Subcategories

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  Primula

  What are Primula?

  With one of the largest collections of Primula in the world, you could say that we are definitely fans of this botanical genus of flowering plants that belongs to the family Primulacae. So why do we love them so? As their name suggests, they are some of the first flowers to appear in spring, with some plants flowering from January onwards, and they always bring such joy when the first flowers appear.
  
  With over 480 species alone of Primula and thousands of hybrids there is such a wide range of different kinds of plants and flowers. Not only is there such a wide variety, they also come from different types of habitats in the wild so there are primula for all kinds of different conditions in the garden.
  
  Mainly native to the cooler Northern hemisphere, more than 70% of species come from the Himalayan mountainous regions. They have a wide range of habitats from alpine slopes to boggy meadows and woodland. As a general rule Primula like cool and damp conditions in semi-shade but is  important to try and replicate their different origins in the garden setting. Obviously, not all of the species are suited to be cultivated in our gardens, which is why we have chosen only those plants which will grow well in cultivation.
  
  There are also Primula for all types of gardener, from the happy-go-lucky wild flower gardener, to the serious botanical collector to the amateur breeder or auricula competitor there is something for everyone.
  
  So welcome to the wonderful world of Primula and come and tread the ‘Primrose path of dalliance’ with us. (William Shakespeare, Hamlet.)

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  Hellebores

  Fresh Hellebore seed available from June - September only. : sign up to our newsletter for detailed information

  
  
  Our Barnhaven strains of hellebores are hybrid crosses of Helleborus x hybridus, (formally known as Helleborus x orientalis) and often named the Lenten rose.  We have been breeding hellebores here since 2004. Our collection originated when we were given a box of seeds by Jan Kay, a passionate hellebore lover from England and we have been working on them ever since to create stable strains as we have done with our primroses.  Tough as old boots and perfect companion plants to our primroses, Barnhaven hellebores are known for their glorious harmonising colours of pinks, whites, purples, greens and yellow and are available in an ever growing range of shades and forms. 
  
  The secret of successful hellebore germination is to sow the seeds as early as possible after harvest, between June and August. They should then start to germinate from November/December when the termperatures start to drop. Please bear in mind that a little patience is needed as often hellebores will take two years to flower from germination but we think it is well worth the wait! 
  
  All our seeds are hand-pollinated from our carefully selected excellent breeding stock. Most of our colour series are now coming true and although we cannot guarantee 100% the colours or forms we can promise exciting results.
  
  Flowering period: Mid-winter - early spring
  
  Height: 30cm to 60cm.
  
  Spread: 45cm - 90cm
  
  Culture: Will thrive in semi-shade, plant in rich well-drained soil.
  
  For more information on sowing hellebore seed please see our Sowing hellebore pages.

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  Cyclamen

  Cyclamen are tuberous perennial plants and surprisingly also belong in the family Primulaceae.

  The plants that we have in our collection were inherited from Philippe Le Goff and his nursery Le Clos d’armoise. They are are mainly forms and cultivars of botanical species. The easiest ones to grow in the garden are the spring -flowering species such as Cyclamen coum. Grown with early-flowering Primula and Helleborus, they will will naturalise slowly in the garden creating beautiful displays. The autumn flowering C. hederifolium will leap into life as most other flowers in the garden are dying down. 

  Some of the other species will need a bit more looking after as they are quite tender and the watering can be trickier as they are Mediterranean plants for the most part. This means they often have a dry dormant period over the summer and do not like wet winters either. These plants will appeal to the collectors out there. They can be grown in pots in similar conditions to auriculas in alpine houses or cold greenhouse where you can keep more of an eye on the watering.

  To grow them from seed you will need as much patience as for hellebores as they will often only flower after two to three years of growth.  To get the best results, the seeds are best sown fresh just after harvest over the summer (July - September) but you can get good results later in the year if you soak the seed first. It is very rewarding way to obtain new plants especially as some of the rarer species are getting harder to find and expensive to buy as tubers.

  For more information on sowing Cyclamen see our Sowing pages

• Special offers

  We regularly put special offers on our primula seeds throughout the season. To be informed of  our latest offers please sign up to our Newsletter. 

• New additions 2022-23