On 10th June we were very pleased to greet John Vanderplank at the Garden. John is the National Collection Holder of Passiflora and well recognised as the leading authority on the genus in the UK (or anywhere else for that matter!).
John visited us whilst on holiday and was very complimentary of the Garden and the Tropical House. We campared notes on the filthy winter we just endured and he was very surprised at just how mild the microclimate of the Undercliff is. In the picture above John is with a pink Senecio glastifolius and one of our hybrid Echium behind. Nearby we both marvelled at a flowering Cantua buxifolia, usually considered a plant for the heated glasshouse.
John has kindly offered to send us through some rooted cuttings of Passiflora to include in our Tropical House.