New Roses Shown At Chelsea Show

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31385, 2 June 1967, Page 6

New Roses Shown At Chelsea Show

(By

ZALIA THOMAS)

LONDON, May 24. ' The torrential rain which ■ greeted the opening of the i Chelsea Flower Show did j little to dampen the enthu-' siasm of visitors to this ' ' show of its kind in 1 the world.” The intermittent showers ' sent them scurrying for 1 shelter in the three and one half acre marquee crammed ! with every conceivable flower, and plant, from the humble 1 lily of the valley to the rare orchid. By a careful process of forcing and retarding, flowers not normally seen blooming together in our gardens are displayed side by side: spring's narcissi, summer's | delphiniums and autumn's | chrysanthemums. The colour, beauty and fragrance of thousands of blooms grouped together is almost overwhelming, but the most pungent scent comes from the banks of strawberry plants which set the visitor off in their direction with noses high in the air. New Roses As always, it is the new roses which attract the most attention and this year there are no fewer than 11 new varieties. They are Alex Dickson’s hybrid tea Red Devil and two floribundas, non-fading Kerry Gold and soft salmon Jubilant. Wheatcroft Bros, are showing a new light red H.T. Pharaoh, orange-red Constanza, and a light yellow fragrant flori-

bund* Safari. Harry Wheatcroft's H.T. Godfrey Winn is a fragrant addition to the “blues,” and Bees are showing a light scarlet H.T. Cassandra: and porcelain-pink Iris Squire. Bobby Lucas, a vivid salmon floribunda, and bright orange Irish Mist are new from McGredy’s. Attracting much attention in the cactus section were four succulents brought back from Alamein by a member of the party accompanying Field-Marshal Viscount Montgomery on his recent visit to the famous batt'efield. Of all the beautiful flowers on display my own particular favourite is the begonia and this year there are three new varieties: Gold Plate, a brilliant yellow. Crimson velvet, and Rose Princess—deep salmon pink. Displayed row-upon-row they looked like the frilly skirts of a colourful corps de ballet Prominent among the garden accessories was a New Zealand-made motor mower. Selling in Britain for £64, it is £1 cheaper than its nearest British rival. The agents have been so pleased with its reception during the last six months that they now plan to extend sales to Scotland.

Perhaps the most interesting and heartening display at the show is the garden arranged for the DisabledLiving Activities Group which is making a study of gardening for the disabled. Here flower beds are raised to a height of 2ft to 2ft lOin and non-skid paths are designed for easy access by wheelchairs. There are gardening tools for every purpose, some with long handles for those unable to bend, others designed for use by one hand only. Slow-moving motor mowers are easily controlled from a wheelchair and a long perforated boom attached to a normal watering can enables a number of plants to be watered at the same time. The disabled can work happily in the potting shed with the stage fixed at the right height and even garden rubbish can be gathered up and placed on the compost heap by means of a special device working on the principle of scissors (flat sheets of metal replacing the blades). Strawberries are planted in tubs for easy picking and in place of fruit trees a fruit hedge makes fruit-picking very simple. In fact, many of these ideas could be used by the ordinary gardener to take some of the backache out of gardening.