Frances Tophill has revealed the surprising plant 'banned' at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show — and the unexpected way it still ended up in the RHS and The King's Foundation Curious Garden after Sir David Beckham requested it.
Speaking on BBC One's Chelsea Flower Show coverage, the garden designer told presenter Nicki Chapman that David Beckham was 'great to work with' because he 'asked for lots of specific plants'.
In the video, Frances said David was really keen to have lavender, a plant that he grows himself to attract the bees he keeps — but it's not allowed inside the floral gates at RHS Chelsea. 'You're not meant to bring lavender to the Chelsea Flower Show because of potential viruses, so we've got a lovely UK-grown English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia).'
Non-UK-grown lavender is banned to prevent the spread of Xylella fastidiosa, a devastating plant bacterium that has destroyed plants across Southern Europe. According to Hortweek, lavender at Chelsea must be grown in the UK from seed, or have lived here for 12 months before the event. The same applies to rosemary, almond plants and hebe.
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Elsewhere, speaking about her favourite plants in the Curious Garden, Frances said: 'I love the pomegranate tree. They're not fully hardy, so I'm not sure even I could grow them at home, but I might just give it a go because I love them. We've also got a critically endangered plant called oyster leaf.
'Plus, we've also got lots of lovely herbs in the garden. I've put all the drought herbs into small pots with lots of grit. If you put something in a pot and put gravel in there, you have the flexibility to move it around and protect it when it's cold. I really wanted to make sure that people could actually access the gardens and experience the space.'
This Chelsea garden is Frances' first, but the designer also faced the added pressure of working alongside King Charles, Sir David Beckham and Alan Titchmarsh.
'I still need a bit of time for it to sink in,' she said on the programme, 'I felt such a responsibility with this garden; I just didn't want to let anybody down. It's been such a lovely collaboration between the RHS and the King's Foundation.'
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