Peoples Choice Awards – Marigold Winners
Denise van Kampen former EU marketing associate
Within the framework of the 2018 campaign "Year of the Marigold and Pepper," Fleuroselect – an international organisation for the ornamental plants industry – arranged extensive Marigold trials to inspire the consumer. RHS Wisley in the UK and Jardin des Plantes in France agreed to showcase all Marigold varieties from the Fleuroselect membership. Cotswolds Wildlife Park (UK) and EGA Park in Erfurt (GE) also joined this year, bringing the campaign to three key markets in Europe.
Visitors to the RHS Wisley garden in the UK were asked to vote for their favourite marigold as part of the trial led by Fleuroselect to celebrate the Year of the Marigold.
Out of 148 entries thrived in the hot, dry summer, two varieties of PanAmerican Seed ended up in the Top 5: Durango Bee finished second, and the 5th place was for Durango Flame!
| 1 |
Tagetes patula ‘Alumia Vanilla Cream’ (Alumia Series) |
| 2 |
Tagetes patula ‘Durango Bee’ (‘Pas2255’) (Durango Series) |
| 3 |
Tagetes patula ‘Pots of Gold’ |
| 4 |
Tagetes ‘Zenith Red’ |
| 5 |
Tagetes patula ‘Durango Flame’ (‘Pas2254’) (Durango Series) |
Durango Flame. Photo courtesy of RHS - Joanna Kossak
Durango Bee. Photo courtesy of RHS - Joanna Kossak
Sabatino Urzo, Trials Manager at the Royal Horticultural Society, comments: “The People’s Choice Awards are an opportunity for visitors to tell us their plant preference, with the results hinting at what we might see growing in gardens in the coming years.
The People’s Choice Awards form part of an annual trials programme run by the RHS.
About RHS Plant Trials
RHS Plant Trials at Wisley provide a comparison between multiple varieties of the same plant grown side-by-side under the same conditions. The plants that perform best receive the RHS Award of Garden Merit. This is used throughout the horticultural trade as an indication of quality. The trials vary in duration from a single season to three years. To maintain the quality and balance of the soil, we rest a number of beds each year. In these we grow green manures, which at the end of the summer are rotavated back into the soil.
The Royal Horticultural Society, the world’s leading gardening charity, was founded in 1804 by Sir Joseph Banks and John Wedgwood. Its vision is to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place. This aspiration underpins all that they do, from inspirational gardens and shows, through their scientific research, to their education and community programmes such as Campaign for School Gardening and Britain in Bloom. RHS produces key publications, holds a world-class collection of horticultural books and botanical art, and sells the very best plants and gardening gifts.
RHS is currently investing over £160 million into the future of horticulture, which includes redeveloping its flagship RHS Garden Wisley and opening a new garden, RHS Garden Bridgewater, in 2020. It is solely funded by its members, visitors and supporters. For more information visit www.rhs.org.uk.
