Pretty in Pink, 'the Silver Princess,' flowers for the first time in the UK in a Castle garden in North West Kent
Words and pictures by Vikki Rimmer

It’s another first for Tom as his Silver Princess Eucalyptus Caesia flowers for the first time in the UK (ever!) in Tom Hart Dyke’s World Garden of Plants in the grounds of Lullingstone Castle, Eynsford. Tom proudly unveiled his flowering Eucalpytus Caesia ‘silver princess’ to visitors at his unique ‘World Garden of Plants’ during the month of May. And even though the flower only stayed in bloom for 6 days, it was a record breaking occurance!

Tom bubbles with excitement as he explains; ‘I first noticed the buds on the Silver Princess last August, but she’s taken eight months to flower. When she came into bloom I grabbed the phone and called Dr John Purse at Primabio in Faversham to tell him, and he told me straight away to ring the President of the Australian Plants Society, Jeff Irons, to confirm that it was a first. When I told Jeff, he nearly dropped the phone – he was well chuffed. He told me to take all the exact measurements and to record the flowering ‘.

Both Jeff Irons and Dr John Purse are amazed at Tom’s horticultural first. Dr John Purse from Primabio in Faversham said; ‘what Tom has achieved here at The World Garden of Plants is amazing – to get the Silver Princess to flower is wonderful – I’m very jealous!’

As a Eucalyptus breeder Dr Purse has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the plant species; ‘ Kew couldn’t manage to get the plant to flower, but Tom has – it’s a real achievement’.

Tom collected the seed for the Silver Princess from a garden in Melbourne, Australia four years ago.

When the eucalyptus first flowered Tom didn’t know the full extent of the significance of the event; ‘the more I looked into it though, the more I discovered just how HUGE the flowering really is. It feels fantastic to be on the brink of something great, right on the edge – the Silver Princess is definitely the most significant plant I have grown’.

The pretty pink flowers of the Silver Princess have an almost ‘flurry’ quality – with delicate, fine petals. Tom is clearly in love with his new Castle Princess, he says; ‘ she’s a tender beauty whose receiving some special treatment in the greenhouse at Lullingstone Castle.’ Tom puts part of his horticultural triumph down to his spade work; ‘I was a bit brutal when I transplanted her and slashed at the tap root, I believe this is the reason why she has flowered this year’.

Tom intends to make this pioneering horticultural moment the first of many at his World Garden ; ‘the whole idea of the World Garden is to prove that it is possible to grow exotic species here in a garden in North West Kent’.

© Copyright Tom Hart Dyke and Vikki Rimmer

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