The Royal Horticultural Society has announced the extremely successful launch at retail of RHS Crops in Pots, an innovative new collection of pots from valued licensee Woodlodge Products, the UK’s leading supplier of garden pots and gardenware. This follows the enormous success at retail in 2022 of the partners’ first collaboration.
There are two types of pots in the RHS Crops in Pots range: pots for growing herbs (in three sizes), and pots for growing vegetables, fruit and edible flowers (in six sizes), all of which are handcrafted in terracotta and feature relevant designs, inspired by artwork from the RHS Lindley Collections, the world’s finest collection of botanical art.
A major selling point of these beautiful pots is the hand-applied patterns. This process involves applying the design with a roller around the rim of the pot, using a stamp to deboss the letters ‘RHS’ and finally applying a ‘Handmade’ mark. This makes each pot truly unique as no two pots will be decorated identically.
Of course, the pots are highly practical too; they are specially designed to link with the RHS’s best recommendations for specific crops – notably by ensuring extra drainage. There is also a thoughtfully designed swing tag offering planting hints and tips – and even the chance for purchasers to win an RHS Grow Your Own Crops in Pots book. All the pots are embossed or debossed with the letters ‘RHS’, creating consumer confidence at point of purchase.
Woodlodge has over 1,500 garden centre accounts located throughout the UK and Ireland, all of which are the primary focus for the new range.
The range has already enjoyed a strong consumer and retail response, with British Garden Centres and Hillier Nurseries among the big names that have displayed one or both types of pots. In fact, only a short time after launch, the first delivery of the herb pots has been a sell-out and demand for the vegetables, fruit and edible flowers pots is not far behind.
These superb new pots can also be seen in all RHS garden centres, as part of strong displays both indoors and outdoors, again including POS material that supports the range’s message of encouraging people to grow crops in pots – even if they only have modest outdoor space.
The pots are now on show at RHS Garden Wisley, the flagship RHS garden in Surrey, where the allotment garden team has planted a number of the pots and will be growing a range of fruit, veg, herbs and more in them, as well as providing photos and content over the spring and summer months to showcase the products. These efforts will support an ongoing RHS digital campaign to encourage sales and get people growing – no matter the size of their indoor or outdoor space or their gardening ability.
It was in early 2021 that the RHS announced Woodlodge Products as a new licensee for outdoor pots, one of its key gardening categories. The first range – also very popular – included both classic and modern designs and a full selection of sizes to accommodate any outdoor space.
Michael Wooldridge – Managing Director, Woodlodge Products, says: “This is another very rewarding partnership, one that brings together our own design expertise with inspiring artwork from the RHS and the know-how that makes the RHS the UK’s favourite gardening charity. We’re thrilled to develop a product that helps to get people growing their own fruit and veg.”
Cathy Snow, Licensing Manager, RHS, says: “This collection looks wonderful, is highly practical and is ideal for all growers, wherever they are and whatever their experience – as the highly enthusiastic customer response has already indicated. This is a hugely important licensing partnership that not only involves close and effective collaboration but that brilliantly supports the RHS aim of inspiring everyone to grow.”
