{"id":234,"date":"2010-12-06T04:59:19","date_gmt":"2010-12-06T12:59:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/garden\/?p=234"},"modified":"2015-11-24T07:32:57","modified_gmt":"2015-11-24T15:32:57","slug":"plant-collectors-and-collections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/plant-collectors-and-collections\/","title":{"rendered":"Plant Collectors and Collections"},"content":{"rendered":"

PLANT COLLECTORS AND COLLECTIONS<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “When in doubt plant a geranium.”\u009d \u00a0
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Margery Fish, who was a star in the British horticultural firmament in the middle third of the twentieth century, said it and lived it.\u00a0 She was fascinated by hardy geraniums and planted them all over her garden–in beds, wall crevices and anywhere else where there was a bit of space to spare.\u00a0 Mrs. Fish sought out different species and varieties, acquiring so many that eventually she became the proud owner of a comprehensive hardy geranium collection.\u00a0 She did much to popularize these useful plants by showcasing them in articles and talks.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Margery Fish, who died in 1969, came along too early for Britain’s National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens (NCCPG), now known more simply as “Plant Heritage.”\u009d\u00a0 This group, which aims to preserve the nation’s horticultural heritage, was formed in 1978 in response to concerns about changes in patterns of development and distribution of garden plants. \u00a0These changes have only accelerated in the thirty-two years since then.\u00a0 While new hybrids and varieties are marketed every year, a number of eminently worthwhile older plants have gradually disappeared from commerce. Not all of those plants are heirlooms with interesting pedigrees and memorable stories.\u00a0 Some are just good, garden-worthy varieties that are less flashy or fashionable than this year’s models.\u00a0 With its system of national collections and collectors, Plant Heritage aims to encourage biodiversity by promoting education and preservation. \u00a0The collection holders are a diverse and fascinating group.\u00a0 Some are average people with an extraordinary interest in one kind of plant.\u00a0 Others are nursery owners who have developed particular specialties over the years.\u00a0 \u00a0
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We don’t have anything like it in the United States, though we have many plant societies, some of whose members may have collections to rival those of their British counterparts.\u00a0 If all those people united themselves under one institutional umbrella, we might have our own “Plant Heritage”\u009d group.\u00a0 It’s an idea with great merit.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I have some awe-inspiring pictures of flower-bedecked fields sent to me by Alan Shipp, holder of the British National Collection of hyacinths.\u00a0 Mr.Shipp, a Cambridgeshire potato farmer, was bitten by the hyacinth bug in the 1980’s, and by 1985 he was collecting, propagating and breeding them.\u00a0 As of 2008, he had amassed nearly 200 varieties.\u00a0 Like all collectors, he has a “holy grail”\u009d–a plant that eludes him and may be extinct.\u00a0 His grail is a hyacinth called ‘King of Great Britain,’ introduced in 1715 and last heard from at the end of the nineteenth century.\u00a0 ‘King’ was a bi-colored, double-flowered specimen with fluffy white petals.\u00a0 Each individual floret had a red “eye”\u009d in the center. Mr. Shipp’s best hope may lie with a Lithuanian horticulturist, Dr. Rita Raziulyte, who has collected and cataloged hyacinths in Lithuania and elsewhere in the former Soviet Union.\u00a0 Back before the fall of Communism, many old varieties thrived in eastern European gardens, because gardeners had very little access to newer ones.\u00a0 Now that Dr. Raziulyte and Mr. Shipp are corresponding, there is a chance that the King may reign again someday.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mark Fox holds the National Collection of Crocosmias, a bright-flowered summer blooming plant in the iris family.\u00a0 A resident of the historic town of Caister in Lincolnshire, Mr. Fox had only one crocosmia variety, ‘Lucifer,’ until seven years ago, when he saw other crocosmias in nearby garden centers and felt the sudden urge to start collecting them.\u00a0 He now holds the National Collection of over 270 varieties, sells plants and seeds and opens his garden to the public during the growing season.\u00a0 Evidently crocosmias are highly addictive.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Britain’s national acanthus collection is held by John Millington, a Shropshire nursery owner who has seven cats and a large number of acanthus.\u00a0 Mr. Millington, having obtained a comprehensive selection of European acanthus species and cultivars, writes on his website about his trip to Africa to see and obtain species indigenous to that continent.\u00a0 As the world grows smaller, Mr. Millington’s collection of acanthus will only grow larger and that will probably benefit acanthus lovers everywhere.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Plant lovers and gardeners worried about diversity might do worse than to take a page from the Brits.\u00a0 In a few weeks, the Winter Solstice will happen, the light will begin its gradual return and catalogs will flood gardeners’ mailboxes.\u00a0 If you feel yourself drawn to a particular genus or species, go with it.\u00a0 A specialized plant collection can lead you to a world of discovery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PLANT COLLECTORS AND COLLECTIONS \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “When in doubt plant a geranium.”\u009d \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Margery Fish, who was a star in the British horticultural firmament in the middle third of the twentieth century, said it and lived it.\u00a0 She was fascinated by hardy geraniums and planted them all over her garden–in beds, wall crevices and anywhere … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-interest","category-winter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1556,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234\/revisions\/1556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}