Old fashioned primroses & auriculas

‍Over the years we have gardened at Abriachan ( we started in 1982) there has been markedly increased interest in the old fashioned primroses, one of our specialties. Old fashioned primroses are cultivated primroses, often of some antiquity, all good garden plants and hardy. Most are singles, some are wonderful old doubles and some are polyanthus form.

When travelling around the villages around Loch Ness, I am often looking over walls into gardens as I am going around. I see lots of old primroses; they are the ones that have survived for generations, passed from mother to daughter, neighbour to neighbour. I see Wanda, that great old magenta primroses, an old yellow polyanthus and recently a lovely pale mauve pink primrose, whose name no one seems to know.

Look across the range of primroses we sell, and you see some wonderful old varieties. These plants do not have the zazzle colours, red, orange, yellow & pink that you can buy in supermarkets and garden centres, but they do have quiet subtle charm.

I have more than one favourite. This year, the pretty Amy Smith with soft pink flowers on dark bronze foliage and Lady Greer, which has dainty Polyanthus heads of biscuit yellow. And of course, then there are the doubles, how could I garden without the old alba plena and the glorious Quakers Bonnet, lilacina plena?

We also have a wide collection of auricula, those extraordinary little plants.
Intense colours and subtle dustings of farina – the natural, white or yellowish powdery, flour-like secretion found on the leaves, stems, and flowers – make auricula unique and exquisite.

Their names are just as recondite, They range from the royalist, Grey Monarch , Pharaoh, and Royal Velvet, to the romantic (or cutesy depending on your point of view) Angel Eyes, Blush Baby, Dusky Maiden, to fashion, Blue Bonnet, Blue Jean, and Blue Velvet.

Auriculas are a fleeting spring treasure. In early-May we display them in an auricula theatre. By mid-May, we move the plants to a shady cooler place to rest and recuperate from flowering. My favourites change from year to year - partly because different varieties perform well each year.

These dusty little gems are hardy, easy to grow, and guaranteed to delight. Do grow some and see for yourself. Don’t starve them. Put plenty of grit in their compost. Keep them dry in winter, not too hot in summer, and not too wet. We grow most of them in pots as they are easier to display and admire that way, however some have done well in the open ground here with us in the Highlands for many years.

And best of all, enjoy that moment when you enter a room where several auriculas have been overnight. The scent is reminiscent of cloves and roses. Capture it and remember it well.

Building a pond

Azaleas - a memory of colour