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A strong growing cultivar with dense blue spikes of flowers raised by Alan Bloom in 1957. I still have it quite by accident.
I used it in a border I planted in 1983 which was then rather exposed to the wind, so I planted a lot of saplings
around it. Now I have a fine wooded walk, and nothing but the Aconitum remains of the initial planting. After
many years of accidentally mowing it when I passed that way, I finally lifted it and planted it in the new herbaceous border
where it immediately cheered up and has been as good as I ever remember. Another year stronger and another impressive year. It has left me looking at them in other gardens and wrestling with my concerns about their toxicity. The Bressingham Gardens catalogue for 1981 said: "The tapering 90cm. spikes of deep violet blue stand like cypress trees, well clothed with glossy dark green leaves." Writing about the plant introductions of Alan Bloom in 'The Plantsman', Jaime Blake says: "Of the three Bressingham monkshoods, Aconitum 'Bressingham Spire' (1957) stands out and is still unrivalled: it has magnificent deep blue inflorescences with dende, deeply cut foliage borne on stiff stems." Writing in the JRHS in 2005, Tony Lord says: "The late Alan Bloom bred two hybrids from crossing Aconitum 'Newry Blue' with A. x cammarum 'Bicolor': A. 'Blue Sceptre' with 75cm (30in) spires of white flowers edged with blue in mid-late summer, and A. 'Bressingham Spire' with 1m (39in) tapering racemes of deep violet blue about a month later: both are less branched than most hybrids of A. x cammarum". Graham Thomas says: " some sturdy short plants by Alan Bloom are aboot 900mm (3ft); 'Blue Scptre', violet-blue and white, and 'Bressingham Spire', violet-blue. These two have spikes as straight as Salisbury steeple, with small subsidiary steeples to carry on the display." Ballyrobert Gardens say: "Aconitum 'Bressingham Spire' was bred by Alan Bloom in 1957. It has dense spikes of deep blue flowers. A compact cultivar that won't grow much more than 3 feet tall it can thus look quite good in a pot. We like it at Ballyrobert because it doesn't need much space." Riverlane Nurseries say: "Aconitum ‘Bressingham Spire’ is an amazing old fashioned herbaceous perennial. Producing striking tall spires of hooded, deep blue-purple flowers on strong stems that rarely require staking. The foliage is deeply divided and glossy dark green. Aconites are perfect plants for containers, beds/borders and even as a cut flower! When mature, this variety can reach a maximum mature height of 1.2m and spread of 60 cm. ‘Bressingham Spire’ has be awarded The RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM)." |
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