I recounted 'my' travelling tales in North America, and how I introduced amazing plants such as the Californian Poppy, the Michaelmas Daisy and what was the tallest tree on our planet – the Douglas Fir. I was struck by the sheer importance of the plant hunters – who introduced 80% on average of what we see in our gardens today – staggering!!!  I was also struck in the baking heat - how sweaty my outfit was making me!! I was dripping – a reservoir of sweat was collecting in my top hat!! Casting the sweatiness aside – I looked quite dapper in my costume and felt worryingly clean, not in my usual smelly gardening shorts, T-shirt and trainers. Dad didn’t even recognize me!

But before I handed my horticultural reins over to Pauline who was magnificently dressed up as a bearded (double sided sticky tape used!) Englishman John Tradescant, noted for introducing the Yucca from North America, I had to recall the sad story of my death at the young age of 35 – when plant hunting in Hawaii I accidently fell into a bull pit and was gored to death by this horned beast. Then as David Douglas passed away my alter ego Tom Hart Dyke burst to life, my personality erupting from David Douglas’s silk jacket, walking stick and top hat – and I pondered my lucky escape Ten Years Ago at the hands of Colombian Guerrillas. Plant Hunting, readers, still continues to this day albeit using Easy Jet instead of a ship!


  

Visitors really enjoyed the experience – they thought it madly eccentric, which it naturally was but the visitor also felt that they’d learnt something about these ‘risk life and limb’ ladies and gents. And the fact that you could show punters the actual plants that they introduced in their miniature native lands whilst dressed to the hilt in wacky, almost accurate fancy dress was totally eccentric behaviour but also very educational. Jo dressed up as Jean Kingdon-Ward – who together with her husband Frank, famous for introducing the Himalayan Blue Poppy, were in the 1940s the last of the great plant hunters; Chrissie delivered a superb Scottish accent as George Forrest famous for introducing Primula vialii and loads more goodies from China; Tamar was a stately yet sumptuous Joseph Banks who travelled to Australasia and was instrumental in establishing Kew Gardens and the RHS; Jo dressed and sketched in fabulously realistic fashion as Miss Marianne North  - the world’s most famous botanical artist and Iris posing as Lady Anne Monson aristocratically spoke of her travels to South Africa – and her acquaintance with Linnaeus  - the founder of plant taxonomy.

I must also mention my Dear Granny who stole the show by dressing up as Joseph Banks’s Great Granny (see above left) and Hugh Nisbet for something a bit different – in his Minotaur outfit showing visitors around his specially constructed Labyrinth (see above right)! All good fun.

Bloggers, what a blinding weekend – Hip Hip Horray to plant hunters.

Nigella is sooooo easy to grow – seed just simply scattered on the open disturbed ground in late winter! Then how about the Borage family with two caressing candidates in the form of Anchusa azurea ‘Dropmore’ from Spain with its bristly 3 foot plus tall stems spurting out rich deep blue flowers that the bees and hoverflies alike simply adore. It’s a superb herbaceous perennial for the front half of the plant filled border that to my horticultural horror is barely used by budding gardeners. I grew this plant from Chiltern Seeds – it’s not difficult to get hold of. Another starker exotic blue endowed candidate also from the borage family is the famous biennial Echium pininana – in its native habitat in the wilds of La Palma in the Canary Islands it’s an extremely rare gigantic stunner that throws up a towering 15ft plus flower spike. In cultivation especially in the milder parts of London & the South West the flower spike can top 20ft – Bees love it. In fact it’s a 25 storey honey hotel.

But if you’re looking for less ravaging large blue flowered plants – how about the dinky Sisyrinchium angustifolium from SE United States with its grass like foliage & sweet subtly glowingly pale blue flowers. It’s a delicious plant for the hot rockery. But for a blue blaster look no further than Baptisia australis also from North America – with its delicate retina blasting bashing blue arousing flowers. Baptisia australis also known as “False Indigo” looks simply spectacular as a mass planting.

For a South African Blue and in full flower now Bloggers – look no further than Agapanthus – there are heaps of varieties in varying shades of purplish-blue to choose from. My favourite (pictured) is Agapanthus praecox. This Agapanthus looks fabulous peeping its glistening blue heads through the East African Love Grass – Eragrostis Curvula.

But how can I leave my beloved continent of Australia out – well to florally knock you down like a dis-used chimney stack ready for explosive demolition – I give you readers Orthrosanthus laxus from Southern Australia, known commonly as “The Morning Flag Iris” – a larger version of the Sisyrinchium angustifolium – with a clumping habit & a stonking pastime for promiscuous self seeding! A real winner!

But plant nutty bloggers I’ve left the best till last in the form of a frost tender subject called the “Blue Flowered Milkweed” from Brazil with the curiously endearing botanical name of Tweedia caerulea (caerulea meaning blue in Latin). The blue metallic colour that the flowers exhibit could only be painted by the guy upstairs! I purchased this rare plant from Burncoose Nurseries in Cornwall.
The above are only a few ideas for blue plantings there are many many more blue plants for your garden, patio & greenhouse. Blueness ahoy Bloggers!!!

Ps. Bloggers don’t forget this Saturday & Sunday we have at Lullingstone our first ever plant hunters extravaganza. I’m going to be giving guided tours of the World Garden dressed up as David Douglas – showing you the amazing array of plants that he bought back to Britain. And the entire World Garden team will be adorned as various plant hunters. They’ll be free food from the garden to sample, a hog roast and labyrinth. To miss it would be horticultural sacrilege!