What plants to buy for UK RHS exam studying friend

[arfishymeau]

Heeeellllp! I know nothing about plants and am the black fingers of death for living green stuff.

My best friend lives in Dorset (is this important soil related information for planting people?). She adores plants and gardening and is studying with the RHS.

I want to get her some plants from crocus.co.uk to send to her for her birthday, as I'm in Oz. What should I buy? There is a summer sale for plants, but does this mean they are past their planting time? What would be a good treat for a keen gardener?

Budget is about £30. Any help at all would be gratefully received, or I will end up sending a load of rubbish stuff that will be dead after a week.

Oh, I think she tends to prefer outdoor plants, plus she has 2 under 3's, so probably nothing too 'pretty but poisonous'.

Hi Arfishymeau
What about some spring bulbs,Crocus,Daffodils etc.Your friend can plant them whenever she wishes(till the beginning of winter) and then in the spring they'll come up and remind her of you whilst looking very pretty.And the good thing is they also make babies each year so you get more and more growing.

There are several forgeous chcolate scented plants around now that are a treat for a gift, here's one here but there are severala nd chances are your local garden centre will have one in stock, just ask. The ones at my local really do smell of chocolate- yum

Sp[ring bulbs also a good idea ( iris are nice and there's usually some new variants each year)

For gifts I often go for an appropriately named rose though, there's lot of celebration ones out there is one on the crocus website appropriately called 'Happy birthday'.

sorry, it's here

put it in a nice tub and you have a lovely gift

Oooh. Genius. 'Rosa Happy Birthday'. Being an RHS studying type she should know that and be doubly impressed. Not least by the fact that her incompetent gardening friend managed something so subtle.

Bulbs also an excellent idea, especially for something long-lasting - it means when I next visit her in the UK I will be able to see her present. I think she's probably like something unusual - is that possible with bulbs?

've actually just planted some tulip bulbs with DD (she was conceived in Holland, so 'tulpen' are a favourite) and they grew! I'm not sure who was more gobsmacked quite frankly.

Thank you both . I'm going to get an astonished phone call when her parcel arrives!

No problem.

If you look at roses, they have all sorts- often gett hem for anniversaries, and once got one for a friend, 'New Arrival', after they moved into a house with a garden days before her baby arrived.

Mind you took another friend to point out the meaning, but she is daft as a brish LOL!

(And my Uncle has a naomi Rose on his daughter's grave but beautiful I think)

Do they do gift vouchers then she can choose herself but still shows you have really thought about it.