The most appealing quality is their enormous variation. However, not everything sold as one behaves like one, so we always trial new cultivars outdoors to check their hardiness. All other auriculas come into the category of florist's flowers' and meet certain specific written criteria, but there are no rules and restrictions with border auriculas. What is the difference between border auriculas and their rarefied relatives, the show auriculas?īorder auriculas used to be called garden auriculas or Dusty Millers and should always be hardy, floriferous and have a sweet scent. The first catalogue was issued in 1999 and was printed to order at home. The collection increased and, within a few years,Ī bigger tunnel was installed and surplus plants were being sold at plant fairs, from the garden gate and via mail order. Those original auriculas were grown in the shade at the side of the garage with minimal weather protection. It was not long before the first 6ft x 10ft polytunnel was 'needed'. When did you become interested in auriculas?Īnnabel's mother grew them for pleasure and she passed on some spare plants to her, with the comment, "Just a hobby you might enjoy now the boys are away at school". Until 2001, I worked elsewhere, so my efforts were confined to structural work, hedges and lawns. Many winter evenings were spent drawing plans and researching plants. Since we married 36 years ago, Annabel has been the gardener wherever we have lived. Their favourite species? Border auriculas. This is what we learnt about growing the perfect, colourful border.īut first, a bit about Robin and Annabel. The Border varieties are some of the oldest type of auricula to be grown, hardy perennials, their colour range, perfume, floriferous growth and compact habit make them a plant for today, yet they retain that nostalgic old fashioned look of a bygone era.Continuing our search for horticultural devotees whose gardens are shaped by their love of one species of plant, we went to Drointon Nurseries in North Yorkshire to meet Robin and Annabel Graham. We are members of the National Auricula and Primula Society (Midlands & West Section) Our quest for Old and New Border Auriculas continued, combined with a love of gardening which extends to organic vegetable growing and a flower garden full of poppies, delphiniums, roses, hardy geraniums, hellebores and many other herbaceous plants, making the garden at Regina’s Cottage an all seasons garden. A programme of crossing some of the Eden Collection and Patti’s Borders gave us some interesting new varieties, the most recent, we have given the greenhouse name ‘Dolly Mixture’ one of these I have given a greenhouse name of “Patti’s Plum” (see pictures) Many of the old border auriculas typically have a history dating back many years, most perhaps not good enough for the Florists’ benches but too pretty to discard so planted out in the garden.īob Bach, famous for his Eden Border Auriculas kindly donated many of his plants to us, which we have shown on Open Days as the “Eden Collection”. New varieties were welcomed to the collection, several donated by Cheril Hebdon, John Green and Martin Davies. One introduction is an old Border Auricula named “Upperfields” by Joe Braddock who lives near Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucester, Joe has known the plant for over fifty years and kindly brought some to us. Some of our plants have a history dating back over a hundred years. Geoff first saw an Auricula in a garden of a neighbour in the village of Rosemarket in Pembrokeshire, this plant was known as a “rackler” a piece of which was given to Geoff which he later named “Rosemarket Rackler” the first of many old plants which were collected countrywide. This meant that something had to give, so young Nigel Hopes and lovely wife Samantha took on the greater part of the collection and will, I’m sure, cherish each one. The Collection was started over forty years ago by Geoff Nicolle in Pembroke and we have continued since 2005, until this year, 2016, when in July Robin suffered a serious setback in his recovery after illness. A mini theatre made from an old fireplace surround About the Collection
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