 |
For a year or so now my eye has been taken by Acanthus. When they are good they stand out and add
a surprisingly lush quality to a planting. I think I was most impressed by a planting on top of a wall in Penzance.
I'm not going to try growing it on top of a wall but I am going to remember it. 'Rue Ledan' was introduced by Jean-Pierre Jolivot in France but it is said that it was originally discovered in a private garden in England. It has a pure white flower that emerges from a green bract. Perhaps it is an oxymoron to say that the colours are everlastingly fashionable. Most significantly it produces plenty of flowers on strong spikes so it is both fashionable and practical. This picture is a rather poor representation of a good plant on the day it arrived here. Hopefully in future years it will be magnificent (or at least not sitting in a pot perched on a dustbin). I bought it from Cotswold Garden Flowers and their label says: "Green hooded white flowers Jun-Sep, broad glossy green foliage, compact 60cm. Sterile - no unwanted seedlings. No Mildew so far!" Plant Delights Nursery say: "Thanks to Herman van Beusekom of the Netherlands for sharing this great bear's breech which he named Acanthus 'Rue Ledan'. This is one of the few Acanthus mollis selections that has grown well in our hot, humid summers. The cutleaf, shiny, dark green foliage composes a large specimen clump to 3' in width. In June, the tropical-looking deer-resistant clump is topped with 3' tall spikes of pure white flowers (compared with the normal purple hood over each flower)!" |
|
| 11th June 2012 | ||
