Hartley Botanic’s 2024 RHS Chelsea Tradestand ‘Simple Elegance – A Traditional English Garden’
Manufacturer to showcase largest structure ever shown at Chelsea, reflecting demand for grander Victorian Glasshouses
The stand officially launches Hartley Botanic’s NEW range of elegant water butts and showcases two new Greenhouse colours
Four contrasting Greenhouses are set against an inspiring, yet traditional, Victorian English garden theme
An illustration of Hartley Botanic’s 2024 RHS Chelsea Flower Show tradestand by Landscape Architect Rachel Sampson, who is designing this year’s stand
Hartley Botanic, England’s most historic and respected Glasshouse and Greenhouse manufacturer, will be proudly showcasing four of its beautiful handmade structures (two in brand new colours) at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year, and is launching an exciting new range of Hartley Botanic aluminium water butts in two different sizes. The stand has a design and planting scheme inspired by the English gardens of the Victorian period, a nod to the longevity of Hartley Botanic’s Greenhouses, and a celebration of the era’s opulence and elegance. Four contrasting structures demonstrate the breadth of choice available to Hartley Botanic customers as part of a range which remains ‘incomparable,’ with a stately Victorian Manor, joined by a Modern Opus Glasshouse, a practical Wisley 8 Grow and Store and a Patio Glasshouse. The 8.146m long and 4.128m wide Victorian Manor is the largest Glasshouse the manufacturer has brought to the flower show, reflecting a trend for larger and grander Victorian-style structures amongst its customers.
The Victorian Manor Glasshouse in NEW Matt Black – Victorian Range
The largest structure Hartley Botanic has ever brought to RHS Chelsea, the magnificent Victorian Manor Glasshouse has been powder coated in matt black, a NEW custom colour, includes integrated coldframes to the left rear and sits on a dwarf wall of pretty Cotswold stone. The Glasshouse is part of Hartley Botanic’s nostalgic and romantic Victorian range which is the manufacturer’s most popular. There has been an emerging trend for larger structures amongst those choosing a Victorian-style Glasshouse which reflects increased growing ambitions and a greater lifestyle reliance on growing edibles.
The planting and design of the Victorian Manor on the Chelsea stand showcases the pioneering introduction of ‘new’ plants during the Victorian era which were associated with luxury and opulence, as wealthy homeowners bought Glasshouses and filled them with exotic plant collections. The plants on show represent the Victorian era’s most popular, with palms, ferns, exotics and citruses in pots. With its generous size, the Glasshouse can comfortably accommodate both growing and lifestyle uses, and features a dining area separated by an internal partition.
NEW Hartley Botanic Water Butts – Product Launch
Hartley Botanic has launched a new range of elegantly designed water butts which can be seen for the first time on the tradestand. The handmade, aluminium water butts, available in both large and small sizes, have a beautiful and unique design aesthetic which combines a clean shape with curved legs, providing a finished look which is both refined and stylish.
The large water butt has a 167-litre capacity and is seen on the stand next to the Victorian Manor in matching Matt Black. The smaller butt can accommodate 88-litres and is next to the Wisley 8 Grow & Store Greenhouse in matching bronze. Water Butts can be powder coated to match a Hartley Botanic structure and provide customers with a useful water storage solution, addressing the necessity to consider sustainability in the contemporary garden.
The Opus Glasshouse is the most contemporary structure on the stand, with its concealed engineering and its expansive glass-to-ground windows, the Glasshouse maximises both light and architectural styling.
The Opus on the stand is powder coated in dark bronze and filled with colourful orchids. Quintessentially Victorian, the abundance of the orchids’ contrasting colours will be complemented by non-flowering plants such as ferns. Visitors will be afforded a tropical journey through this Glasshouse, as they experience the vibrancy of the orchids on show.
Wisley 8 Grow and Store Greenhouse in Bronze – Heritage Range
A Greenhouse design classic, the Wisley 8 Grow and Store Greenhouse is a highly attractive and practical structure – thanks to its partitioned-off internal storage area. Part of the heritage range, the Wisley 8 Grow and Store Greenhouse has a historically-inspired design based on an original, historic Hartley Botanic model. The Grow and Store on the stand has been powder coated in bronze.
Displayed as a working Greenhouse, the Wisley 8 Grow and Store is simple in its layout with staging, a potting shoe and homegrown plants such as pelargoniums, cut flower and vegetable seedlings. Edible crops will also be on display, including chilli and tomato plants, referencing one of the primary reasons Hartley Botanic customers give for owning a Greenhouse – to grow their own.
