President’s ©Roy Lancaster ©Roy perspective – , people, places Roy Lancaster

Fig. 1 Prunus ‘Pink Shell’ one of the best trees of its kind for small gardens.

riting these words on a plants. It seriously affected our scent of sarcococcas was W cold and crisp but bright usual programme of activities immediately apparent. Several sunny January day under a but, on a personal level at least, species and selections of these blue cloud-free sky, I feel I have it gave me an excuse to wander small, hardy evergreen shrubs every reason to look forward down memory lane revisiting have been planted here, but to another year of gardens past travels and experiences, on the day I was drawn to a and gardening, and meetings both domestic and overseas. familiar drift of S. hookeriana with lovers and plants, Fortunately I am like a squirrel ‘Ghorepani’ (fig. 2), whose especially given that this is the when it comes to recording characteristic erect habit and 60th anniversary year of our and storing things, and I had narrow shining green foliage great Society. All these pleasures the benefit of notebooks, are a decided bonus while the should be a reliable and journals and scrapbooks going crowded axillary clusters of continuing source of optimism back to the 1950s to help jog white stamens with prominent in our lives, whatever the my memory. When it came to red anthers are produced in headlines and dire predictions in illustrations, black and white generous quantities and attract the daily news. Only yesterday, prints, colour transparencies early bees. following a night when the and, for the past eight temperature in my garden sank years, digital images in their to –5oC, I was astonished to thousands were at my disposal. watch the hoar frost melting Luckily we have Jennifer from the flowers of a mahonia Harmer, the Society’s Historian Lancaster ©Roy leaving them unharmed and and Archivist on our doorstep, apparently eager to continue and over a period of several their cheerful display. This weeks she kindly helped me particular mahonia, with its bold by scanning selected images, ruff of white-backed leaves, is as mostly transparencies, to send yet unnamed and unavailable in to my publisher. the trade, but hopefully in the A visit to the Winter not too distant future it may Garden at The Sir Harold well be more widely known. Hillier Gardens on a windy A great deal of my time last day in March had me sniffing Fig. 2 Sarcococca hookeriana year was spent on preparing a the air in expectation, and sure ‘Ghorepani’ has proven it deserves new book1 about my life with enough the sweet, powerful its AGM.

1Editor’s note: My Life with Plants is reviewed on page ? 7 It was originally introduced perennials and cherries. A the garden, which I had first from a mountainside near the short drive away, John’s rapidly visited many years ago in its Nepalese village of that name developing arboretum is infancy, my plantsman’s eye by Chris Grey-Wilson and already well known to fellow was attracted to Parrotiopsis Barry Phillips in 1973, and it dendrologists and gardening jacquemontiana (fig. 4), a large well deserves its subsequent friends, though sadly not to shrub or small tree from the Award of Garden Merit. the general public. From there W. Himalaya with white- The following month I we called in at Wollerton Old bracted, yellow-stamened particularly remember for a Hall, stopping at the garden’s flowers which at a glance visit to John and Elizabeth entrance to admire the most remind one of a flowering Ravenscroft’s garden at The perfect and shapely crown of dogwood (Cornus florida), but Old Rectory, near Hodnet the beautiful cherry, Prunus are smaller. Surprisingly, it is in Shropshire, which is most ‘Pink Shell’ (figs 1 & 3), its a member of the Hamamelis notable at this time of year for slender arching branches family and is represented by its wide selection of spring- wreathed with delicate, pink- this single species which I once flowering trees and shrubs, clouded, cup-shaped blooms. saw growing above streams and especially magnolias and It is one of the best of its rivers in Kashmir. viburnums as well as bulbs, kind for small gardens. Inside From Wollerton it was an hour’s drive to Ashwood Nursery to see John Massey’s garden. As usual I filled several pages of my notebook with

©Roy Lancaster ©Roy the names of desirable plants, of which the most charming was rivale (fig. 5), which I have long known but never grown. Native to cool, shady stream- and riversides in the Siskiyou and Klamath Mountains of SW Oregon and NW California, this choice little perennial up to 15cm high Fig. 3 Prunus ‘Pink Shell’. had been planted in a sheltered, ©Roy Lancaster ©Roy ©Roy Lancaster ©Roy

Fig. 4 Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana looks like a flowering dogwood but is a Fig. 5 Trillium rivale seeds itself member of the Hamamelis family. around at Ashwood Nurseries.

