Wealden Times | WT261 | February 2024 | Education Supplement inside

Woodwardia unigemmata
Garden
underneath being a very dark crimson.
Betula utilis ‘Jim Russell’. This cultivar
comes from the Arboretum Wespelaar
in Belgium and originates from seeds
collected in China by one Jim Russell,
described as a ‘horticultural grandee’,
and one time curator of the Castle
Howard Arboretum (now known as
the Yorkshire Arboretum). His life
story is well worth reading. It was at a
later stage of his life that he started on
his world travels in earnest, collecting
both plants and seeds from China,
Japan, Sri Lanka and the West Indies.
This spectacular tree has a dark peeling
bark which reveals an inner layer of
burnished coppery colours combined
with red and purple tones. I think this
might have to be No.1 on the ever
growing list of a few favourite things.
To my mind there is nothing to beat a
native spindle or euonymus for both its
autumn colour and its fabulous fruits.
The fruits can be pink, red or white
but what is so stunning is that the seed
inside is covered with an orange coating
known as the aril, which contrasts so
spectacularly with the fruits. The aril
provides a feast for birds who digest
it and then spread the seeds around if
you are very lucky. And it seems that
robins guard euonymus very fiercely
once they’ve claimed it as their own,
seeing off all comers. To be honest,
any spindle could join the list but I
think that Euonymus hamiltonianus
subsp. sieboldianus ‘Coral Charm’
rates highly, with its combination of
coral pink fruits and an orange-red
seed. This shrub varies too in that its
autumn colour is a soft lemony yellow.
Every late summer I see clouds
of Japanese anemones in other
peoples’ front gardens and each year
I think how beautiful they are. This
must be the year to find a plant of
either the glorious pure white A x
hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’ or perhaps
the reliable and free flowering A x
hybrida ‘September Charm’. Perfect
for both full sun and partial shade,
this particular anemone has flowers
whose outer petals are purple tinted
contrasting with the pale pink of the
inner petals. They float around on tall
wiry stems bringing movement to the
late summer border. Another cultivar
I might squeeze onto my list would be
A. hupehensis ‘Hadspen Abundance’.
And finally, I was reading about Helen
Dillon’s move from her famous garden
in Dublin back in 2016 and about the
plants she would be leaving behind and
the ones she would be taking. Of course
she had so many rich and rare plants
but I was glad to hear that she would
be taking what she calls the ‘superb
large fern’, Woodwardia unigemmata
or Jewelled Chain Fern. We bought
this gem at one of Great Dixter’s Plant
Fairs a few years ago and I have it in a
large pot outside my porch. Thankfully
it is hardy down to -10°C. Its arching
stems can reach up to seven feet in
length (but not in a pot), and when the
frond rests on the soil the single bulbil
on its tip takes root. Oh, and the new
fronds are a ‘gorgeous brick red’. So
yet another plant to add to the list…
Sue Whigham can be contacted on
07810 457948 for gardening advice
and help in the sourcing and supply
of interesting garden plants.
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