Farplants will be entering two new plant introductions into the awards at this year’s South West Growers’ Show, held on Wednesday 7th October 2026 at The Matford Centre, Exeter. The show celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2026, marking half a century as the South West’s only trade event for growers and plant buyers.

Nepeta × faassenii EarliBlue comes into flower a week ahead of comparable varieties in trials, filling the gap after the spring bulbs have finished and before the summer perennials get going. Large, densely packed spikes of blue sit above healthy, well-branched growth, and once it starts it keeps going through to autumn. Sturdy stems carry the weight of flower and hold the plant upright through summer storms, and the foliage stays lush and green from base to tip all season. Fully hardy, drought tolerant once established and outstanding forage for bees and butterflies, EarliBlue is feeding pollinators at a point in the year when very little else is open. EarliBlue recently won the Visitors’ Vote at Four Oaks and was placed in the New Plant Awards at the National Plant Show earlier this year.

Anisodontea Carnival Lights® Cotton Candy Pink is the most compact variety in the Carnival Lights series, holding an upright, dense habit at 80-100cm tall and 40-60cm across without pinching or staking, and taking pruning happily enough to be used for topiary. Soft pink flowers with a dark red heart come from May right through to autumn, set against noticeably darker foliage than the rest of the series. Once established it asks for very little water and shrugs off heat and dry spells, making it a genuinely low-input choice for patios and containers, and the flowers are a real draw for bees and butterflies.  The Carnival Lights series has already been recognised, with sister variety Candy Apple a finalist for RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year 2026.

Wendy Wherton, Account Manager for the South West at Farplants Sales Ltd, said: “The South West Growers’ Show is judged by people who genuinely know their plants, so it is an event where the plant itself has to do the talking. I spend a lot of my time in garden centres across the region, and these are two I have been looking forward to showing people. Both have earned their place on merit, and it is a nice year to be doing it in, with the Show turning fifty.”

Visitors to the show can see both varieties on Stand 1 alongside the latest additions to the Farplants portfolio.