8 well-drained pocket on John’s a local supermarket, inviting differs in the fewer, broader rock garden where it had spread me to come and see a special leaves surrounding the to form a substantial patch. The plant, a lady’s slipper orchid: compact, dense, terminal typically 3-petalled, inclined to it was now in flower and at inflorescence. The leaves of nodding, flowers were white its best. I dropped what I was L. fordiana possess more with the faintest flush of pink. doing and headed his way. He of a matt surface compared It was originally given to John was waiting by the gate and with the shining surface of by Elizabeth Strangman some without further ado led me to L. paridiformis. The flowers too 15 years ago. He had added the rear of the bungalow, there are a slightly darker shade of well-rotted leaf mould to the to see an impressive colony yellow, borne on slender stalks soil mix which obviously suited of formosanum to form a looser terminal head. the trillium; it has since spread (fig. 6), a Taiwan endemic, It also appears to be less hardy its roots into the cool depths flourishing in a large pot. I and, having lost one outside beneath a nearby boulder and was truly stunned by this to winter wet, I am growing is seeding around. Incidentally, beautiful plant which he had a replacement in a container, this year (2017) Ashwood been growing for several years. keeping it under glass over Nurseries is celebrating its 50th Nor was it the only interesting winter until I can increase it to anniversary, an occasion all plant he had established in provide plants to experiment hardy planters will have reason his garden, which had me with elsewhere in my garden. to welcome. wondering what other plant Like L. paridiformis var I never cease to be surprised surprises might be lurking in stenophylla, I suspect at the exceptional plants being my neighbourhood. L. fordiana will prove grown, often in unexpected A new addition to wintergreen in a sheltered spot. places, sometimes under one’s my garden this year was It was at its best flowering in nose. An outstanding example Lysimachia fordiana (fig. 7). June, while with me L. p. var. of this I saw in late April in Introduced from Sichuan, stenophylla flowers in July. the rear garden of a bungalow China by Mikinori Ogisu, A visit in June to the hidden away in a small cul-de- this dwarf perennial seems Garden Festival at the Bishop’s sac within walking distance of most closely related to Palace in Wells, Somerset, was a my home in Chandlers Ford. I L. paridiformis, represented in first for me and I was rewarded had received a phone call from cultivation by the outstanding with a most enjoyable tour of the owner reminding me of subspecies stenophylla from the garden by head gardener a conversation we had had in which it most noticeably James Cross who, with a small ©Roy Lancaster ©Roy Lancaster ©Roy

Fig. 6 Cypripedium formosanum grown in a large pot. Fig. 7 Lysimachia fordiana.

9 but enthusiastic team of staff west. So how came it to Wells, a spectacular monocarpic and volunteers, is working and when? perennial endemic to Madeira, wonders with perennial and More unusual perennials mainly along the island’s north woody plants in a pleasing and were waiting for me at coast. Its first-year growth imaginative way, including a Abbotsbury Subtropical results in a massive mound of relatively new and impressive Gardens in Dorset in August. downy leaves followed the next Mediterranean border beneath Steve Griffith, the curator, year by an equally impressive the palace wall (fig. 8). On could hardly wait to show conical multi-branched the outer (apron) walls I was me Lobelia excelsa in flower; head up to 1.5m or more of amazed to find maidenhair I had once seen this tall- greenish-yellow flowers. Sadly, , Adiantum capillus-veneris growing, leafy species from having flowered it then dies, (fig. 9), well established and Chile growing beneath though not before producing sprouting from crevices wine palms in the arid hills abundant seed. I have never between the ancient stones. It above Santiago, growing attempted to grow this plant in seemed to me an unlikely site with Puya chilensis and P. my less sheltered garden, but for this delicate shade- and berteroana, both of which are that did not deter me last year moisture-loving species, rare represented at Abbotsbury. from trying another striking in Britain where it is normally Just as exciting to me plant with a name to match: found in maritime limestone was Steve’s next surprise: Brillantaisia owariensis (fig. 11), cliffs and rock crevices in the Musschia wollastonii (fig. 10), a shrub or subshrub from tropical Africa. Its 2-lipped, striking blue flowers and rugged heart-shaped leaves give it the look of a giant salvia

©Roy Lancaster ©Roy but it belongs to the Acanthus family. It flowered for me in late summer but was cut to the ground by the first frosts, and I can’t wait to see if it regrows this year. ©Roy Lancaster ©Roy

Fig. 9 Adiantum capillus-veneris on the walls at Bishop’s Palace, Fig. 8 The Mediterranean border at Bishop’s Palace, Wells. Asplenium trichomanes below.

