Discovering beautiful bulbs at Chelsea
Whether it’s presenting TV shows, writing books or blogging, Matt Biggs has a passion for all things gardening, so who better than to check out the bulb displays at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2010 and unearth some gems.
I have long indulged in a passion for bulbs, kindled in my days as a student at Kew, where the alpine house hosted some of the finest, the world’s flora could provide. This diverse and fascinating group, ranges from woodland wonders like giant, stout stemmed, Cardiocrinum giganteum, laden with creamy-white trumpets to the tiny bulb, commonly known as Leucojum autumnale (technically it’s Acis autumnale) bearing white fairy bell like flowers in early autumn.
You will be thrilled to know that Chelsea Flower Show is a bulb lover’s bonanza, as our finest growers vie to seduce passing plants people with their displays – some, as you would expect, flowering out of season.
If woodland bulbs are your weakness, visit Jacques Armand for a beguiling display of spring beauties, including a host of trilliums and Arisaema mayebarei with a white spadix and chocolate brown hood, which has jumped to the top of my wanted list. Plant several in a small clump for a high impact display, then stand back and be amazed.
If you are still not satisfied, then aim for Arisaema sikokianum, one of the finest examples of bulbous beauty that money can buy.
Regular RHS Gold Medal winners, Avon Bulbs, are showing some spectacular species including Tulipa whittalii, which is goblet shaped with orange and yellow, sharply pointed petals. It is perfect in gritty, free draining soil, in a sunny rock garden or bulb border.
Elegant Nectaroscordium tripedale, a fabulous plant, with compact, drumstick heads of pink candy stripe flowers topping elegant stems, is eye catching too, and confirms the seductive power of species. A star plant for moist conditions is Camassia ‘Pale Pink’, (top picture) with soft pink blooms and broader petals than most of the genus. A friend of the owner saw its image on the internet, and knew it was in a Magazine for September. A colleague, volunteered to check past RHS journals and someone else, American magazines; it was eventually found in Sunset Magazine, labeled ‘In Vic Sabin’s garden in Oregon’ and sent the phone number. Chris Ireland-Jones, of Avon bulbs, left a message on Vic’s answer phone and three weeks later, a package of seed arrived. The original seed had been collected from a wild population; when they returned to collect more, it had been destroyed in a road widening scheme. A fine example of gardeners contributing to plant conservation – Plant Heritage would be delighted!