Bridge Farm Plants in Derbyshire

It’s iris time .... Bearded iris (Iris germanica) are the most flamboyant of all and although their flowering period may be fleeting, it is always a joy. ‘Iris’ comes from the Greek word meaning ‘rainbow’. These are some of the Benton Irises bred by Cedric Morris, a celebrated painter and plantsman who gardened at Benton End in Suffolk. He was a notable iris breeder but many of his introductions have been lost. Fortunately, several have been re-discovered by Sarah Cooke, a former Head Gardener at Sissinghurst.
My absolute favourite is ‘Benton Olive’ - understated but exquisite, it is an unusual olive colour splashed with lilac on the falls; ‘Benton Judith’ - deep velvet, almost black falls with a paler purple standards; ‘Benton Apollo’ - clear, rich yellow flower; ‘Benton Old Madrid’ - clear lilac-pink flowers, darker on the falls; ‘Benton Duff’ - pale yellow and white; ‘Benton Blue John’ - lightly marbled violet falls with marbles deep blue-violet standards; ‘Benton Lorna’ - purple standards with creamy falls edged with violet; ‘Benton Opal’ - the palest opalescent lilac; ‘ Benton Strathmore’ - peachy-apricot; ‘Benton Nutkin’ - an interesting mix of colours - creamy, russet-brown.

Tulip acuminata - a very old species which has come back into vogue recently. It has yellow and red, almost flame-like flowers with curious twisted and elongated petals. Chaenomeles speciosa ‘Kinshiden’ - a beautiful form and one of my absolute favourites. It has exquisite pale lime double flowers. Hacquetia epipactis (now Sanicula epipactis) - produces clusters of tiny yellow flowers surrounded by conspicuous green petal-like bracts. Erythronium ‘Janice’ - a lovely, strong-growing, pink flowered hybrid.

Looking forward to getting back to the fairs this weekend!

The warmer weather and some sunshine over the last couple of weeks has really started to bring the garden back to life: Cardamine quinquefolia - always a joy to see as it is one of the first plants to flower. It goes to bed early, the leaves completely vanishing in summer as if it were never there! Syneilesis aconitifolia - a woodland plant from China, the leaves are like folded umbrellas with a thick coating of silky, fine white hairs. As they unfold they lose this hair but are still stunning. Fritillaria meleagris - the ‘snakeshead’ fritillary always attracts attention. Fritillary meaning ‘chequered’. Pulsatilla vulgaris var. rubra - the ruby form of the ‘Pasque Flower’. Its common name comes from the old French word for Easter. This Mandarin duck is one of 2 pairs visiting this year.

The garden has been very slow to get going this year, being in a cold, windy frost pocket! These photos are from the last few weeks but this week, with the warmer weather, more plants are beginning to re-appear. We are glad to see the return of a some pheasants, after an absence of a few years. There is a male but he is more camera-shy, the two females however are usually waiting in the hedge bottom in the morning. I was surprised to find one of them checking out the greenhouse facilities!
A few of the plants that have braved the weather so far are: Mandragora officinarum - the Mandrake is a plant with an interesting history. For centuries it has been steeped in myths. The root of the mandrake supposedly resembles a human shape and according to ancient legend, it would scream if it was pulled out of the ground. As it has taken 5+ years to flower, I am not about to pull it up to find out! Galanthus ‘Wendy’s Gold’ and Prunus mume ‘Beni-chidori’, the Japanese apricot, were a some of the earliest to brave the weather.

Really pleased to spot an Elephant Hawk Moth in the garden again .... Back to plants, looking good at the moment are Kniphofia ‘Green Jade’ - the greenest ‘Red Hot’ Poker which fades to limey-cream. Introduced by Beth Chatto, a seedling from seed given to her Cedric Morris: Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Herbstonne’ - a lovely giant for the back of the border giving a long display of large, lemon-yellow daisies: Hemerocallis ‘Daylight’ - my favourite Daylily, the bright lemon flowers really light up the garden.

Keeping their cool in the heat: Chamerion angustifolium ‘Album’ - The pure white form of Rosebay wIllowherb. Not everybody’s cup of tea but I love it! It is so elegant, if a little wild ... ; Jaborosa integrifolia - a member of the Solanaceae family, native to Argentina with large, scented white flowers at ground level. It spreads slowly over quite a wide area popping up here and there; the creamy flat flowerheads of Achillea millefolium ‘Creme de la creme’; Campanula takesimana ‘Beautiful Trust’ - an unusual campanula with narrow, reflexes white petals. It occurred at an Arboretum in South Korea, where it was named after the Curator’s daughter. Everything about this plant is cool and refined.