My spring garden highlights
There are a couple of highlights in my garden at the moment. One is Tulip Prinses Irene. You have to try it next year if you haven't already. Despite its beauty, the bulbs are widely available. The colours of the flowers are the thing: a kind of dusky orange tipped with golden yellow, each petal subtly feathered with deeper shades of muted crimson. Was there ever a tulip as beautiful or as regal as Prinses Irene?
Actually there is a tulip as beautiful, possibly twice as beautiful, because you get twice as much bling for your buck: Orange Princess, a sport of Prinses Irene, with fuller, fatter flowers. I'd settle for either.
The other plant is an extraordinary but easy-to-grow annual that self-seeds like crazy from year to year. Trust me, you can never have enough of it. The flowers are as complex as its name: Cerinthe major Purpurascens.
Mediterranean native that has become deeply fashionable in gardening circles over the last several years, Cerinthe has hooded, complex flowers in shades of dusky purple and deep ink, held on upright stems. With glaucous green foliage that forms sturdy clumps, Cerinthe looks both spectacular and sinister, and is a great addition to gardens that have open days - it's a real talking point.
I wouldn't be without it, and neither should you. You can sow seed direct now: make sure the soil is free-draining and in a sunny spot.
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