Burpee's tasty tomato attracts royal approval

The East Yorkshire based European division of American seed company W. Atlee Burpee & Co., is celebrating its successes at its RHS Chelsea Flower Show debut, where it partnered with award-winning nurserymen, Chris Smith and Mike Milligan from Pennard Plants.

Not only did the Pennard Plants exhibit, The Edible Haven attract a visit from Her Majesty the Queen and win a Gold Medal, but the tasty tomato that made headlines after the Duchess of Cambridge applied the ‘five second rule' was grown from seed bred in East Yorkshire by Burpee's European Sales and Marketing Director, Simon Crawford.

The Cherry Baby tomatoes, gifted by Burpee and Pennard Plants to BBC Radio 2's Chris Evans' Taste garden, were subject to great media scrutiny when the Duchess picked up a dropped tomato and declared it "delicious and sweet."

Simon Crawford was delighted with the accolade: "Cherry Baby is the ultimate home garden cherry tomato- it's easy to grow and is sweet and juicy - and we're delighted that the Duchess of Cambridge shares our passion for this fabulous fruit."

The award winning Pennard Plants exhibit featured a green roofed hobbit hut, a meadow with 20 species of wild flowers and a selection of tomato, pepper and cucumber plants that has been grown from Burpee seeds by Stockbridge Technology Centre.

In addition to the praise bestowed on the Cherry Baby tomatoes, the Popti Pepper, a very prolific sweet pepper bred for small spaces, was a finalist in the Plant of the Year competition.

Privately owned Burpee was founded by W. Atlee Burpee in 1876 and is the leading company in America's home gardening industry. It breeds, produces and distributes seeds and plants of vegetables and flowers worldwide. Burpee is known as the name behind the seeds for many companies including Pennard Plants, Thompson and Morgan and Suttons.

Burpee will also be partnering with Pennard Plants at the RHS Chatsworth show (7 - 11 June) and at the RHS Tatton Park show (19 - 23 July), where its seeds will be on sale under the Pennard Plants brand.

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Photo:The award winning Pennard Plants display at RHS Chelsea Flower Show

For more information or to arrange an interview with Simon Crawford or a representative from Pennard Plants, please contact Tracey Baty at three60 marketing on;

Direct line: 01430 871360

Mobile: 07971 961574

E mail:traceybaty@three60marketing.co.uk

Web:www.three60marketing.co.uk

Notes for editors

1. For more information about Burpee Seeds and Plants, please visithttp://www.burpee.com

2. Pennard Plants is based in a Victorian Walled Garden in Somerset and grows and sells one of the largest selections of edible plants, heritage and heirloom seeds, fruit and herb plants in the UK. Chris Smithis an award winning nurseryman and accomplished speaker.For more information, please visithttp://pennardplants.com/

3. Simon Crawford was appointed to the RHS Herbaceous Plant Committee in 2006. Other involvements with the RHS include appointment to the Trials Advisory Committee in 2009 and invitations to judge at major RHS Shows, including Chelsea Flower Show.

4. In Oct 2016, Burpee and The Burpee Foundation gifted $2.5 Million to ensure the operation and maintenance of the White House Kitchen Garden initiated by First Lady Michelle Obama.

5. The Chris Evans Taste Garden, designed by Jon Wheatley and inspired by Mary Berry, was a celebration of the tastiest plants growing in UK gardens, by growers on allotments and in many communities. Plants that excite and stimulate your palate and enhance your lifestyle and health and well-being, feature in this garden.