Year: 2023

The allotment site where we have our plots is a small privately owned site between
two streets in the village where we live and all of the plot holders have a garden
backing onto the site. When we moved into our house 15 years ago the site was
under full cultivation so all we could do was turn our front garden over to produce
and chat over the fence to the wonderfully knowledgeable gentleman who had the
plot behind our house.
A few years after we moved in we were approached by our next door neighbour to
see if we would consider taking on half a plot from Gordon* the eldest of the plot
holders as he hadn’t been well and needed someone to help him out for the
season, just until he could get back on his feet, nothing permanent and no rent to
pay. Naturally we jumped at the chance as Gordon had a greenhouse at each end
of his plot and one of these would also be available to us. In that first season we
took on the challenge of the plot with relish. It was clear that our half hadn’t been
looked after for a while and there were a lot of accumulated ‘resources’ on the site
to be moved and weeds to be tackled. The following year Gordon was still not well
enough to return so we were asked to act as guardians of this site, again no rent to
pay no matter how much we insisted.
We didn’t see much of Gordon that year. Occasionally on a warm day we’d see him
moving slowly about on the allotments, but only for a few minutes at a time and In
recent years we’ve not seen him at all although his wife has continued to cheerfully
assure us that all was well and that he was determined to be back out growing
beans the following year. Meanwhile even though our half plot has gone from
strength to strength it’s always been considered to be ‘Gordons allotment’ at the
back of our minds

Growing on Gordon’s allotment in May 2019

Three years ago at the start of the first Lockdown our next door neighbour
approached us again. The plot at the bottom of our garden became available. The
knowledgeable gentleman had moved away from the village and the new
inhabitants of his house had decided that they did not have time to look after an
allotment so were we interested? Once again we jumped at the chance. It was a
good well maintained site and despite looking a little neglected after a period being
out of cultivation it still had lots of potential. For the last 3 years we’ve been growing
on both plots, vegetables and fruit on our own plot and a cut flower patch on
Gordon’s allotment.

March 2020 A plot of our own (with Gordon’s plot in the background)

Recently we heard that Gordon had passed away in what we think was his 100th
year. While this is obviously sad news, it’s not unexpected as we hadn’t seen him
outside for a long time and the other half of his plot had been taken on by another
neighbour. This coming season our guardianship of the now thriving half plot will
become official.
I’ve been reflecting on the news with the changing of the season. as I write this
Spring is making a welcome return with the earliest flowers appearing including, for
the first time the deliciously scented pink blooms of a Daphne odora
‘Aureomarginata’ which I bought as a very poorly looking plant off the reduced to
clear bench at my local garden centre. I’m a very optimistic gardener and can’t
resist nursing lost causes back to health. The joy I feel at the sight of those waxy
blooms is intense and one of the most rewarding things about gardening.
Optimism must be a trait that all gardeners possess, we plant trees knowing we
may never see them reach maturity, we sow seeds each year and patiently wait to
see them grow. We strike cuttings and wait for a miracle to happen as the tiny
vulnerable sections of plant sprout roots and grow into new plant and we are driven
year after year as Winter turns to Spring to continue this cycle of growth even as
our own bodies slow down and age and we register the passing of the years in the
gardens we create as they mature and grow

February 2023 our own plot has been turned over to raised beds while the original space is now used for cut flowers

As a dedicated allotment holder it must have been hard for Gordon to admit he
could no longer tend the plot he had so lovingly cultivated for so long, building in
true allotment style, greenhouses out of old window frames and compost bins out of
surplus wood. After all, to paraphrase George Bernard Shaw

“we don’t stop because we grow old, we grow old because we stop”.

So at the start of the new growing season, I shall raise a plant pot to Gordon and
the knowledgeable gentleman whose allotment legacies I now continue and once
again get growing because of course, the coming year is going to see my garden
and its neighbouring allotment look the best it has ever looked!

*Names have been changed to protect identities

For more information you can follow Helena on Instagram as Euphorbia_Gardens  or visit http://www.euphorbiagardens.co.uk

In Praise of Primulas

The cheerful countenance of a primula is such a welcome sight. They pierce late winter’s gloom with their earnest wee faces, announcing the arrival of spring. Their dainty, little beauty speaks to a simpler time, of childhood innocence and bygone days, wistfully recalled. And within these small, brightly coloured packages come the best of things- the warmth of remembrance; the renewal of hope; and the sweetness of life in that very moment.

