While in Sussex we frequently saw a very deep coloured lavender which
wasn't known to us. We asked the head gardener at Batemans which it is
and he said that, to the best of his recollection, it's L. Hidcote.
There's no question of it being any L.Hidcote we know, so we wondered
if the soil conditions there make a big difference to colour? Perhaps
someone who knows the area and has some experience of gardening there
will be able to tell me? David Hill?
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On 29/06/2014 10:07, Sacha wrote:
While in Sussex we frequently saw a very deep coloured lavender which
wasn't known to us. We asked the head gardener at Batemans which it is
and he said that, to the best of his recollection, it's L. Hidcote.
There's no question of it being any L.Hidcote we know, so we wondered if
the soil conditions there make a big difference to colour? Perhaps
someone who knows the area and has some experience of gardening there
will be able to tell me? David Hill?


A good question Sacha.
When We lived in the Hastings area we had a very heavy clay soil so not
the thing for lavender.
I was reading something the other day about a British native plant that
deepened in colour the further east you found it, can't remember what it
was for the life of me.
I wonder if it's to do with both temperature and rainfall, Lavender
being a Mediterranean plant, found on poor dry soil and high sunshine it
grows hard, but in our easier and much more moist weather it grows
softer and faster.
I wonder if the smell was also stronger.
Did you get a plant/cutting to see how it does back home for you?
Just my thoughts, no real answer.
David @ a damp but by no means wet side of Swansea Bay

On 2014-06-29 09:37:56 +0000, David Hill said:

On 29/06/2014 10:07, Sacha wrote:
While in Sussex we frequently saw a very deep coloured lavender which
wasn't known to us. We asked the head gardener at Batemans which it is
and he said that, to the best of his recollection, it's L. Hidcote.
There's no question of it being any L.Hidcote we know, so we wondered if
the soil conditions there make a big difference to colour? Perhaps
someone who knows the area and has some experience of gardening there
will be able to tell me? David Hill?


A good question Sacha.
When We lived in the Hastings area we had a very heavy clay soil so not
the thing for lavender.
I was reading something the other day about a British native plant that
deepened in colour the further east you found it, can't remember what
it was for the life of me.
I wonder if it's to do with both temperature and rainfall, Lavender
being a Mediterranean plant, found on poor dry soil and high sunshine
it grows hard, but in our easier and much more moist weather it grows
softer and faster.
I wonder if the smell was also stronger.
Did you get a plant/cutting to see how it does back home for you?
Just my thoughts, no real answer.
David @ a damp but by no means wet side of Swansea Bay

Thanks, David. And no, we didn't see any plants for sale,
unfortunately, though we did buy a few goodies at Gt. Dixter and at
Sissinghurst, Raymond found a Dianthus Sissinghurst which he'd lost way
back and I found a lovely thing at a good Nursery called Merriments in
Hawkhurst. This plant is a new thing to me and has silvery leaves with
little white flowers. It's called Gomphostigma virgatum and has lovely,
narrow silvery leaves and little white flowers. The lavender was
everywhere, so why I didn't ask for a piece, I don't know! It was
growing very happily in beds in front of one of the houses in Rye, at
Batemans, at Sissinghurst and at Gt Dixter, as well as innnumerable
other places we passed. So I begin to think it must be to do with the
soil and rainfall. Now of course, I'm kicking myself!
PS Pouring with rain here now after a fairly clear morning. Drat!
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On 29/06/2014 13:06, Sacha wrote:
On 2014-06-29 09:37:56 +0000, David Hill said:

On 29/06/2014 10:07, Sacha wrote:
While in Sussex we frequently saw a very deep coloured lavender which
wasn't known to us. We asked the head gardener at Batemans which it is
and he said that, to the best of his recollection, it's L. Hidcote.
There's no question of it being any L.Hidcote we know, so we wondered if
the soil conditions there make a big difference to colour? Perhaps
someone who knows the area and has some experience of gardening there
will be able to tell me? David Hill?

A good question Sacha.
When We lived in the Hastings area we had a very heavy clay soil so not
the thing for lavender.
I was reading something the other day about a British native plant that
deepened in colour the further east you found it, can't remember what
it was for the life of me.

I seem to remember Liz Pridham mentioning on GW the other week that the
native honeysuckle tends to get more of a pinkish tinge the further east
you go.

In my part of East Anglia it does seem to be variable with some wild
hedgerow honeysuckles I've seen being yellow and cream with just a
slight pink tinge and a few being noticeably pinker.