A number of heritage edible varieties will feature too, a nod to a 2024 edible growing trend which sees Greenhouse owners seek out heirloom seeds for their specific taste benefits.
Patio Glasshouse in NEW Matt Forest Green – Hartley Botanic’s Smallest Structure
Hartley Botanic’s smallest Glasshouse, the Patio Glasshouse, also features on the stand painted in a new colour – Matt Forest Green. At just 0.735m wide, the space-saving Patio means even the smallest of spaces, city gardens or balconies can enjoy the growing benefits of owning a Hartley Botanic.
The tradestand Patio is full of ariculas, a pretty and delicate alpine primula – demonstrating that Victorian-style plant collections can be started in the smallest of Glasshouses.
A Victorian English Garden Theme
This year’s stand celebrates the beautifully inspiring English gardens of the Victorian era, a period of gardening history known for its opulence and for helping to establish gardening ‘under glass.’ The design reflects simple elegance, through a minimal material palette, that is surrounded by an abundance of flowers. Romanticising traditional English Gardens, the planting will be full, spilling over paths and showcasing rich displays of colour. The structural simplicity of the design scheme incorporates a formal hedge, topiary, two feature multi stem trees and paths leading into each of the Glasshouses. Withstanding the test of time, the Hartley Botanic structures celebrate the elegant longevity of this era, mimicking the Victorian style of rich, dark tones through the Glasshouse frame colours.
The planting will be characteristic of a cottage garden with elegant and timeless roses, spires of digitalis, phlomis and iris poking through an abundance of cascading layers of colour and texture from plants such as geraniums, astrantia, phlox and salvia.
Tom Barry, CEO of Hartley Botanic said; “Achieving an elegant and traditional garden aesthetic is an aspiration for many customers, and often a driving force in their decision to invest in a luxury Hartley Botanic Greenhouse. The Victorians certainly knew how to create beautiful and opulent planting schemes and we see customers recreate this look in their Greenhouses today, especially those within our Victorian range.
“Much of Hartley Botanic’s reputation is built on looking back. Customers feel reassured that we have been in the Greenhouse business since 1938, and the structural integrity of our buildings certainly means they stand the test of time. But the breadth of our range shows our desire to also look forward – to cater for many different Greenhouse needs and styles, and to provide different models to suit all kinds of gardens and uses. Our new water butts answer both a modern customer issue and sustainability concerns around water consumption, delivering this in an elegant, carefully considered design Hartley Botanic structures are known for.”
For press enquiries please contact: The Hartley Botanic team at WADE PR on: [email protected]
Our Events 2023
RHS Tatton Park, 20-24 July. Tradestand no. 202
HARTLEY BOTANIC RETURNS TO RHS TATTON PARK WITH A ‘FEEL GOOD’-THEMED TRADESTAND, SHOWCASING THE WELLBEING BENEFITS OF ‘GROW YOUR OWN’
The ‘Feel Good’ by Hartley Botanic tradestand will display four of the manufacturer’s handmade Greenhouses filled with a range of delicious edible crops. The stand will show just some of the many diverse types of edibles that can be grown in a Hartley Botanic and communicate the wellbeing-boosting potential of watching your own fruit and vegetables emerge from seed, as well as enjoying the improved taste and nutritional benefits of growing your own.
The tradestand designed, built, and planted by garden landscaping firm Base Squared, will feature Hartley Botanic’s Opus Botanic Glasshouse, Victorian Villa and Victorian Chelsea Glasshouses and a Wisley 8 Grow & Store Greenhouse. Three of the structures have been powder-coated in lighter colours – Country Stone, Verona Stone, and Olive Leaf – to give a fresh look and to reflect how many customers are choosing soft stone and light greens in their Greenhouse choices.
Edibles planted in a mix of pots, growing beds and cold frames will dominate the internal planting on the stand with melons, tomatoes, corn, purple sprouting broccoli and courgettes at various stages of growth included in the selection. Tender herbs such as basil will also feature, and several different salad varieties will be displayed. The two growing beds within the glass-to-ground Victorian Villa and Victorian Chelsea Greenhouses will host tomato plants, and the larger Opus Botanic will feature a mix of citrus trees and palms. A range of companion plants will join the edible focus, with bedding plants such as petunias trailing off Greenhouse shelves and marigolds placed alongside tomatoes.
