Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin

The Alpine Display House is full of colour even in the depths of winter

There was a little sunshine today which brought out some wonderful scent in the ADH; and lots of visitors. I had to wait for an opportunity to capture the pictures below, as there was a near constant stream of visitors. While I was taking pictures of individual plants I overheard lots of appreciative comments about the display. I talked to a couple of ladies who snapped the QR code, to find these diaries. If you were one of them, welcome!

The Display Case has been given a snowdrop woodland makeover

A couple of pictures of the Display Case within the ADH. I like the use of the toppled tree to create a little woodland setting.

In my previous diaries I have featured some of the snowdrops in the Wisley collection. For this diary I have included some that have not been featured before. I have read and heard people say that they only want to grow snowdrops that they don’t have to label in the garden, ones that they can identify and easily distinguish from each other. As I’m learning about them I can start to see more of the differences and the choice of easily distinguished cultivars is growing.

A very distinctive snowdrop is Galanthus ‘Godfrey Owen’. It was found in Mrs Margaret Owen’s Shropshire garden in the mid 1990’s. She named it for her late husband. It is a G. elwesii cultivar with six inner and outer segments. G. ‘Trym Baby’ was raised by Joe Sharman of Monksilver Nursery. It is a cross between G. plicatus ‘Trym’ x G. nivalis Poculiformis Group.

’Wasp’ is a cultivar of Galanthus nivalis of hybrid garden origin. It is quite distinct, having long slim outer segments. It was found and named by Veronica Cross in 1995 in the former Backhouse Gardens at Sutton Court, Hertfordshire. Several generations of Quaker Bankers and horticulturalists lived there. They were one of over 20 private banks that became Barclay’s bank in 1896. That would help you pursue other interests.

G. ’Sprite’ is described as a good virescent example; virescent meaning greenish. Its outer segments are deeply cupped, concave along their length. This seedlings was selected by Alan Street at Avon Bulbs around 2006. A sprite is a mythical fairy-like creature who lives by water, such as Ariel from Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’. Perhaps Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ will be most familiar. In Greek mythology Ariel was a Nereid, one of the daughters of Triton, the sea god.

How many snowdrops are too many?

G. ’Ruth Dashwood’ was found by Timmy Whitely on the driveway leading into Farthinghoe Lodge, Northamptonshire, where Ruth and her husband had their garden. The cultivar ‘Farthinghoe Beauty’ was also discovered there. Ruth sadly left us last year (2024) having been born in 1931.

G. elwesii is native to SE Europe, Turkey and SW Ukraine. Edward Whittall (1851 – 1917) was a merchant based in Smyma, Turkey. He organised a shooting trip for Henry John Elwes (1846 – 1922) and became interested in bulbs in general as well as snowdrops. There is an interesting description of him in Curtis Botanical Magazine, 2011 vol 28 pp 213 -230, should you be interested in further details.

G. plicatus ‘Wendy’s Gold’ was found in the population of snowdrops that had become naturalized at Wendlebury Ring, an Iron Age fort near Cambridge. Several other plants have been named from the same population. It was named for the site warden’s wife.

Other plants that I saw today

While the winter sun brought out the snowdrops, it wasn’t warm enough for Oxalis versicolor which still had its flowers tightly closed. Its native range is the southwest Cape Province. No surprises for guessing its common name is the candy cane sorrel. It can start flowering as early as November. The specific epithet is from the Latin fo varying or changeable in colour and the raspberry ripple pattern is certainly that.

There were four small Dionysia plants on display, one of which I showed in my first December diary in 2024. I’ve included it again as there were more flowers open today on D. ‘Ewesley Theta’.

The second picture is D. tapetodes. It grows on limestone cliffs in crevices and ledges and beneath cliff overhangs which are shaded or partially shaded. It was first collected in 1839 and is native to Iran and Afghanistan as well as the southern parts of the former USSR. Very careful watering and dry foliage are essential. It is a challenge to grow large plants, which makes the large ones seen on the AGS show benches even more remarkable.

D. ‘Yellowstone’ (HK – MK 9953/7) is a hybrid of D. odora x tapetodes and is a yellow pin type. The initials HK stand for Hans Kaupert; MH stand for Michael Kammerlander.

D. janthina  is found in the Yazd Province, near Talf in central Iran. The flowers are coral pink often paler in the centre with a yellowish eye. The specific epithet is from the Greek ion – violet and anthos – flower. I’ve also discovered that Janthina janthina is a genus and species of holoplanktonic sea snail, known as the violet sea snail.

Let’s look at some plants that are a little less challenging to grow than those above. Narcissus romieuxii ‘Hat’. The internet offered me lots of information on “hats” but sadly nothing about where this one came from. Pottertons Nursery have listed it in the past describing it as having large flowers which are scalloped with flared skirts. They state their material came originally from Kath Dryden.

