Celebrate the season by growing these gorgeous spring blooms
As our native and lovely primrose, Primula vulgaris, peeps out of hedgerows, showing off its cool, pale blooms, its message is clear: spring is here! The medieval Latin ‘prima rosa’ points to it being the ‘first rose’ of the year, and while primroses are only distantly related to roses, they and their clan enhance our gardens in an equally wonderful and diverse range of ways. So as we welcome in the new season, it’s a good time to throw the spotlight on the earlier-flowering members of the primula genus: the group of plants that we refer to simply as primulas.
PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK, ALAMY, GAP BRITISH NATIVES These three spring flowers cheer our souls and provide nectar for bees and early butterflies. They team well with pulmonarias and dwarf daffodils.
OXLIP (P. ELATIOR)
The rarer oxlip has a cluster of primrose-like flowers atop and to one side of each stem. In the wild it’s an indicator of ancient woodland.
PRIMROSE (P. VULGARIS)
Primula vulgaris is both a common British wildflower and a first-rate garden plant with an RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM) to prove it. At this time of year, with the garden still a little bare, we have a clear view to enjoy this prettiest of spring flowers.
COWSLIP (P. VERIS)
While they evolved to grow in meadows, cowslips have suffered from modern agricultural methods. They cling on as a wildflower in roadside verges, their rosettes of dark green leaves on tall stems that bear nodding, bell-shaped, bright yellow flowers from March to May. The blooms have a light lemony scent. In a garden setting cowslips need more sun than primroses and can be naturalised in short grass.
MORE COLOUR PLEASE!
■ Polyanthus primroses are derived from crosses between the wild species. The name polyanthus, meaning ‘with many flowers’, refers to the showy cluster of blooms on each stem. The breeding of polyanthus accelerated when a remarkable American woman called Florence Bellis took up the challenge in 1935, starting with just five packets of Suttons seeds. She introduced a vast spectrum of colours. A good pink eluded her for many years, but she triumphed in the end, leading to her primula Candy Pinks Group.
■ The gorgeous Cowichan Blue Group, with deep blue flowers and purple stems, contrasts beautifully with two of her last creations, both doubles – pale ‘Val Horncastle’ and bright yellow ‘Sunshine Susie’. On her retirement, Florence sent her entire seed stock back to Britain to nursery owners Jared and Sylvia Sinclair with the simple message, ‘yours – t
