Old Varieties

Celebrating and remembering old fruit and vegetable varieties

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Orchid Show at Tatton Park

Orchid Show at Tatton Park – Sunday 5th June – 10am – 4pm. – Tatton’s orchid house open 1pm – 4pm.

The North of England Orchid Society are hosts to Orchid nurseries and other orchid societies who will gather together to  bring to the Tenants’ Hall at Tatton Park one of the largest displays of orchids you will find.

The Tenants' Hall at Tatton Park will host one of the largest displays of orchids you will find
The Tenants' Hall at Tatton Park will host one of the largest displays of orchids you will find

Not only will visitors admire the beauty of hundreds of orchids in full bloom, but they will also be able to buy from a selection of orchids for sale to suit all tastes and pockets, from a simple and inexpensive houseplant to those hard to find plants for the dedicated orchid grower, and lots of advice for beginners as well.

Did you know that orchids are the largest family of flowering plant life?

There are over 30,000 different species, just a fraction of these will be enough to fill the Tenant’s Hall at Tatton Park with many massive displays of blooms for the enjoyment of those who visit us on the 5th June. Orchid show free to enter.

Park entry charges apply. Call 01942 810958 for more info.

Preserving America’s Rose Heritage

Roses are often thought of as being quintessentially English but our friends in the USA also have cultivars dating back to the 1800’s which they are doing their utmost to trace and record.

Picture of old english roseThought to be native of Asia, the rose could have been in cultivation over 5000 years ago and fossil records show that they may be some 35 million years old.

Now there are over 30,000 species of Rose all over the world and an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer shows how “Rose Rustlers” are scouring their countryside for signs of heritage roses in need of preservation and propagation.

Many heritage rose varieties bloom for only a few weeks of the year and often have the most powerful perfumes but these have given way to the modern varieties which have larger blooms and longer flowering periods and although some still have tremendous fragrance, they usually struggle to meet that of their ancestral varieties.

Along with human colonisation of the Unites States came many varieties of plant, including the rose and the Heritage Rose Foundation aims to find as many of these as possible.

The Heritage Rose Foundation is a US nonprofit organization established in 1986, devoted to the preservation of old roses and their website has a wealth of Information, many images and even a database of public rose gardens around the world.

Goals of the Heritage Rose Foundation

  • The collection of roses originating in the nineteenth century or earlier and roses with particular historic, educational, or genetic value (heritage roses).
  • Establishment of one or more gardens wherein heritage roses may be grown and displayed.
  • Advancement of research and investigations into heritage rose history, identification, genetics and breeding, propagation, diseases and pests, and suitability for landscape use.
  • Publishing and dissemination of information about heritage roses, including any and all research that emanates from the foundation.
  • Establishment and maintenance of a library of books, periodicals, research papers, manuscripts, catalogues, and other items to facilitate further research and investigation into heritage roses.
  • Encouraging public knowledge and perception of heritage roses through seminars, meetings, forums, panels, lectures, tours and exhibits.

More information

The World Federation of Rose Societies
The Heritage Rose Foundation
Heritage Roses in Australia
The Thomas Jefferson Centre for Historic Plants
The Royal National Rose Society
Canadian Rose Society

Heritage Flowers Gift Box Set

Whilst on our search for old varieties of flower seed we came across this great gift offer by English Heritage.

Give a gift of Heritage flowers

The Thomas Etty Esq Heritage Flowers box set contains a packet of each of the following:
Snap Dragon, Sweet William, Forget-Me-Not, Pot Marigold, Tall Climbing Nasturtium and Field Poppy.

Presented as a box set of six seed packets, this is an ideal gift for Mother’s day, Easter and birthdays.

The heritage flower seed box set is available online form the English Heritage shop.

Snakes Head Fritillaria

Fritillaria meleagris or Snake’s Head Fritillary as it is more commonly known, is a native of Europe, found growing in damp grassland and near rivers.

Purple & white bells of the Snake's Head Fritillary
Purple & white bells of the Snake's Head Fritillary

Apart from it’s original English name of Snake’s Head fritillary, It has many local name variations such as Simple Fritillary, Checkered Daffodil, Frog-cup, Chess Flower, Guinea-hen Flower and Leper Lily,

The flowers are nodding, dainty, six petaled bells, hang from slender stems about 15 to 30cm in height.  They range from white to various shades of purple and bear a unique, chequered patterning which is quite obvious on the purple flowers but more of a feint “water mark” on the white flowers.

Fritillaria meleagris flowers from March to May from a small bulb, about 2 cm in diameter, commonly found growing in grasslands in damp soils and river meadows.

It is the only species of Fritillary native to Britain, but is now quite rare in the wild due to modern farming and land cultivation techniques.

Places to find Fritillaria meleagris in the wild:
The Meadow of Magdalen College, Oxford,
The village of Ducklington, Oxfordshire (which holds a Fritillary Sunday festival)
North Meadow National Nature Reserve, Wiltshire
Meadows in Kungsängen, just outside Uppsala, Sweden (also giving the flower its Swedish name, kungsängslilja).

Bulbs are available commercially and are extremely hardy.  Best placed in light shade and under deciduous trees and shrubs in free-draining soil, or naturalised in grass. Bulbs of the Fritilaria meleagris are poisonous.

Where to obtain the bulbs;
Thompson & Morgan – Plant, bulb and seed specialists
Fentongollan – Cornish bulb, plant and vegetable supplier
De Jager – Flower bulb specialists since 1868
The Wild Flower Shop – Specialists in British native flowers
Crocus – Plant and garden supplier

Are Your Bluebells Native?

A few woodland areas in the UK will soon be carpeted in blue from the end of April to Mid May.

Bluebell wood at Muncaster Castle
Bluebell wood at Muncaster Castle

Our native British Bluebell is considered an endangered species and as such cannot be picked or uprooted from the wild.  Even the seed cannot be gathered without the consent of Natural England.




The Natural History Museum state:

“In recent years there has been growing concern that our native species is under threat by breeding with the cultivated bluebell. Hybridisation can alter a plant species’ genetic makeup and may result in a reduced ability to survive.

Until recently, this popular theory has been supported by little evidence, and the true status of bluebells in the UK and Ireland may be more complex.  Further study is needed to find out if the native bluebell is really under threat.”

You can help take part in this study by logging onto to Natural History Museum Website and recording your bluebell findings.

An article in the April issue of Country Living magazine focuses on a couple who have become two of the first people in England to be granted permission to gather bluebell seeds from their farm woodland in Kent.  Barry and Karin of Farnell Farm carefully collect, preserve and sell their bluebell seed so that others can enjoy the beauty of this beautiful flower.

Thanks to their hard work and that of others, it is now easier to raise your own native bluebells from seed.

Places to see Bluebell woods:

You may also be interested in:

BBC article and video
Offwell Woodland & Wildlife Trust. Feature and picture gallery.
Central Scotland Forest Trust. Atricle about bluebells under threat

To grow your own native British Bluebells, bulbs and seed can be obtained from the following suppliers;

Farnell Farm – Native Bluebell seeds for your garden or woodland. Ideal for cultivating large areas.
The Wild Flower Shop – Specialists in naive British plants.
Nicky’s Nursery – Native British Bluebell wild flower seeds.