For press enquiries please contact: The Hartley Botanic team at WADE PR on: [email protected]
RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Tradestand no. 143
‘FEEL GOOD’ BY HARTLEY BOTANIC
HARTLEY BOTANIC REVEALS ITS UPLIFTING PLANS FOR ITS RHS CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW 2023 TRADESTAND
Hartley Botanic, England’s most historic and respected Glasshouse and Greenhouse manufacturer, has revealed this year’s theme for its well-loved RHS Chelsea Flower Show tradestand. The ‘Feel Good’ by Hartley Botanic tradestand will be both uplifting and mood-boosting, with visitors able to enjoy its beautiful, handmade Glasshouses and Greenhouses within a garden design scheme which delivers a much-needed psychological boost.
Hartley Botanic will be showing four of its handmade aluminium structures at this year’s flower show, on its usual position at stand number 143, on the corner of Main Avenue and Southern Road – near the Bull Ring Gate entrance. Structures featured will be in keeping with a more restrained approach to consumer spending, with amazing Greenhouses chosen from their extensive range. The manufacturer is continuing its partnership with last year’s award-winning team, with Llevelo Garden Design providing the design and styling, and Stewart Landscape Construction in charge of building and planting.
Tom Barry, CEO of Hartley Botanic said; “We expect the magic and exuberance of Chelsea to provide some welcome escapism for visitors for what continues to be a very challenging time for most, and our aim is to heighten this effect on our tradestand. We want our tradestand to make visitors ‘feel good’ and to provide a moment of happiness and light relief. Many people will be drawing on the invigorating and joyful properties of their gardens and our tradestand’s design and theme will allow them to do the same.”
Hartley Botanic was founded in 1938 by brothers Vincent (RHS fellow) and Norman Hartley following their ground-breaking aluminium Greenhouse design, the first time (to our knowledge) aluminium had been used in Greenhouse construction and marking a huge improvement on its wood and wrought iron Victorian forerunners. The English manufacturer is an authority on Greenhouse
design and use over the decades, having been making its beautiful and elegant handmade, made-to-order horticultural buildings for 85 years from its original factory at the base of the dramatic Pennines’ Chew Valley in Lancashire. It has become synonymous for crafting the finest Greenhouses money can buy through the very highest standards of hard-won experience, craftsmanship and service. A hugely respected brand within the horticultural world, it is the manufacturer of choice for leading organisations, institutions and designers with Hartley Botanic structures commissioned by the RHS, the National Trust, Kew Gardens, Glasgow Botanic Gardens, Massachusetts Horticultural Society and Oxford Botanical Gardens… to name a few. Its entire product range is endorsed by the Royal Horticultural Society.
All Hartley Botanic’s Glasshouses and Greenhouses are handmade, bespoke and made to order. Customers interested in purchasing a Hartley Botanic Greenhouse should visit: http://www.hartley-botanic.co.uk or call 01457 819 155 for more information.
For press enquiries please contact: The Hartley Botanic US PR team at WADE PR on: [email protected]
Our Events 2022
RHS Tatton Park, 20-24 July. Tradestand no. 419
English Greenhouse and Glasshouse manufacturer Hartley Botanic will bring its stylish stand, themed around Calm & Wellbeing, to the RHS Tatton Park Flower Show. The tradestand will feature five, handmade Hartley Botanic Greenhouses which were also shown at the RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival. The structures have been powder coated in complimentary and elegant tones of bronze and grey and are nestled amongst a naturalised planting scheme focusing on form and texture. Landscaping and styling will have a neutral and minimalist look, bringing together a calming feel with a chic, luxury aesthetic. For its Tatton Park stand, Hartley Botanic has used Base Squared for the build, planting, design and styling.
The five handmade Hartley Botanic structures to be featured on the RHS Tatton Park tradestand include; a Victorian Lodge (with two additional single gable end doors) in manganese, a Victorian Terrace in dark bronze with an additional single gable end door and blinds, a Hartley 8 glass-to-ground in vista grey with 2 automatic roof vents and an additional single gable end door, a NEW six pane glass-to-ground Hartley Wisley 8 Grow and Store in a bespoke olive grey with 2 extra panes at the rear, accommodating a useful, hidden storage area and a Patio Glasshouse in white aluminium (housed inside the Victorian Lodge.) Contemporary porcelain flooring will be combined with handmade clay pavers to provide a subtle textural contrast and has been designed to sit harmoniously within the Greenhouses.
