10 green-fingered gifts to give this Valentine's Day, from sensual salvias to er, carrots
Forget red roses and the obligatory chocolates, it’s all about making a horticultural statement this Valentine’s Day. Be it a succulent, a melon or even a carrot there are many creative ways to celebrate your love with a green-fingered gift. Here the RHS suggests ten top performing plants, all with its much coveted Award of Garden Merit (AGM), that will survive long after the 14th February…
1. Begonia boliviensis ‘Million Kisses®’
Elegance Bred in Britain and perfect for a romantic hanging basket, Million Kisses was named for its extraordinary number of flowers. Impossible to emulate with real kisses.
2. Salvia microphylla ‘Hot Lips’
Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ is best known for its abundance of pretty flowers which change colour throughout the season – something to bear in mind if giving this as a gift to a romantic partner.
3. Cucumis melo ‘Sweetheart’
Named for its delicious flavour rather than any recorded propensity to promote romance, this melon has been grown by the RHS for more than 40 years. Like all melons it needs a long, hot growing season just like last year.
4. Rhododendron ‘Pink Cherub’
As befits the name, ‘Pink Cherub’ is a highly floriferous little shrub which blooms in spring with frilly pink-tinged flowers. Although small, this variety flowers abundantly and is perfect for growing in a pot or a small garden.
5. Rosa Marry Me
Cross pollinated in 1990 by the old romantic, Colin Dickson, who chose the name ‘Marry Me’ as he believes it to be the perfect bloom for a proposal. This wonderfully luscious rose was later introduced in New Zealand under the name ‘Dinky Pinky’, which isn’t quite so dreamy.
6. Daucus carota ‘Romance’
This variety won awards in 2012 and 2013 for being the best-tasting carrot at the yearly field day of the British Carrot Grower Association. A key attribute is the plant’s resistance to breakages, a good omen for love.
7. Aeonium ‘Blushing Beauty’
This beautiful American hybrid has rosettes of green leaves tinged with red on top of short thick stems up to 3ft tall. A great choice for a low-maintenance, low-light, and low-water garden and it also performs superbly indoors.
8. Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Love You Kiss’
‘Love You Kiss’ has glossy dark green, red-flushed leaves with red-margined white ray florets in mid and late summer that gradually turn pink. Bred in Japan, this is the first modern variety to feature the ornamental red edging.
9. Fuchsia ‘Baby Blue Eyes’
Fuchsias are widely considered appropriate for a third wedding anniversary gift. ‘Baby Blue Eyes’ is a compact, upright, bushy, deciduous shrub with slender red and indigo flowers that bloom from summer into autumn.
10. Pieris japonica ‘Valley Valentine’
A bushy medium-sized evergreen shrub with dark green foliage and large drooping panicles of dusky red flowers. This variety is particularly long-flowering and is perfect for a border in partial shade or a woodland garden.
For more information visit the RHS website rhs.org.uk for advice, retail and Plant Finder pages. Plants awarded an AGM, and deemed best for gardens, by the charity can also be found here.
