Chelsea 2014’s Repeat Performers

There are always certain plants that put in repeat performances throughout the show gardens at Chelsea.  Three years ago you couldn’t buy Silene fimbriata anywhere (a friend dug a clump up for me) but this year it was evident in several gardens and on the stands in the Grand Pavilion. It’s a great plant for shady places, doesn’t mind the dry and spreads to form attractive clumps bearing fringed white flowers in late spring. In gardens where the moody plum shades were very evident, Lysimachia Beaujolais was very much in evidence and looked particularly good when teamed with similar dark shades of aquilegias and airy grasses. Iris sibirica was everywhere looking gorgeous in several shades of blue from pale and pretty to intense royal blue. It is a lovely plant at this time of year and once the flowers have died its leaves continue to look good.