New Lavandula in aid of The Silver Line Charity
Hillier Nurseries have 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.
This variety of English lavender was specifically chosen and named by Hillier for The Silver Line following a chance conversation with Dame Esther at Chelsea Press Day in May 2015. With its hardy, silver-green evergreen foliage and elegant tall spikes of pure white flower, Lavandula ‘Silver Line’ is a fitting plant for the charity.
Dame Esther is 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,” she says. “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’, she continued.
Robert Hillier OBE VMH, Chairman of Hillier Nurseries & Garden Centres explains that it is a superb plant for a wonderful cause and it is appropriate that Hillier should launch the lavender on their Chelsea exhibit where their association with The Silver Line charity began just a year ago.
The two-litre pots of Lavandula ‘Silver Line’ will be available to buy from leading garden centres (including Hillier Garden Centres and Dobbies Garden Centres ) from Monday 30th May 2015.
The Silver Line 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 weekends. For every Lavandula ‘Silver Line’ sold, Hillier will donate £1 to the work of the charity.