Bird’s Nest and Primroses c1855 Watercolour on paper by William Henry Hunt English artist 1790-1864

Primula denticulata growing in the moutain valley in Armenia with Ranunculus and Achillea

IN THE WILD

Primulas are happiest in the damper, shadier places and can be found adorning mountain valleys and rocky ridges; gracing the grasslands and open woodlands; thriving on embankments and under hedgerows. Growing from northern and eastern Europe, across North Africa to the Himalayas and through China to Japan, there are around 500 known species.

Primulas are multi-flowered, rising from a sturdy stem in loose umbels or tightly-packed spheres or nestled low, atop a rosette of leaves. Left to their own devices, primula species merrily interbreed in nature, constantly creating new hybrids.

Primula japonica growing along the tree lined Yanagizawa River In Japan

Primula bed in the Bog Garden Butchart Gardens Victoria, British Columbia Canada. Photo by C.J.Ward

IN THE GARDEN

Primulas suit a variety of styles, from the pleasant ramble of a cottage garden to the clean, modern aesthetic of an urban garden. Depending on the species, they grow well in rockeries, beds, borders, bog gardens, containers and in Auricula Theatres. An amiable companion plant, they mix well with a lot of other genii that enjoy similar conditions. These carefree flowers tend to look their best when allowed to naturalise freely. They will form neat clumps that will soon carpet the area with their vernal optimism.

Primula japonica

Primula bulleyana

Primula Rosea, Germany

Primula elatior Munster, Germany

IN FOLKLORE AND MYTHOLOGY

The primula has meaning in many cultures.

To the Celts, it is associated with the fairies. Used with yellow gorse as a Beltaine decoration, bunches of primroses were left on the doorstep, encouraging the hidden folk to bless the house within. T’was said that if one ate the blossom, one could expect to see a fairy soon after. Patches of delicate yellow primroses were believed to be portals to the fairies’ realm, for primroses grew in Tir na nOg.

The gateway to Tir na nOg or a simple patch of Primula vulgaris growing near the railway line in Chipping Sodbury, England

In Norse mythology, primulas are one of Freya’s flowers, for they are golden like the goddess of love. Called “Lady’s Keys”, oxlips could open the gates to milady’s hall and were used in Vernal Equinox ceremonies of life and rebirth, dedicated to the Norse Goddess.

Primula veris

In the mythology of the Romans, primulas were a gift to the earth from the gods Flora and Priapus to honour their son Paralisos after he died of a broken heart. The Victorians took this myth as the basis for their custom of planting primula on the graves of children, accounting for their abundance in churchyards across England.

In the Victorian Language of Flowers, however, primulas symbolise young love, the I-cannot-live-without-you kind.

While in Japan, primula indicates the longer lasting variety of love and is often used in spring Ikebana arrangements, given as a token of abiding affection.

Primula allionii

IN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE

Primulas have been employed for similar uses, wherever they are found, to treat a variety of conditions. In Sino-Himalayan cultures, they have long been cultivated for their medicinal properties, for everything from rheumatitis to gout and from headaches to ulcers.

In England, Ireland and Scotland, fresh leaves were rubbed on toothaches or used in salves and poultices on wounds. In the spring, the flowers were gathered to make Cowslip Wine. Its sedative properties make it a good treatment for insomnia and later, by Tudor herbalists, in a tincture to calm nervous conditions.

IN ART

Skylarks and Primroses, Woodblock print with ink and colour on paper c. 1805-10

Kubo Shunman, Japanese artist 1757-1820

Still Life with Primroses, Pears and Pomegranates, Oil on canvas, c. Late 19th century

By Henri Fantin-Latour, French artist 1836-1904

Tuft of Cowslips, Gouache on vellum 1526, Albrecht Durer, German artist 1471-1528

Pansies and Primroses, Oil on canvas c.1941, Alfred Arthur Brunel-Neuville, French artist 1851-1941

Still Life with a Book and Primroses, Mixed media on canvas 1886, Marga Toppelius-Kiseleff Finnish artist 1862-1924

Still Life with Apples and a Pot of Primroses, Oil on canvas c.1890, By Paul Cezanne French artist 1839-1906, Image via The Metropolitan Museum of Art

IN POETRY

Ring-ting! I wish

I were a primrose,

A bright yellow primrose

Blowing in the spring!

The stooping boughs

Above me,

The wandering bee to

Love me,

The fern and moss to

Creep across

And the elm-tree for

Our king.

-“Wishing”

By William Allingham Irish poet and diarist 1824-89

Primula vulgaris blooming in Slovenia

Behold, my love, how green the

Groves,

The primrose banks how fair;

The balmy gales awake the flowers,

And wave thy flowing hair.

– ” Behold, my love, How Green the Groves”

By Robert Burns

Scottish poet and lyricist

1759-96

Primula rosea growing in the Altai Mountains, Mongolia

The primrose opens wide

In spring

Her scent is sweet and good:

It smells of every happy thing

In sunny lane and wood.