10 Should it not, then I shall be She told me she had timed any chances. To those familiar relying on my green-fingered her visit in order to attend a with the royal purple, large- friend Richard Duke to replace talk I was giving that evening floweredT. urvilleana of warm it with a plant grown from in the Great Hall at Dixter. conservatories this dwarf cuttings he has rooted from a Needless to say, we had plenty South American native might plant grown under glass. It is to talk about. seem a pallid alternative, but I certainly worth persisting with. Flowering for me the believe it does have a future. Remember the name! first time in September was I always look forward to Visiting Great Dixter in Tibouchina paratropica my visits to The Savill Garden September, the first time in (fig. 15), a delightful slender- in Windsor Great Park and years, I was taken aback by the stemmed dwarf shrub with towards the end of September, range of desirable perennials in hairy leaves and flights of in a whole bed planted with bloom which included many white, 5-petalled flowers perennials, the still performing of my favourites – Kniphofia with a faint pink flush, which hardy grass Miscanthus rooperi (fig. 12) like a long- continued to appear over sinensis ‘Ferner Osten’ and necked, extravagantly crowned several weeks. It was given the less hardy Cuphea cyanea bird is just one example, while to me by a friend at RHS and Dahlia Happy Days Lemon a combination planting in Garden Rosemoor where presented a winning trilogy a raised footpath border of it is claimed to be hardy (fig. 16), well worth copying Dianthus ‘Neon Red’ and in a warm, well-drained, on a smaller scale in gardens D. ‘Neon Purple’ with silver- sheltered border. I have of more modest size. Down leaved Plectranthus argentatus kept mine in its pot on the by the lake, meanwhile, I was similarly stunning patio but transferred it to encountered a strikingly (fig. 13). The biggest surprise, my cool greenhouse when effective planting of Ligularia however, was a chance meeting the temperatures began to fischerivar. megalorhiza with Beverley Merryfield, a fall and the soft shoot tips ‘Cheju Charmer’ (fig. 17), hardy planter from Vancouver were damaged by frost. I bold in flower and foliage with whom I once stayed suspect it might behave as an especially when viewed as when speaking at a perennial herbaceous perennial in warm here against the glass-like symposium some years ago. gardens, but I was not taking surface of the water. ©Roy Lancaster ©Roy Lancaster ©Roy

Fig. 11 Brillantaisia owariensis, from tropical Africa, flowered for me in late summer but was cut to the ground by the first frosts. I can’t Fig. 10 Musschia wollastonii and Stephen Griffith at Abbotsbury. wait to see if it regrows this year.

11 stir fries, etc. It is said to have a pleasant bitter taste and a distinctive aroma. Make of that

©Roy Lancaster ©Roy Lancaster ©Roy what you will. I bought one for my garden and it was still flowering well into November. I also spotted ‘an old friend’ in Elsholtzia stauntonii, a low, sub-shrubby member of the mint family (Lamiaceae) with an odour to match. I first saw it in 1960 when I was a student at the Cambridge University Fig. 13 Dianthus and Plectranthus Botanic Garden, and I was Fig. 12 Kniphofia rooperi at Dixter. argentatus made another stunning quite taken with its freely One of my many favourites. combination. borne panicles of lilac-purple flowers produced over a long It is a Crûg Farm collection plants including a sprightly period from late summer into from the island of Jeju or Michaelmas daisy of Korean autumn. It can also be treated Cheju off the SW coast of origin. Aster scaber ‘Kasumi’ as an herbaceous perennial, and South Korea. A pity about is an erect, clump-forming is suitable for most any soil in the rather cumbersome name herbaceous perennial to 90cm full sun. which must have had the label or so, with slender leafy stems Finally, an apology. I have engraver on overtime. sporting diversely branching mentioned in a previous article My bi-annual visit to the heads of small but prettily a splendid white-flowered stock Journee des Plantes (now poised pale daisy flowers. It in my garden which I collected at Chantilly) in October has an extended flowering in 2002 as seed from a plant brought the now expected period and in its homeland it growing on the cliffs on the north rush of interesting and new is also used as a vegetable in coast of the island of Madeira. ©Roy Lancaster ©Roy

Fig. 14 The long border at Great Dixter in September.

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Figs 15 Tibouchina paratropica, thought to be hardy in north Devon but in my cold greenhouse over winter. ©Roy Lancaster ©Roy

Fig. 17 Ligularia fischeri var. megalorhiza ‘Cheju Charmer’.

Fig. 16 Miscanthus sinensis ‘Ferner Osten’, Cuphea cyanea and Dahlia Happy Days Lemon still performing well in late September at The Savill Garden.

These cliffs are famous for their Wisley, and he was able to Lancaster ©Roy endemic plants including the confirm my suspicions that Madeiran stock, Matthiola my plant was simply a white maderensis, which is common form of M. incana (fig. 18), there though usually with which is also found wild in lilac to pale-violet coloured Britain. The probability is that flowers. Over the years I have seeds from a garden stock in given both seed and plants the coastal village of Porto Fig. 18 What I believed was Matthiola maderensis I now know to of my stock to visitors and Moniz somehow found its be M. incana. local plant fairs under the way into populations of the name M. maderensis White native M. maderensis. It was Meanwhile, I shall continue Form (it comes true from past flowering at the time of growing, admiring and seed), until last year when I collection. I would love to try sharing my splendid hoary began to have doubts about its seed of the real McCoy should stock both for its heavenly authenticity. I sent specimens anyone grow it, though the scented white flowers in in fruit to James Armitage, chance of its proving hardy summer and its bold mounds senior taxonomist at RHS with me is questionable. of grey foliage in winter.

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