I wonder if it's to do with both temperature and rainfall, Lavender
being a Mediterranean plant, found on poor dry soil and high sunshine
it grows hard, but in our easier and much more moist weather it grows
softer and faster.
I wonder if the smell was also stronger.
Did you get a plant/cutting to see how it does back home for you?
Just my thoughts, no real answer.
David @ a damp but by no means wet side of Swansea Bay

Thanks, David. And no, we didn't see any plants for sale,
unfortunately, though we did buy a few goodies at Gt. Dixter and at
Sissinghurst, Raymond found a Dianthus Sissinghurst which he'd lost way
back and I found a lovely thing at a good Nursery called Merriments in
Hawkhurst. This plant is a new thing to me and has silvery leaves with
little white flowers. It's called Gomphostigma virgatum and has lovely,
narrow silvery leaves and little white flowers. The lavender was
everywhere, so why I didn't ask for a piece, I don't know! It was
growing very happily in beds in front of one of the houses in Rye, at
Batemans, at Sissinghurst and at Gt Dixter, as well as innnumerable
other places we passed. So I begin to think it must be to do with the
soil and rainfall. Now of course, I'm kicking myself!
PS Pouring with rain here now after a fairly clear morning. Drat!

In one bed where the 'soil' is nothing if not poor, sandy, shingly and
free draining I've got L. Hidcote and it's quite a deep purpley blue
shade - darker than Munstead.

Lavenders here do much better, keep a neater shape, have a stronger
scent and survive our Norfolk winters when grown pretty hard. It
wouldn't surprise me to learn that soil and climate affects the depth of
flower colour too. Interesting topic.

--
Sue

In article ,
Indigo wrote:
On 29/06/2014 13:06, Sacha wrote:
On 2014-06-29 09:37:56 +0000, David Hill said:

I was reading something the other day about a British native plant that
deepened in colour the further east you found it, can't remember what
it was for the life of me.

I seem to remember Liz Pridham mentioning on GW the other week that the
native honeysuckle tends to get more of a pinkish tinge the further east
you go.

In my part of East Anglia it does seem to be variable with some wild
hedgerow honeysuckles I've seen being yellow and cream with just a
slight pink tinge and a few being noticeably pinker.

I have seen both more-or-less pure yellow/cream and definitely
red/yellow honeysuckle in Wales - and not just the odd plant,
either. Yes, it's variable, but I doubt that it's mainly
geographic.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 2014-06-29 12:34:41 +0000, Indigo said:


On 29/06/2014 10:07, Sacha wrote:
While in Sussex we frequently saw a very deep coloured lavender which
wasn't known to us. We asked the head gardener at Batemans which it is
and he said that, to the best of his recollection, it's L. Hidcote.
There's no question of it being any L.Hidcote we know, so we wondered if
the soil conditions there make a big difference to colour? snip

In one bed where the 'soil' is nothing if not poor, sandy, shingly and
free draining I've got L. Hidcote and it's quite a deep purpley blue
shade - darker than Munstead.

Lavenders here do much better, keep a neater shape, have a stronger
scent and survive our Norfolk winters when grown pretty hard. It
wouldn't surprise me to learn that soil and climate affects the depth
of flower colour too. Interesting topic.

I think that pretty much clinches it, then. My hollyhock comment in
another thread also applies to those we saw in Norfolk a few years
back. They were practically weeds! As a matter of curiosity, do you
manage to grow lily of the valley? I've never succeeded with it and
those I know who do tell me that it loves poor soil and a friend of
ours has great masses of it in gravel.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

On 29/06/2014 14:44, sacha wrote:
On 2014-06-29 12:34:41 +0000, Indigo said:
Lavenders here do much better, keep a neater shape, have a stronger
scent and survive our Norfolk winters when grown pretty hard. It
wouldn't surprise me to learn that soil and climate affects the depth
of flower colour too. Interesting topic.

I think that pretty much clinches it, then. My hollyhock comment in
another thread also applies to those we saw in Norfolk a few years
back. They were practically weeds! As a matter of curiosity, do you
manage to grow lily of the valley? I've never succeeded with it and
those I know who do tell me that it loves poor soil and a friend of
ours has great masses of it in gravel.

Yes lots of Hollyhocks in cottage gardens round about here. They remind
me of my early childhood home where they used to come up year after year
against the wall of an old brick and clay-lump shed - I remember them
towering above me. Mine always seem to get rust whenever I've tried to
grow them though.