-The Primrose Fairy

By Mary Cicely Barker

English author and illustrator

1895-1973

Primula vialii growing in the mountains of China

Thy smiles I note, sweet early Flower,

That peeping from thy rustic bower

The festive news to earth dost bring,

A fragrant messenger of Spring.

– To a Primrose

By Samuel Taylor Coleridge

English poet

1772-1834

Primula elatior blooming for the Fairy Queen in Aveyron, France

Give us again the song of birds,

The scent of blossoms on the air,

The rustle of the growing grass,

The dainty primrose, sweet and fair.

“Primrose Time”

By Mary Dow Brine

American author

1816-1913

Primula ‘Belarina Pink Champagne’

Over hill, over dale,

Thorough bush, thorough brier,

Over park, over pale,

Thorough flood, thorough fire!

I do wander everywhere,

Swifter than the moon’s sphere;

And I serve the Fairy Queen,

To dew her orbs upon the green;

The cowslips tall her pensioners be;

In their gold coats spots you see;

Those be rubies, fairy favours;

In those freckles live their savours;

I must go seek some dewdrops here,

And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear.

“A Fairy’s Song”

From A Midsummer Night’s Dream

By William Shakespeare

English poet and playwright

1564-1616

Primula marginata peeping from its rustic bower in the Italian Alps

CJ Ward is from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is a Retired Garden Designer and Self-professed Plant Nerd, currently writing a book. To find out more about her follow her on Instagram @cjwardgardens

All images, except where indicated are via Wiki Commons. Contact C J Ward for a full photo credit list

Poisonous plants can be an emotive subject. Every year the press covers stories about deadly plants encountered in the countryside or sprouting unbidden in someone’s garden. Often, the general conclusion is that this shouldn’t be allowed. The British flora includes some very poisonous plants, and a number of our valued and beautiful garden plants are also toxic. But accidents can be avoided if reasonable precautions are taken. Eradication is not the answer – education is.

30 years ago, as I was approaching the end of my PhD (a taxonomic revision of a group of Dendrobium orchids from South East Asia) I got a job as a botanist working for the National Poisons Information Service and based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It opened my eyes to a fascinating area of plant science, and ever since then I’ve enjoyed learning about and researching poisonous plants, sharing this knowledge and creating various resources for the public, medical professionals, and horticulturists.

A recent piece of work that I did for the UK’s Horticultural Trades Association enables growers and the public to be aware of which plants on sale in the UK may be poisonous to people or pets. Some growers and suppliers will have the resources to label these plants with the recommended warning, but this is voluntary. But never fear as you can download a copy of the HTA’s Guide to Potentially Harmful Plants, 3rd Edition (2022) for free:

https://hta.org.uk/potentiallyharmfulplants

Many gardeners will be unconcerned about the toxicity of the plants that they grow. After all, they probably aren’t planning to eat their delphiniums. For others, such as those with small children or curious pets, knowing which plants should be treated with caution could prevent a trip to A&E or the vet. And even experienced gardeners may be interested in which plants might be responsible for the mysterious rash that they sometimes get after gardening.

The plants in the HTA Guide can be grown safely provided a few precautions are taken, and those precautions will vary depending on who is using the garden. A few basics are:

• don’t eat any plant unless you are certain that it, or the part you want to eat, are edible. It sounds obvious but you’d be surprised how many people consider the toxicity only after they or their child have eaten something.
• avoid growing poisonous plants amongst those that are edible, aromatic or tactile.
• move poisonous plants to the back of the border, or contain them with a physical barrier, if young children or pets will use the garden unattended. The HTA Guide also covers house plants and it’s advisable to grow these out of reach of curious hands and mouths.
• berries are tempting and these can be removed, if necessary, by pruning after flowering.
• wear gloves and cover skin if handling or working near plants that are harmful to the skin or eyes, such as Euphorbia. These plants don’t mix well with footballs.
• wash your hands after gardening (and before using the toilet!).

So, with your hazard assessment completed, please continue to enjoy growing these beautiful but potentially harmful plants. Where would our cottage gardens be without foxgloves, lupins, or delphiniums, and what can be more lovely in early summer than a house draped in wisteria?

You can follow Liz on Twitter: @liz_dauncey

If you want to learn more about the World’s most poisonous plants, you may be interested in:

Plants that Kill, by Elizabeth Dauncey and Sonny Larsson; Kew Publishing and Princeton University Press, 2018.

https://shop.kew.org/plants-that-kill-a-natural-history-of-the-world-s-most-poisonous-plants