra logistical pressures they faced as a result of Covid. "

Maxine Groucutt, RHS Tradestand Panel Leader, says: “A richly textured retail stand with warm autumnal planting showcasing the Hartley Botanic range. A wonderful example of retail theatre that inspires and transports visitors and Hartley Botanic customers into a world of possibilities for their gardens.

The planting

The borders include; Pennisetum ‘Hameln’, Anemone ‘Dreaming Swan’, Astrantia ‘Star of Beauty’ and Blechnum spicant.

Internal planting was specially selected for each design to represent that period in time. The Victorian Terrace displayed violas, orchids, peppers and lemon verbena. Whilst the The Hartley 6 Grow and Store contained a selection of Cacti, Pansies and Cyclamen.

To find out more about Hartley Botanic visit hartley-botanic.co.uk or call 01457 819 155.

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