Gagea chlorantha can be found in limestone crevices on open steppe and hillsides in Turkey, Cyprus, North Caucasus, Palestine, Iran, Iraq and Turkmenistan. The genus name was chosen in honour of Sir Thomas Gage (1781 – 1820) seventh Baronet of Hengrove Hall, Suffolk. The specific epithet is from the Latin for yellowish- green, the flower colour.

Who was Mr Popov?

Corydalis popovii was the AGS plant of the month in March 2011. It is found on clay slopes at 600 – 1900m in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The genus name is from the Greek koryalis – a crested lark, or korys – a helmet, the shape of the petals. The specific epithet was to honour Mikhail Grigorievich Popov (1893 – 1955) a Russian botanist. I found over 20 genera with species bearing his name, such as Papaver popovii, Linaria popovii and Carex popovii.

Another Corydalis coming into flower was C. tauricola. This one is native to Turkey. The specific epithet is from the Latin – from Crimea, the old name for Crimea being Taurica. Slightly misleading as Crimea is not part of Turkey now but perhaps it was at some time in the distant past.

Crocus imperati subsp. suaveolens ‘ De Jager’ is native to the south western part of Italy. Italian apothecary Ferrante Imperato (c1525 – c1615) was a Neapolitan pharmacist and botanist. His exact dates are of some debate but he lived to a good age. His potions obviously worked, at least for himself.

I thought I’d already seen the last of the Sternbergia but S. vernalis had several flowers on show. These were all pointing in different directions and at different angles (how unthoughtful of them) so I just captured one of the flowers. The specific epithet is from the Latin for of spring flowering time. They need to be planted deep, and enjoy a warm dry summer to get them to flower, being native to central and southwestern Asia, including Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria.

Last year I included some of the Hepaticas in the collection. I have subsequently discovered that there is an International Hepatica Society (HIS) that recognises three forms of Hepatica nobilis var. japonica: japonica, variegata and magna. The latter group is found in the wild in northwest Japan, particularly in the Niigata area and Sodo Island. There are a lot of diverging forms called mutations, of great interest to gardeners, who like difference. They are also the hardiest and have the largest flowers. Nine subdivisions of flower types have been identified all ending in the word zaki – which means flowering.

Hepatica nobilis var. japonica Karako Group, is the sixth group (Karako-zaki). Karako is the name of an old Chinese hairstyle which is similar to the shape of the flower. The cultivar name of Hepatica nobilis var. japonica ‘Yuzuru’ is from the Japanese yu – meaning hand and zuru – over or convey. This name has a profound cultural history in Japan, having the concept of transfer and modesty.

Outside there is interest and some colour

When I see a plant name I often rush to a conclusion regarding its origin. Picea orientalis ‘Tom Thumb’ was no exception. Tom Thumb will be due to its small stature, I thought. It was found at the Tom Thumb Nursery in New York, and was grafted and introduced by John Verkade as a sport of Picea ‘Skylands’. It is extremely slow growing with golden fingers of tight foliage. In 2007 the American Conifer Society chose it as the collector’s conifer of the year. In the wild Picea orientalis is found from the Caucasus to Turkey. The specific epithet is from the Latin for eastern or of the Orient.

Sciadopitys verticillata ‘Kobito’ is a native of Japan, the Japanese umbrella tree or Japanese umbrella pine. The genus name is from the Greek skias – a parasol or sunshade and pitus – a fir tree. The specific epithet is from the Latin for whorled; the leaves resemble the spokes of an umbrella. It is found growing in damp forests at 200m – 1700m. Kobito in Japanese means child and it certainly has a small stature.

Helleborus x hybridus comes in a range of colours from white, pink, green, yellow to purple, sometimes spotted. Its common name is the Lenten Rose, because of it flowering during late winter, the period of Lent, from Ash Wednesday for 40 days. This year Ash Wednesday is on 5 March and Lent lasts until 17 April, so a little early to be in flower at Wisley. The genus name is from the Greek bora – food and helein – injures or destroys as the leaves, stems and roots are all toxic to humans. Beware if cutting back or handling the plants in general. Helleborus are native to Europe and Asia.

Tasks that the team have been undertaking since the start of the New Year

Since the team returned in January, general tasks have included the ongoing maintenance of the Display House, leaf clearing in the fern glade, cutting back Epimedium leaves, repotting sempervivums,  Rhodohypoxis and repotting cyclamen seedlings. There was some weed clearing around the garden on the days when it wasn’t too frosty.

On this day

It was on 16 January 1950 that the children’s radio programme “Listen with Mother” was first broadcast on the BBC light programme. It started with the now famous lines “ Hello children. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin”. These words were spoken by Daphne Margaret du Grivel Oxenford (1919 – 2012) a very impressive name for an English actress, who continued in the role for the first 21 years of its broadcast. It was aimed at pre-school children and was a mix of stories, songs and nursery rhymes. The series ended in 1982, when there was apparently a national outcry over the decision to end it. Younger readers can look it up on YouTube. Other social medial channels are also available.

If you are still reading this, you now know where I got the title for this diary entry.