Polyanthus, Primroses, Pansies, Hyacinths, Muscari & Narcissus were spilling out with floriferous vigour from the staged benches. Coupled with scented shrubs such as Daphne, Hamamelis & Lonicera – wafting around unsuspecting human nasals was short of spell binding. The selection on offer was bedazzling.

Calluna & Erica - The Heathers – also adorned the benches with their pink-whitish mini, slightly curled sprays of bell-shaped flowers – how they’ve had a resurgence in popularity especially with the Calluna vulgaris type being so tolerant of alkaline soils. Oh and real sweeties for pot culture too! What was nice to see was that they weren’t spray painted ghastly blues, yellows and pink – I wish certain branches of the horticultural industry would stop this weirdness!!

Colour in the World Garden is also starting to appear – partly because we are extremely privileged at Lullingstone to be trailing a new range of Primrose – called ‘Paradise Mixed’ – thanks to a legendary plant friend Simon Crawford. This eclectic mix is delightful and is certainly being put the test with this recent mixed bag of meteorological lashings. If the plants exude good flower power knock out qualities and impress the trial judges then who knows – Haskins Garden Centre amongst others might add Primrose ‘Paradise Mixed’ to their bursting forth benches!?!

Bloggers don’t ask me what i was doing in Sussex! Okay if you insist I will reveal my clandestine mission last Saturday afternoon. I went to Wakehurst Place – home of course to the world class Millennium Seed Bank. The team at Wakehurst have generously donated some of their own expedition collected woody plants to the World Garden - ranging from Chile to Tasmania. Readers I couldn’t contain my zealous paradoxical glee – I’m typing beyond my excitable control now – this article has now dashed passed 400 words!! These Wakehurst plants are hardcore. I nearly made Sally Traffic off Radio 2 and the delays would have straddled a week. The central reservation or verge (occasionally shrubbed up) on smaller roads from Wakehurst to Lullingstone nearly had numerous encounters of the fifth kind – a Vauxhall Astra bumper. I was delirious, blurry eyed, lost vision regularly, blood rushed to my head – these are exceedingly rare plants, readers!

And breath Mr Green Man, come on focus hocus pocus – and spare this week’s bloggers any more crazy words!

Florally fuzzy hugs,
Tom XxX.

I’ve just left the wettest of the 7 Canary Islands – La Palma – where I’ve spent the last 7 days. This is my last break before the season at Lullingstone gets underway and I’ve richly cherished every plant-filled split second! Gosh readers I love this Macaronesian Volcanic Archipelago – 6 Canary Islands down – only El Hierro left to go! I’m uncontrollably turned on by Las Islas Canarias – the amount of plant species indigenously found on these 7 islands and nowhere on our green globe is simply staggering.

My mission is La Palma as ever in Las Islas Canarias was to observe flora in the wild and if possible collect seeds or bring back small plantlets exclusively, if legally appropriate, for the World Garden. All parts in La Palma where asphalt was present were botanically checked out – in my good old 23 Euros a day Toyota Yaris Hertz Hire Car. Thankfully driving down death-defying steep coastal roads, I luckily didn’t encounter any steering wheel and more crucially brake defects! Even the horn worked – which was desperately needed trying to ‘shoo away’ a randomly stranded camel in the middle of the main highway!! I know that the Sahara isn’t a million miles away but this was ridiculous!

La Palma is so varied – and no more than an hour’s car drive at its widest point.  From the cloudy, wet N.E. of the island, trekking through the finest Laurel Forests on these wondrous volcanic islands – where I managed to observe the highly endangered, almost extinct giant Echium pininana – “Giant Vipers Bugloss” - that’s so common in cultivation in the milder districts of the UK, dare I say weed (yet only grows on a handful of sites in N.E. La Palma), to the skin-burning dry N.W. with its coastal Euphorbia communities. And in between in the North Central part of the island – you ascend to La Palma’s chilly billy highest precipice endowed peaks at 2,483 metres above sea level – in the La Caldera de Taburiente – with superlative stunning rugged mountain scenery. And finally one can descend to the seemingly barren Southern end – with whole hillsides of recently fire scorched Pinus canariensis –  “Canary Island Pine” - that’s amazingly springing back to life with its lush sea blue dashing new growth spurting from the charcoaled trunks and branches. And on the Southern Tip of La Palma – where recent volcanic rumblings has brought a Lanzarote feel to La Palma – plants such as the enormous endemic, succulent red flowered Aeonium nobile survive on moisture in the form of drizzle from low cloud. Extraordinary!  I make no bones about it readers – I was staying in a 38 Euros per night resort (including continental breakfast!) – it was by far the cheapest place to stay – no hostels in La Palma; such a tourism-driven archipelago. And yet I was only a few minutes away from plants seldom seen in the UK like – Arbutus canariensis - the “Canary Island Strawberry Tree” and species that are so endangered on the verge of extinction such as Sambucus palmensis – “The Canary Island Elder”. Awesome! Personally my most exciting collection was Sonchus palmensis – “The Dandelion Tree” – a frost tender plant – to 20 feet tall. A dandelion on steroids! This was closely followed by a rare white form of Aeonium davidbramwellii & the lushly yet subtly nose teasing yellow Jasminum odoratissimum – “Canary Island Jasmine”.

My batteries are fully charged now – I’m now on an enthusiastic injected rampage to crank up the World Garden for our Easter Opening.

Adios bloggers until next time - Tom xXx.