| Christine
Skelmersdale 10.7.00 |
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TULIP
PURISSIMA
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| Serendipity
must happen more often in the word of gardening than anywhere else, and
like all the best discoveries
this one also happened by chance. When I first planted our new garden it was natural to add a collection of bulbs to the
fledgling herbaceous border. Tulipa
fosterians 'Purissima' or 'White Emperor' as it was known then, was the
only possibility. Although it
is considerably taller than our usual selection of dwarf species tulips it had been included with the rest of
the fosteriana cvs for completeness, and was the only candidate in our
catalogue tall enough for the middle of the border. It was a sure-fire
winner, rising majestically up above the emerging foliage of the
herbaceous plants. Later that spring I also saw it used to great effect in
the silver garden at Tintinhull House where the combination of grey
foliage and creamy white tulips is magical.
From that time on 'Purissima' was guaranteed a place in my garden. |
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Tulip
fosterians 'Purissima' |
| Tulipa
fosteriana itself comes from that legendary area around Samarkand. and
reached the west at the beginning of the 20th century. Its
potential as a reliable garden plant was soon recognised and by the middle
of that century a whole range of cultivars and hybrids were available. All
are characterised by large flowers on stiff stems above very broad,
usually grey-green leaves. They are early flowering, at the end of March
here in Somerset, and are remarkably long lasting. On our light sandy soil
tulips tend to be rather ephemeral, only lasting a couple of years unless
they are lifted after flowering. In
contrast T. 'Purissima' has
proved itself reasonably long lived- a tremendous bonus to a busy gardener
with insufficient time to lift all the tulips every year. I must admit
that in those years I do cheat and add a few new bulbs
to ensure a good display. |
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| The
very large, rounded flowers open a glorious shade of pale primrose and
gradually fade through a rich clotted cream to pure white. They are also
surprisingly weather tolerant, surviving all but the worst gales. Rather
than dot them through the border I prefer either to plant repeated clumps
through the main border or to blanket a bed with them, as is the case with
our parterre. Here I have my
collection of species peonies and I needed interest earlier in the spring.
The creamy flowers of Purissima are a perfect choice, floating like a
cloud of butterflies above the deep, rather sombre green of the box
hedges. We now follow them by the
lily flowered Tulipa.'White Triumphator' in the other bed which extends
the display into April. |
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Tulipa 'White
Triumphator' |
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of my most successful plant associations came about by accident. Mixed or
herbaceous borders always suffer from the recurring problem of where to
squeeze in the bulbs. Not only is there physically little room between the
exuberant clumps when you need to plant the bulbs, it is also very
difficult to actually spot the gaps that were so glaring in the spring. I
do try and make notes but this does not always happen and in sheer
desperation one year, I was determined that I was going to use all the
bulbs designated for the spring display, I dug two large, 8"dep
holes. The 'Purissima' bulbs went in the bottom, followed by a light
covering of soil then about 6 bulbs of Hyacinthus 'Carnegie' were placed
on top and the holes filled in. Neither variety seemed to mind their
proximity and the following spring the pure white hyacinths formed a
lovely, scented base for the tulips.
I often repeat this combination, varying it slightly by adding
the creamy yellow H. 'City of Haarlem' instead. It also has the added advantage
that the hyacinths continue flowering as the tulips fade. |
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| Tulip
'Purissima' is not only excellent in borders it is also a perfect choice
for traditional bedding schemes, mixed
with winter flowering pansies. As the tulips are early flowering
the pansies still look good, rather than past their best as is so often
the case with this combination. |
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| I
also use the tulip/pansy combination in containers. At 45cm Tulip 'Purissima'
is relatively tall but its stems are strong and the handsome grey leaves
are an added attraction. You could also try the hyacinth/tulip combination
in larger containers. For those who prefer brighter, mixed colour
plantings, there are other Tulip fosteriana hybrids that flower at the
same time. Tulip 'Sweetheart' is lemon with a white edge while
Tulip 'Madame Lefeber' ( 'Red Emperor') is a glistening
scarlet.
All
in all T. 'Purissima' really is an excellent all rounder.
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Tulip Sweetheart
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| This
article appeared in BBC Gardeners World in 2000. |
