Norfolk and Suffolk exhibitors geared up for Chelsea Flower Show

Lowestoft company, Harrod Horticultrual will be displaying at Chelsea Flower show.Stephanie Harrod and Claude Brown discuss the plans. (Image: ©Archant 2014)

Harrod Horticultural, based on the South Lowestoft Industrial Estate, will be showcasing its products at the show.

It will be the 11th time the company has set up a stand at the annual show, but this year's is its biggest and most high profile so far, as it will be the first time it has had the chance to set up shop next to the event's main exhibition shows on Royal Hospital Way.

As well as showing visitors its products, including arches, greenhouses and pergolas, Harrod Horticultural will be displaying the same type of fruit cage that the company has supplied to the Queen's Balmoral estate in Scotland.

Harrod Horticultural started planning for the show in January.

As part of the £50,000 investment, maintenance workman Claude Brown set up the 7x10m exhibition stand at the family-run business's headquarters in Pinbush Road as a trial run before he put it up for the event.

Managing director Stephanie Harrod said: 'It is our 11th year at the Chelsea Flower Show and this year is our biggest exhibition yet as we have moved nearer to the main show displays.

'We are very excited to be showing off our products and it gives us a great chance to get feedback from visitors and customers.'

Harrod Horticultural, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, has a workforce of about 45 and has about 3,000 products for sale.

Are you visiting the Chelsea Flower Show? Upload your pictures to www.iwitness24.co.uk

Design based on store's Scottish roots

Landscape and garden designers Chris Deakin and Jason Lock are going for gold after being hand- picked by a leading department store to represent them.

The duo were selected by The House of Fraser to launch its spring collection in the form of a bespoke garden, which was opened yesterday morning by model Lily Cole after months of careful preparation.

Mr Deakin and Mr Lock, who run Deakin Lock Garden Design at Earsham, near Bungay, have developed a garden to embrace the company's rich Scottish heritage and sees an outdoor room created using materials usually seen inside.

'Fabric' is entered into the Fresh Garden category and marks the first time The House of Fraser has exhibited at the Chelsea Flower Show.

The design incorporates weatherproof wallpaper, floor covering and upcycled furniture, with strands of shock pink throughout, synonymous with the store's logo.

Wall-mounted antlers, wood panelling and a stag sculpture have been worked in with heavy crossed lines, formed with sawn granite to mimic a tartan pattern.

Blooms such as astrantia roma and Iris Windsor rose feature.

Mr Deakin and Mr Lock met while working as garden designers for Notcutts in Woodbridge and after deciding upon a change in direction Deakin Lock was formed in 2008.

Eighth gold hopes for clematis team

The team at Thorncroft Clematis from Reymerston, near Dereham, is aiming for its eighth gold medal in a row at this year's Chelsea Flower Show.

After months of planning, planting, growing and arranging its exhibit looked in perfect shape for the judges yesterday.

This year the team is introducing three new clematis from one of the world's leading clematis breeders, Szczepan Marczyski from Poland, the first of which is also raising money for the Marie Curie Cancer Care charity.

Maria Sklodowska-Curie was named in 2011 to honour the Polish-French Noble Prize winner and is a white-flowering cultivar.

A donation of £1.50 will be made by the nursery from every sale of this clematis to Marie Curie Cancer Care.

The nursery has also introduced Innocent Blush, a light and dark pink flower suitable for growing along artificial and natural garden supports, and Viva Polonia (Long Live Poland) which produces a magenta red flower, whitening towards the middle and base, reflecting the colours of the Polish national flag.