I do have some lily of the valley that was given to me by M-i-L. She had
a lovely healthy patch which flowered every year and was planted up
against the wall near her back door, in shade part of the day. I'd have
said their soil was quite a reasonable loam but there was solid chalk
further down, so it would be well drained. Her topsoil was better than
mine is.

My plant runs about in the shade of shrubs at one side of our garden,
popping up through Hellebores and Dicentra formosa. It did seem to take
quite a few seasons to get going and never looks quite so robust or
flowers so well as MiL's used to! I've put a couple of pieces in a pot
this year to see if it'll flower better (it hasn't so far) but
annoyingly something seems to have been eating chunks out of the leaves.
I suspect vine weevils but haven't yet caught any of the little
blighters in the act.

--
Sue

On 2014-06-29 15:15:48 +0000, Indigo said:

On 29/06/2014 14:44, sacha wrote:
On 2014-06-29 12:34:41 +0000, Indigo said:
Lavenders here do much better, keep a neater shape, have a stronger
scent and survive our Norfolk winters when grown pretty hard. It
wouldn't surprise me to learn that soil and climate affects the depth
of flower colour too. Interesting topic.

I think that pretty much clinches it, then. My hollyhock comment in
another thread also applies to those we saw in Norfolk a few years
back. They were practically weeds! As a matter of curiosity, do you
manage to grow lily of the valley? I've never succeeded with it and
those I know who do tell me that it loves poor soil and a friend of
ours has great masses of it in gravel.

Yes lots of Hollyhocks in cottage gardens round about here. They remind
me of my early childhood home where they used to come up year after
year against the wall of an old brick and clay-lump shed - I remember
them towering above me. Mine always seem to get rust whenever I've
tried to grow them though.

We were staying in Blakeney and every house/cottage/pub seemed to have
them bursting out everywhere. Here, I think it's just too wet and muggy
and we're too far from the sea for the cleansing sea breezes to blow
them into good health!

I do have some lily of the valley that was given to me by M-i-L. She
had a lovely healthy patch which flowered every year and was planted up
against the wall near her back door, in shade part of the day. I'd have
said their soil was quite a reasonable loam but there was solid chalk
further down, so it would be well drained. Her topsoil was better than
mine is.

My plant runs about in the shade of shrubs at one side of our garden,
popping up through Hellebores and Dicentra formosa. It did seem to take
quite a few seasons to get going and never looks quite so robust or
flowers so well as MiL's used to! I've put a couple of pieces in a pot
this year to see if it'll flower better (it hasn't so far) but
annoyingly something seems to have been eating chunks out of the
leaves. I suspect vine weevils but haven't yet caught any of the little
blighters in the act.

Turn out the pots time! But I'm envious of the description of lotv
'running about'! I got so paranoid about not succeeding with it that I
asked someone else to plant it for me. Still no success. My former mil
had it in tons in her garden in Jersey - I couldn't grow it at all -
she gave me some of the pink one long before anyone had it for sale. It
never reappeared for me. The friend who has it all over the gravel
lives about 10 minutes away from us. I'm almost resigned to the fact
that I'm never going to be able to grow one of my favourite flowers.

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

"sacha" wrote

Turn out the pots time! But I'm envious of the description of lotv 'running
about'! I got so paranoid about not succeeding with it that I asked someone
else to plant it for me. Still no success. My former mil had it in tons in
her garden in Jersey - I couldn't grow it at all - she gave me some of the
pink one long before anyone had it for sale. It never reappeared for me.
The friend who has it all over the gravel lives about 10 minutes away from
us. I'm almost resigned to the fact that I'm never going to be able to
grow one of my favourite flowers.



Don't worry, I can't grow Lily of the Valley either, tried two or three
times and it just disappears. My Gran had lots of it covering her garden but
it won't grow for me.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

On 2014-06-29 22:17:25 +0000, Bob Hobden said:

"sacha" wrote

Turn out the pots time! But I'm envious of the description of lotv
'running about'! I got so paranoid about not succeeding with it that I
asked someone else to plant it for me. Still no success. My former mil
had it in tons in her garden in Jersey - I couldn't grow it at all -
she gave me some of the pink one long before anyone had it for sale. It
never reappeared for me. The friend who has it all over the gravel
lives about 10 minutes away from us. I'm almost resigned to the fact
that I'm never going to be able to grow one of my favourite flowers.



Don't worry, I can't grow Lily of the Valley either, tried two or three
times and it just disappears. My Gran had lots of it covering her
garden but it won't grow for me.

Well, if YOU can't...! Thanks, Bob, that does make me feel a bit better!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon