Sunlight breaking through the trees in the New Forest
Hillier Nurseries has announced that the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2016 will see the introduction of Lavandula ‘Silver Line’ in aid of The Silver Line charity, founded by Dame Esther Rantzen DBE. The stunning new lavender will be planted within the Sarah Eberle designed ‘Hillier in Springtime’ exhibit in Chelsea’s Great Pavilion, where it will be officially launched by Dame Esther on Press Day.
The Silver Line charity operates the only national, free, confidential helpline for lonely and isolated older people that’s open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The number is 0800 4 70 80 90. It currently receives a staggering 10,000 calls a week from lonely older people and over 68% of these calls are made at night or at weekends. For every Lavandula ‘Silver Line’ sold, Hillier will donate £1 to the work of The Silver Line.
This variety of English lavender was specifically selected and named by Hillier for The Silver Line following a chance conversation with Dame Esther Rantzen at Chelsea Press Day in May 2015. With its hardy, silver-green evergreen foliage and elegant, tall spikes of pure white flowers, Lavandula ‘Silver Line’ is a fitting plant for the charity. It flowers profusely from late May to August, making it a magnet for bees and butterflies, and has a compact habit (height 25-30cm x spread 25-30cm) perfect for containers, low hedging or for the front of a border.
Dame Esther Rantzen DBE said: “I’m a great fan of lavender. I love its look, its fragrance – and that it puts up with the way I treat it and just keeps coming back. That’s why I’m delighted that we are launching The Silver Line Lavender with Hillier, it’s such a lovely-looking plant. Lavender suits so many people. It looks great in a garden, or you can grow it in a window box or in a pot on a balcony, and it really attracts the birds and butterflies. I’m already planning a place in my garden for Lavandula ‘Silver Line’.”
“We are extremely proud to be supporting the work of The Silver Line as the exclusive grower of Lavandula ‘Silver Line’,” said Robert Hillier OBE VMH, Chairman of Hillier Nurseries & Garden Centres. “It is a superb plant for a wonderful cause, and it is appropriate that we should launch the lavender on our Chelsea exhibit, where our association with The Silver Line charity began just one year ago.”
Two-litre pots of Lavandula ‘Silver Line’ will be available to buy from leading garden centres across the country (including Hillier Garden Centres and Dobbies Garden Centres) from Monday 30 May 2016 priced at around £8.99 to £9.99.
