Roy Lancaster Visits the Abbey Nursery, the Garden 2013
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Dorset nursery Roy Lancaster visits… e Abbey Nursery Within the gardens of Forde Abbey in Dorset is a ine nursery specialising in a range of choice herbaceous plants, many grown for their late-season appeal Author: Roy Lancaster, VMH, author, broadcaster and Forde Abbey, an member of the RHS Woody Plant Committee. RHS Partner Photography: Tim Sandall Garden, provides an impressive backdrop to the nursery’s sales area. hen visiting ‘wigwam’ support for displays from e Abbey Nursery is today a gardens for the July onwards. Its bold, heart-shaped thriving plant cornucopia, well fi rst time, few leaves are attractive but the magic ordered and appealing with a large things excite occurs when geranium-scarlet, two- range of desirable perennials, many of me more than lipped fl owers to 9cm (3½in) long which are new. All have informative seeingW a plant that is new to me, (the largest in the genus) emerge labels to help customers choose Nursery particularly a plant of great character from purple calyces, carried in those best suited to their gardens, proprietor Paul or allure. In September last year, pendulous racemes in succession. and there is plenty of choice for late- Bygrave and Roy while visiting the gardens at Forde season interest. Lancaster (left) inspect one of Abbey in Dorset, I was stopped in my Starting a nursery One of the most colourful displays several Salvia on tracks by Salvia dombeyi, a most e purpose for my visit however, in the sales area was provided by a o er. Some of Paul’s home-bred striking, unusual species. From its was to explore e Abbey Nursery in batch of Roscoea purpurea seedlings Roscoea purpurea name I presumed the plant to be a nearby walled garden. e nursery raised by Paul from a deliberate cross seedlings (below), native to Peru (and also Bolivia), a (a separate concern from the house between bronze-leaved R. purpurea which he made by crossing country visited by French botanist and gardens) is owned and run by ‘Brown Peacock’ and red-fl owered bronze-leaved Joseph Dombey with Spanish Devonian Paul Bygrave, a vet’s son R. purpurea f. rubra. ey contained and red-lowered botanists Hipólito Ruiz and José whose early interest in animals and both bronze and green-leaved indi vid- selections. The pendent Pavón between 1778 and 1781. In both birds led him eventually to plants. uals, most with red shoots and good red blooms of Salvia dombeyi countries the plant grows in cloud He started his horticultural career crimson fl owers, in some, overlaid can measure up forest above 3,000m (9,800ft). with Ray Brown at Plant World near with purple. Paul aims to produce to 9cm (3½in) long. Nothing in my experience of Newton Abbot, before taking a degree stable seed strains of good vigour salvias prepared me for meeting in Plant Sciences at the University with consistent charac teris tics; plants this giant of the genus; its scandent of Reading. is was followed by with bronze leaves and red fl owers, e Abbey Nursery stems reach 6m (20ft) in the wild several years as a taxonomist at the green leaves, red stems and red Address: Forde Abbey, Chard, Somerset TA20 4LU (the abbey although 3m (10ft) is rather more Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, mainly fl owers or those with bronze leaves lies on the Dorset side of the River Axe; postal town is Chard). likely in UK gardens. e Forde working on tropical fl ora. and palest lavender fl owers. He has Tel: 01460 220088. Website: www.fordeabbey.co.uk/abbey-nursery Abbey stock was introduced as seed After Kew he worked for a while no intention of naming individual Open: daily, 1 Mar–31 Oct, 10am–5pm. from Peru by owner Mark Roper’s at Green Farm Plants near Farnham, seedlings, preferring customers to Mail order: no mail order or catalogue. Admission: visiting the nursery is free but there is a brother, Christopher, a few years ago then one of the UK’s leading avant- have reliable seed-grown selections charge to view the house and gardens. and has become a signature plant. garde nurseries, where he learned a at a reasonable price. I was impressed ✤ Forde Abbey Gardens is an RHS Partner Garden o ering Stock is maintained by digging up great deal about selecting, growing with their free-fl owering, stocky free access to members Oct–Feb (excluding special event days). See RHS Members’ Handbook 2013 p84; and potting plants prior to the fi rst and selling plants – enough, he says, nature to 60cm (24in) high. Paul also www.rhs.org.uk/partnergardens THE ABBEY ✤ frosts, for overwintering under glass. for him to make in 2001 the ‘big grows some spring- to early-summer- ✤ See also RHS Life, p87. NURSERY e following spring they are cut decision’ to head west to Forde fl owering Roscoea species, as back and replanted outdoors with a Abbey in Dorset. well as several named cultivars. » 70 The Garden | October 2013 October 2013 | The Garden 71 Dorset nursery Daisies to cherish of the past, now usually seen on Just as colourful on the day, but more railway sidings, embankments and traditional as border perennials, were neglected allotments. As Paul says, the Michaelmas daisies. Paul grows ‘it doesn’t take a lot of fl oor space, In the nursery a small but select few, preferring and when other plants are fl agging selections of Aster novae-angliae it fi lls the gap.’ and in the wild for their greater resistance to mildew. By contrast, Bidens aurea ‘Hannay’s At e Abbey Nursery, Roy was pleased to see e most popular with visitors – all Lemon Drop’ is a tall, open perennial two grasses he has encountered in the wild. strong-growing in the 90–120cm with slender, wiry, branching stems (35–47in) range – are Paul’s ‘three sporting attractive single, fi ve-petalled In one frame I was surprised and delighted to ind both Calamagrostis emodensis 1 and Miscanthus ladies’: ‘Primrose Upward’ he describes fl owers, each yellow petal with a Paul Bygrave 2 as a purply red, ‘Mrs S.T. Wright’ as white cuff at the notched tip. is is o ers Gaura nepalensis , two relatively small but highly ornamental 1 sinuata (right), grasses which I irst encountered in the mountains of the classic lavender (almost like the another favourite of Paul’s: ‘I like it which was new East Nepal in 1971. Both were growing in a steep, sunny because it starts into fl ower late and wild species) and ‘Marina Wolkonsky’ to Roy. It is ravine where I and others of my party spent an as rich violet-purple. A plant of the looks fresh, sparkling and pristine longer-lived and hardier than uncomfortable night in sleeping bags. We left at dawn, last named in a nearby border formed in August and September, and better-known but not before collecting samples of seed of these a striking partnership with the large catches the eye from the fi rst signs G. lindheimeri. grasses, which we later introduced to the UK. golden yellow fl owers of taller- Both these grasses produce arching, drooping growing Rudbeckia laciniata panicles of crowded lower spikelets; those of the ‘Herbstsonne’. Needless to say, all Miscanthus are elegant and separated into ingers, these fl owers were proving a huge with a golden shine, while the Calamagrostis lowerheads open jade green, becoming su used a attraction to local bees and butterfl ies. dusky rose before fading to pale straw by the end of A pair of other daisy-fl owered summer. Grow them in a warm, sunny, well-drained plants were doing well, both of which spot and keep them well away from winter wet. 2 I have grown in my own garden in the past. Well-named Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’ is easily recognised by its long, thinly arching sprays of fuzzy, Gigantic sea holly rich yellow fl owers, forming relatively e highlight for me, however, low clumps in full sun. It is quite was a huge, multi-crowned unlike the tall, rampant golden rods clump of spectac ular Eryngium pandanifolium ‘Physic Purple’ in a large polytunnel. Its dense, narrow, rapier-like foliage was dwarfed by the erect-stemmed 4m (13ft) panicles of small, purple-tinted fl ower heads. A hardy, evergreen perennial, this is one of the fi nest of autumnal decline,’ he says. Paul plants I know for its architectural cautioned, however, about its quality, the perfect big ‘dot plant’ for spreading nature which makes it a sunny border or bed. Paul told me unsuitable for small gardens. It was it has survived short periods down awash with hoverfl ies. to -14©ª (7©«) outdoors. e Abbey Nursery proves to be a Asparagus relative great place for plant enthusiasts; the Paul calls Bessera elegans ‘a plants- are scarlet with a white panel on their habit to 2m (6½ft). According to The sales and range of choice and unusual plants man’s plant’. is curious but elegant inner surface. e accompanying Paul, it is the hardier and longer-lived display area of on off er – particularly herbaceous the nursery little fl ower is a member of the label warned of its need for winter of the two species, enjoying a well- (above) is in a plants – is impressive. Most of those asparagus family, although anything protection and a warm, sunny, free- drained, especially sandy soil in full walled garden off ered for sale are home grown. Paul less resembling asparagus would be draining site. I once saw it fl owering sun.