Now BBC Today and The Sunday Times, followed by The Daily Mail, Telegraph and many other news outlets have picked up on the story and featured it, with Creepers and How Green Nurseries included in their coverage.
In June, HortWeek ran a series of in-depth features including Creepers, How Green, Hortus Loci, Kelways and others expressing their concerns about the future of Chelsea because of question marks over show garden plant supply, plus response from the RHS and growers such as Hardy's.
The BBC spoke to How Green and garden writer Kate Bradbury, who argued for a peat ban, for their piece, which repeated the HortWeek article, while the newspaper also repeated Creepers' comments about pulling out. Bradbury, speaking on behalf of the RHS, said 115 nurseries were already providing peat-free plants. Creepers told HortWeek last month almost all its European suppliers are not peat-free.
How Green's Simon Sutcliffe said: "It's very tricky for us to out source material for designers. The RHS's stance in this timeframe is going to make it very difficult."
The RHS has sent an open letter to the next Prime Minister, also signed by the National Trust, Peat Free Partnership and the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, stating: “Industry tells us it is struggling without clear government guidance and support, and that complex supply chains make it extremely challenging to guarantee every plant is peat-free, particularly where imports are involved.”
Listen to story on The Today Programme c. 1hr 20mins into the broadcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qj9z
