Auricula open daysĭrointon Nurseries, Plaster Pitts Cottages, Ripon, North Yorkshire, 3 and 28 May, 10am-4pm. Divide border plants every couple of years. Never splash leaves or flowers and water sparingly, especially in winter.īe vigilant for vine weevil Treat with Provado systemic insecticide, or the biological control Nemasys. Keep plants well ventilated, especially in summer, when they also need shading. Use a free-draining compost Roberts recommends equal measures of multipurpose compost, John Innes No2 and horticultural grit.įeed as plants come into growth and stop when they finish flowering, using soluble feed when you water. Small plants need small pots 3.5in as a rule, 3in for alpines. Both flower freely without cosseting, and display a reassuring zest for life. Sweet-smelling 'Trafalgar Square' offers a clear red with a dainty white edge 'Hinton Fields' is yellow and green. The Stripes, all but lost in the mid-18th century, have returned to favour, with a host of new varieties such as 'Robin Hood', 'Blush Baby' and 'Optimist'.
Deep blue 'Joel' and pillar-box red 'Scorcher' are among the more obliging. Next come the Show Selfs, blocks of vivid colour round a centre of white paste. Most prized by collectors of show auriculas is the category of green, grey or white Edges – divas that require unstinting devotion. In the pale centres, purples, pinks and blues predominate, as in 'Adrian' or luscious pink 'G L Taylor'. The gold centres tend towards warm autumn shades, such as 'Nickity' and 'Yacoubi'. They have centres of gold, cream or pale yellow, and velvety petals that fade out towards the edge. Single blooms flower best in a small pot. 'Dales Red' is a velvety red with a white eye and 'Old Irish Green' provides the green edge deemed the apogee of loveliness.Īlpine auriculas have no vulnerable farina, make handsome clumps and are ideal for beginners. 'Eden Greenfinch' is an excellent modern plant, in an unusual greeny-brown shade. 'Old Yellow Dusty Miller' has been charming gardeners for centuries. (In heavier soils, work in grit to improve drainage and plant with a collar of gravel underneath the rosette.) Foliage can be green, or dusted with farina – hence the old country name, dusty millers. Photograph: Alamyīorder or garden auriculas often grow along paths in old cottage gardens, thriving in soil with some substance but good drainage. These items are made to order so may take up to three weeks to arrive.In pale-centred auriculas, such as Primula 'Adrian', purples, pinks and blues predominate. The shelves will be delivered fully constructed with fittings designed to be fixed to a masonry wall.ĭimensions of main theatre: 60cm W x 90cm H x 17cm Dĭimensions of each compartment: 16cm W x 26cm H
The colour finishes are water and UV-resistant, preservative-free and manufactured on a base of natural, sustainable raw materials. The theatres are hand made and finished, and robustly constructed to withstand the elements. Left untreated, it will weather to an elegant silvery grey over time. Strong and durable, cedar is an ideal wood for outdoor use, containing high levels of natural protective oils and resins that make it resistant to decay. The cedar wood we use is sustainably sourced from managed estates in the West Country. The theatres are available in natural cedar or finished in a semi-opaque eco wood finish in Chalk, Charcoal or Sage. Designed to hold nine 9-12cm diameter pots, they can also be used for violas and other small alpine plants, or vases of individual blooms as shown here. A more decorative version of our original Auricula Theatre, this theatre has individual compartments to showcase each plant or vase, with a slatted back to show off the plants and the terracotta pots. Handmade in Dorset, these vintage-look plant shelves are crafted from durable cedar wood which will last many years outside.