National collection of aquilegias (columbines)

 

Yesterday I had the joyful privilege of spending time with my lovely friend Carrie Thomas.  Carrie is a woman of great depth and sensitivity.  She  lives in a pretty cottage on the edge of some venerable woods with ancient trees (which are currently under threat of development but that's another story).  Carrie is amongst many other things, a fantastic gardener.  Her patience and delicate artistry are the backbone to the dedication she gives to her collection of aquilegias - which has now been recognised as the national collection of this beautiful flowering plant.  A cottage garden perennial aquilegias, under Carrie's care, form three main morphologies in their flower shapes.  The 'crinoline ladies' as Carrie dubs them, are many petalled flowers in cascading skirts, the 'pom pom' flowers are rounded and jolly orbs of colour and the traditional trumpets can be bi or even tri-coloured.  Carrie meticulously recordeds all genetic variations and cross pollinates by hand to produce new and exciting varieties .  You can see by these photographs how many colours and varieties she has crammed into her cottage garden.  The garden is open to the public during the columbine season.  I'll leave you to read Carrie's own words about contact details and more specific information.

SPECIAL GARDEN OPEN IN KILLAY UNTIL THE END OF JUNE

If you like visiting cottage gardens, then you should enjoy visiting Touchwood in Killay. And if one of your favourite plants are aquilegias (granny’s bonnets, columbines) then you MUST visit, because this is the BEST place in the whole of the UK to see them in flower, as Carrie Thomas has BOTH the UK National Collections of Aquilegias.

The garden is open whenever the aquilegias flower, which this year should be until the end on June. You can email carrie.thomas@ntlworld.com to arrange a convenient day and time (usually 7 days a week including evenings) or go along to the Open Garden sessions each weekend from 2-4pm.  You will see a greater range of these plants than you ever knew possible. Full details of garden openings, directions etc is found on http://www.touchwoodplants.co.uk/Touchwood%20garden.htm  ...and I recommend peeking at the aquilegia seedlist page  http://www.touchwoodplants.co.uk/aquilegiaseed.htm as you’ll see the range that is grown there. 

 

It’s been on TV Too! Having appeared on Gardeners’ World a few years ago, you can actually watch what went out on S4C last year on this link:  Byw yn yr Ardd  

 

thanks Alex!

 

Best Wishes, Carrie Thomas Tel 01792 522443
'Touchwood', 4 Clyne Valley Cottages, Killay, Swansea, SA2 7DU South Wales, UK

www.touchwoodplants.co.uk : Seeds & plants by post. Aquilegia specialist.
www.touchwoodspirit.com : Help & healing for body, mind & spirit. Flower essences.