Some great new plants were shown for the first time at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show but perhaps the most astonishing of all was a new trailing sweet pepper from Dobies of Devon, it’s called ‘Sweet Sunshine’. As you can see from the picture (left, click to enlarge), the plant develops a dramatic trailing habit and looks impressive in a hanging basket. It’s covered in small slender peppers – they look like chilies but are actually pointed, slimline sweet peppers maturing from green to bright orange. They can be sliced or stir fried whole and you can keep picking right through to the frosts.
To be honest, when ‘Sweet Sunshine’ was first released earlier this year I hadn’t seen it and I couldn’t quite believe it. But it really does trail. So I thought it deserved a better-late-than-never mention now.
Also new at the show was another in the Harlequin Series of Streptocarpus from Dibleys. The first of these dramatic bicolours, ‘Harlequin Blue’, won the first Plant of the Year Award at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2010. Now ‘Harlequin Purple’, with rich plum purple upper petals and creamy yellow lower petals has arrived. The flowers are flat to show off the colour effectively, and it flowers for eight months of the year.
The 2013 Rose of the Year was also announced at the show. You’re Beautiful (‘Fryracy’) is a lovely pink, lightly scented, Floribunda rose which although it reaches only 3ft/90cm in height, is strong and bushy but neat enough for small borders and containers. Find out more on the Fryers roses website. And check out the other new roses launched at the Show.
You can order seed of pepper ‘Sweet Sunshine’ from Dobies of Devon.
You can order Streptocarpus ‘Harlequin Purple’ from Dibleys.
The 2013 Rose Of The Year You’re Beautiful (‘Fryracy’) will be available from Fryers Roses and most other mail order rose specialists in the autumn.
Take a look at the new and exciting Hampton Court plants from Phil Clayton, of The Garden.
Source: Royal Horticultural Society – New Plants at the 2012 Hampton Court Show
