Primula and Proper

Dare I say it? ...or do I speak too soon? .....but the sun is out ... sort of....

Well, it was out enough this morning to take a trip to my favourite place - Wentworth Garden Centre - and indulge in a few more plants for my new raised bed (which, of course, needs filling!). It's a pretty sizable area to fill and I'm trying to do slightly different things in different corners in the hope that it will all come together and blend well in the end. This will be a labour of love and money over time I am sure.

To one side, I want to re-create a 'cottage garden' feel with mid-height perennials of contrasting colours - nothing too dramatic in structure but some striking splashes in shade nonetheless - and this primula vialli fits the bill perfectly I think. After all, it is just a primula ..but what a stunning litte plant it is! I got up close and personal before leaving the plants to bed in and I hope, with use of the soft focus again, I have captured this dainty species to good effect.

Primula vialii was found by the Scottish plant hunter George Forrest (1873-1932), and was named P. littoniana after his friend, Consul G. Litton of Tengyueh (on the Burma-China frontier), who had provided considerable help in his travels in the locality. Aleister Crowley (1875-1947), the eccentric English writer on mystic and occult subjects, also travelling in China, reported meeting 'a botanist named George Forrest' and described how, when the unfortunate Litton fell ill, 'Forrest and I galloped furiously into the darkness' to get a doctor. Sadly, it was too late, and Litton subsequently died. The name P. littoniana is now relegated to a synonym, as the plant had in fact already been named P. vialii by another plant hunter, the French missionary botanist Père Delavay.