June – a star plant

The weather was largely on our side as we flung open the gates last Sunday for our annual NGS open day. Around 150 visitors took time to soak up the borders bursting with early-flowering perennials, stroll round the shimmering meadow, and witness the fruit beginning to swell in the orchard. There was interest in the progress of the Forest Garden – now in its third year and beginning to take shape, and many were keen to hear plans for the new area which is newly planted and still in its infancy.

There was one plant, however, which captured imagination more than any other, and was by far the most enquired about thing in the garden. A huge clump of Salvia sclarea var. turkistanica currently blooms next to the lawn, somehow managing to achieve delicacy and elegance despite its colossal size.

One of Head Gardener Jack's favourite plants, this particular specimen is a rare and unusual strain known as 'Archibald's Form', collected by renowned seed collectors Jim and Jenny Archibald. From their nursery garden in West Wales, the pair would travel each summer to places like North Africa, southern Europe, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, the USA, and South America, searching largely for alpines and bulbs, though returning with some notable perennials as well. It was on such a trip, in 1985, to the Amarus Mountains in Turkey that they came across this unusual form of a familiar plant, growing at the edge of a field. Jim wrote:

"This is really something... We saw only three plants in this one spot – if it performs in cultivation it will be a stunning thing".

Such enthusiasm is understandable. Even in its straight form, Salvia sclarea var. turkistanica is a plant with great garden value; it flowers for many months, doesn't require deadheading or staking, and provides continued colour from the bracts long after the flowers have faded. As a much larger form (2m x 75cm, as opposed to the usual 1m x 50cm), the discovery would offer a chance for gardeners to grow a supersized version of an already much-loved plant.

Sadly, 'Archibald's Form' is now vanishingly rare. Unless grown in isolation from other Salvia sclarea, the seeds will not come 'true' to the parent form, and as a short-lived perennial typically grown as a biennial, this means it is all too easy to lose after one glorious flowering season. We can only assume the Archibald's themselves suffered this fate; when asked many years ago why they no longer sold the seed, they explained that they'd returned to the original site of collection but could find no trace of 'Super Sclary' as it they affectionately referred to it.

So how did it come to be growing here at Gasper Cottage? Like all the best horticultural curiosities, it passed quietly through the hands of enthusiasts. Several years ago, friend and fellow gardener Bertie Bainbridge gave Jack a small envelope of seeds, promising the results would not fail to impress. Bertie himself had come across the plant on a rare alpine and bulb seed list known as Buried Treasure (no longer in operation), run by Bob and Rannveig Wallis in North Wales.

'It's the best form, and I don't know anyone else who's growing it now', observes Bertie who, like Jack, doesn't grow any other Salvia sclarea and so is able to keep the strain going by collecting his own seed.

Our advice for anyone keen to grow this handsome collectable themselves? Keep your eyes peeled at local plant fairs and seed swaps, where the more unusual plants will often endure. Failing that, the straight variety is by no means a bad substitute; perhaps plant several in a large drift to try and emulate the majestic impact of this impressive anomaly.

Don't forget to head over to our Youtube channel, where, this month, Bella dissects what it is that makes the Front Garden feel so romantic, and how this can be achieved in other gardens.