Cacti & Succulent House Opening , World Garden, Lullingstone
by Vikki Rimmer

'Hot & Spikey!!!!  That’s the name we finally settled on for the 1,000 strong collection of cacti, succulents and bromelliads housed in the new structure within the walls of the World Garden, Lullingstone‘ Says Tom Hart Dyke, modern day planthunter and Cactus fan. ‘We had all sorts of suggestions from readers on what to call the place – The Prickly Palace came a close second, and although it worked well for the Cacti in the house, it didn’t cover the hundreds of succulents including Aloes that we now have under cover in ‘Hot & Spikey’.  For a time, we nearly called the new structure ‘Bristles’ in honour of my sister – I’ve called Anya ‘Bristles’ for as long as I can remember, but similarly to the ‘Prickly Palace’ the name didn’t represent the succulents.’ Tom says: ‘Succulents are fantastic plants – I’ve been fascinated by them for years, but the building of ‘Hot & Spikey’ has renewed my love affair with these unusual and diverse plants.

In building ‘Hot & Spikey’ Tom was also able to renew his acquaintance with good friend Will Jordan – artist extraordinaire from Plaxtol. Will created the Baobab tree for Lullingstone during the winter of 06/07 – a stunning structure which has been one of the most photographed areas of the World Garden, and indeed Lullingstone itself, since it’s unveiling last Easter. Not afraid of a challenge, this amazing artist has stepped into the fray at Lullingstone yet again and created another piece of artwork to wow the visitors by designing and painting the mural on the wall of ‘Hot & Spikey’. And again, it was no mean feat. At 58ft Long, and 16ft high the wall was a beast to cover.

The actual build of the five decoratively rocky lined beds representing canaries, South West USA, South America, South Africa and Mexico, was achieved with the help of a cement mixer.  Tom says: ‘We needed it  to mix up the magic concoction of : ballast, compost, acidic sand and drainage. The resultant rich mixture looks awesome and will be hugely nourishing for the hot and spikey plants. It was important for the mix to be slightly acidic as the hot and spikey’s prefer this.’



Will has been on site since early January, rendering and painting the wall.  He was also responsible for the beautiful new slate sign welcoming visitors to the World Garden.  Will says of working with Tom: ‘It’s brilliant – we work so well together, Tom lets me put forward my creative ideas and I feel free to use my imagination – which is essential in the relationship between artist and patron.’



The wall was painted with masonry paints.  Will says: ‘they’re not the kind of colours you’d choose to paint your house in, they’re red, orange, green, purple, black  and two types of blue.  However, they work really well in ‘Hot & Spikey’ and I mixed them as I went. ‘



As with many a project at Lullingstone, there were set backs.  Will commented: ‘there was a little bit of low altitude swearing when the roof leaked and the paint ran!  But we got to it and sorted it all out.’  Tom and Will had to work through the night on more than one occasion to get ‘Hot & Spikey’ ready for the public.  Tom says: ‘I’m so excited about this season – I’m hoping it’s going to be a ‘hot’ one, in more ways than one!’



Press enquires to: Vikki@presscontact.co.uk
07886673412  or 01322 866293

Tom is available for interview

Lullingstone Castle & The World Garden open on Saturday 22nd March
details www.lullingstonecastle.co.uk Tel: 01322 862114

Garden opens: Easter to 28 Sep Fri and Sat 12-5pm, Sunday and Bank Holiday
Monday 2-6pm

Adults £6 concess: £5.50 children £3, under 5’s free

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