Ashwood Nurseries plans to exhibit hepaticas at Chelsea

Hepaticas will be putting on a show at Chelsea

Ashwood Nurseries is planning to exhibit hepaticas at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year, the first time ever that these beautiful Spring-flowering herbaceous plants have been shown as a single exhibit at this prestigious event. Nursery owner John Massey VMH wants to show off the diversity of hepaticas, showcasing the charm of both their flower and foliage in a natural setting.

John Massey with some of his hepatica collection © J.Buckley

John is one of the UK’s leading experts on hepaticas: he has his own private plant collection and has travelled to  China, Japan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, North America and Europe to see them in the wild. He has achieved an impressive record of Gold Medals, awards and trophies for hepatica exhibits at RHS London Flower Shows as well as being honoured by the Alpine Garden Society for his work with the genus.

Ashwood’s exhibit aims to encompass all 12 species of hepatica together with a range of inter-species hybrids that include some of John’s own exciting introductions. The more flamboyant and highly prized Japanese selections will also be represented.

Retired Ashwood plant breeder Philip Baulk has been enticed out of retirement to help mastermind this challenging project and he and John, with the help of respected garden designer Rupert Golby, are aiming to evoke the natural habitat of hepaticas by creating a semi-woodland landscape using tree stumps, dwarf Japanese cherries and dwarf shrubby willows.

A double selection of Hepatica japonica f.magna

This will be Ashwood’s third visit to Chelsea: in 1996 a lewisia exhibit won a Gold Medal followed by another in 2005 for hydrangeas. This year’s hepatica exhibit is perhaps the most ambitious yet as these delicate beauties of early Spring have a capricious temperament and won’t easily be coaxed into flowering in a different season.

Plants earmarked for flowering at Chelsea have been placed in a cold store to fool them into thinking they’re experiencing a prolonged winter dormancy. The timing of bringing these plants out from their slumbers and the subsequent care of them are crucial factors in persuading them to flower in time for the show.
Those hepaticas that are being exhibited for the beauty of their foliage will be treated quite differently. They will be allowed to flower in their normal season so that the foliage will develop naturally.

Hepatica acutiloba

None of this would be possible without the support of ‘Team Ashwood’. Ashwood growers Jonathan Williams and Steven Lampitt will help build the stand as well as being on hand to give expert advice during the show. In addition a small army of dedicated staff led by Karrina Gilbert and Rachel Maiden are working hard ‘behind the scenes’ ensuring that the logistical nightmare of exhibiting at the Chelsea Flower Show goes without a hitch.

So…only time will tell if John’s dream of showing his beloved hepaticas at Chelsea will come true. He admits “It’s the craziest exhibit I’ve ever attempted as I can’t be certain how many plants I will have ready to stage. It will be difficult to pull off, but I plan to enjoy every minute of the attempt whatever the outcome”