The latest news from Hortus Loci

We now raise over 85-percent of all the plants we supply, so we can guarantee availability and quality. Nearly all of the plants we grow are bought from UK specialist growers as liners, plugs or Jumbo Plugs and then potted-up and grown-on at our Hampshire  nursery. To grow the best plants possible, we think it is essential to select exactly the right compost and container to suit each variety. To this end, we have developed a spectrum of different compost formulations, including specialist composts for all our roses and fruit trees. Our pot sizes start at 1-litre for easy-going perennials, with the majority supplied  in 3- or 4-litre pots or taller long-toms – depending on their rooting requirements. Specimen plants in larger containers  are available on request.

Hortus Loci’s retail outlet, Whitewater Plant Centre, is having its grand opening over the Easter bank-holiday weekend (29th March-1st April) with special events, competitions, talks and entertainment as well as nursery tours by Hortus Loci founders, Robin Wallis and Mark Straver. The Plant Centre aims to be a plant-aholic’s paradise by offering the widest selection of varieties, including many recent introductions, in larger sizes than any other retail outlet. Over the opening weekend, shoppers will not go hungry, with famous hog-roast sandwiches from Hartley Wintney Traditional Butchers and refreshments from Qualitasse of Basingstoke – served from their wonderful vintage Citroen H Van.

Our very own new variety of prostrate rosemary has just arrived on the nursery. Named ‘Whitewater Silver’, to celebrate the opening of our new Whitewater Plant Centre this spring, it forms a dense, low-spreading, evergreen mound of aromatic foliage that’s white-woolly underneath – giving the plant a distinctive silvery sheen. Blue flowers light-up the foliage during the spring and intermittently throughout the summer. Then, in autumn, the shimmering silvery foliage comes to the fore, illuminating the border throughout the winter months. A fantastic year-round winner!

At this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, Hortus Loci is the principle plant supplier for four of the main Show Gardens encompassing  very contrasting designs. In Jinny Blom’s B&Q Sentebale garden, in association with HRH Prince Harry, she paints a textural picture using muted tones inspired by the landscape and culture of Africa, to highlight the plight of Lesotho’s forgotten children that suffer from extreme poverty and an HIV/AIDs epidemic. In Chris Beardshaw’s Arthritis Research UK Garden, he explores a sufferer’s journey of discovery with his design that passes through three distinct zones of emotion. While The Brewin Dolphin Garden by Robert Myers showcases a calm, reflective garden for relaxation and entertainment, using native plants. Nigel Dunnett, completes the set with the RBC Blue Water Roof Garden that explores the challenges and opportunities of urban gardening.

Hortus is the leading UK supplier for internationally renowned landscape architect, Ulf Nordfjell’s flagship project in Sweden, where he is redesigning the central park in his home town of Umeå. This summer we are supplying 15,000 plants, including Sesleria nitida, Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ and Gentiana makinoi, for Ulf’s design, which will form the centerpiece attraction when Umeå takes over as the European Capital of Culture for 2014. When asked why he chose Hortus Loci? Ulf said, “We need to secure excellent quality perennials, planted during Summer 2013 that will be perfectly grown to the required size for 2014 when the city of Umeå becomes European Capital of Culture. My experience of working with Mark Straver and his team at Hortus Loci has always been 1st class, so for superb perennials it was an easy choice as Mark knows how I work and the high standards that I expect, there is no margin for error and I trust Hortus Loci implicitly to deliver.”

Once again, Hortus will be a major player at the Chelsea Flower Show, supplying the majority of the plants for four main avenue Show gardens and several other exhibits including the trade stands of Alitex and Gaze Burvill who are collaborating for 2013. The Hortus nursery is growing more than 400 different varieties destined for the Show. ‘Supplying so many plants means that we can already see how the Show is shaping up,’ says Mark Straver, ‘there’s a definite trend towards the naturalistic, with designs incorporating lots of British natives and a few show-stopping surprises!’

Despite weeks of torrential rain and high winds, the Hortus Loci nursery has managed to keep up with the deluge of orders that have followed our success at Chelsea. Having started as a relatively small player at the Hampton Court Flower Show, our reputation has blossomed so that now we are supplying over 10,000 plants to various displays including the prestigious Urban Oasis centerpiece being masterminded by Chris Beardshaw. On the nursery, our investment in the latest growing systems and husbandry techniques has meant our plants have not suffered in the recent storms. The non-slip tree and climber bed supports we’ve installed have particularly proved their worth (pictured).

Hot on the heels of our Chelsea success, we are supplying the majority of the plants for a dozen or more Show Gardens and other exhibits at the Hampton Court Flower festival, including Chris Beardshaw’s Urban Oasis extravaganza. In this Show centrepiece, Chris has reproduced his work with local groups from around the country, transforming pockets of land into food gardens, play areas and community orchards. James Callicott, Jennifer Stuart-Smith, Kevin Young, Simon Webster, Nilufer Danis and Robert Kennett are amongst the other designers who have chosen Hortus Loci as their main plant supplier at this year’s Show. In all, we are supplying over 10,000 plants.

At this year’s RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park, Hortus Loci plants can be seen at the heart of the main ‘orchestra’ gardens display. We are the main plant supplier for designer Owen Morgan’s ‘To The Beat’ garden – inspired by the intensity of sound from the beat of a drum, featuring a central rippling pool surrounded by concentric, spreading waves of red and yellow Hortus Loci perennials. The Show runs from 18th-22nd July.

We think one of the best innovations at the Chelsea Flower Show in recent years has been the People’s Choice award – the only prize voted for by the public. This year, the Show Garden that inspired and impressed the most was the Arthritis Research garden designed by Thomas Hoblyn using predominantly Hortus Loci plants. The warm, sunny weather certainly showed off Thomas’s sunken Italian garden design complete with spectacular water features and Mediterranean planting to best effect.