Stylish Calm and Wellbeing
Hartley Botanic’s ‘Calm and Wellbeing’ tradestand theme has also been shown at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show and this year’s Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival. The concept was designed to show how Hartley Botanic’s elegant structures can offer a calming sanctuary for gardeners and non-gardeners alike. Furniture used has been minimal to create a light, airy feel and beautiful dressing elements, such as modern chairs and sculptural pieces have been carefully curated to exude order and tranquility, rather than clutter.
The Greenhouses on the Tatton Park tradestand will have a synergistic bronze and grey colour pallete which, combined with the tranquil neutrals of the hard and soft landscaping and dressing, will be calming and provide a stylish, minimalist look. Plantings on the stand will primarily be in shades of green, a peaceful colour and the only one which our eyes don’t have to adjust to see. Gentle classical music inside the structures will provide a relaxing soundtrack as visitors walk around the stand.
Informal, yet elegant planting
The planting on the Hartley Botanic tradestand will be relatively informal and will contribute to the stand’s relaxed, calming atmosphere. There will be no hard lines between the stand’s paving and planting and, overall, the planting will have a lose and natural style. The transition from paving to planting will be softened by the integration of gravel, with low growing plants such as Soleirolia soleirolii (‘Mind your own business’). This has been chosen for its ability to form a carpet of green which merges seamlessly with the mixed paving – all adding to the soft calming tones of the stand. Despite its relaxed ambience, the stand’s planting will still be unequivocally elegant, through its limited colour palette, with rich texture and architectural form providing interest.
As well as a strong textural focus, the stand will also include scented plants, released as visitors brush past them and a selection of exotic plants – reminding visitors of the breadth of species that can be grown in a Greenhouse. The stand will focus on subtle sensory detail, rather than big, overpowering statements.
The Hartley Botanic 2022 RHS Tatton Park Flower Show tradestand
RHS Hampton Court, 04-09 July. Tradestand no. 242
Hartley Botanic will again be enveloping RHS flower show visitors in tranquillity and relaxation, as it brings its stylish stand, themed around Calm & Wellbeing, to the RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival. Its Hampton Court stand will be slightly larger and feature a different range of five handmade Hartley Botanic Greenhouses. The Greenhouses will be powder coated in complimentary and elegant tones of bronze and grey nestled amongst a naturalised planting scheme which will focus on form and texture. Landscaping and styling has a neutral and minimalist look, bringing together a calming feel with a chic, luxury aesthetic. The stand has been built and planted by Stewart Landscape Construction with design and styling by Llevelo Garden Design.
The five handmade Hartley Botanic structures to be shown include; a Victorian Lodge (with two additional single gable end doors) in manganese, a Victorian Terrace in dark bronze with an additional single gable end door and blinds, a Hartley 8 glass-to-ground in vista grey with 2 automatic roof vents and an additional single gable end door, a NEW six pane glass-to-ground Hartley Wisley 8 Grow and Store in a bespoke olive grey with 2 extra panes at the rear, accommodating a useful, hidden storage area and a Patio Glasshouse in white aluminium (housed inside the Victorian Lodge.) Contemporary porcelain flooring will be combined with handmade clay pavers to provide a subtle textural contrast and have been designed to sit harmoniously within the Greenhouses.
The Hartley Botanic 2022 RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival tradestand
RHS Chelsea, 24-28 May. Stand Number 33
This year, we will be enveloping visitors to our RHS Chelsea tradestand in tranquility and relaxation, with a stylish stand themed around Calm & Wellbeing. The stand will feature three enviable Hartley Botanic Greenhouses, all in complimentary and elegant tones of bronze and grey nestled amongst a naturalised planting scheme which will focus on form and texture. Landscaping and styling has a neutral and minimalist look, bringing together a calming feel with a chic, luxury aesthetic. The stand will be built and planted by Stewart Landscape Construction with design and styling by Llevelo Garden Design.
The three large, handmade Hartley Botanic structures to be shown include; a Victorian Lodge in manganese, a Magnum Opus in bronze and a NEW six pane glass-to-ground Hartley Wisley 8 Grow and Store in a bespoke olive grey with 2 extra panes at the rear, accommodating a useful, hidden storage area. Contemporary porcelain flooring will be combined with handmade clay pavers to provide a subtle textural contrast and have been designed to sit harmoniously within the Greenhouses.
