September is the time when Harvington Hellebores® are starting to root down and new shoots appear. Take advantage of our 20% discount when purchasing 6 or more Harvington Hellebores® 9cm pots. (Offer ends Tuesday 17th September 2024)
Purchasing a ‘Harvington’ Hellebore guarantees you will receive a robust, garden worthy plant that will produce flowers that are strong and pure in colour… and they have been bred and grown by us in the UK. Our wonderful returning customers appreciate both the quality of our plants as well as the care we take in packing and sending them.
In the RHS ‘The Garden’ magazine this month, Camilla Bassett-Smith highlights Narcissus cyclamineus AGM as one of her favourite Spring plants. September is a great moment in the gardening calendar to establish these plants.
Introduce a touch of exotic beauty to your garden with our selection of Harvington Roscoea. With a form and flower similar to the orchid, many of these remarkable plants have been featured in this month’s Gardens Illustrated magazine Small Gardens Special (August 2024). Matthew Biggs has written an extremely informative piece on how the Roscoea genus was introduced to this country. Following some careful selection….
“a host of delectable new hybrids and ease of cultivation means that everyone can welcome this exquisite, connoisseurs’ plant into their own garden.”
(Matthew Biggs, Gardens Illustrated August 2024, photographs by Clive Nichols).
Our selection of Roscoea include a number with the prefix ‘Harvington’. These are a set of distinctive plants bred by Hugh Nunn in the Vale of Evesham and selected for their beauty, vigour and garden worthiness. Several have been awarded the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit (AGM) in recognition of these characteristics.
After 15 years of dedicated selection and reselection, we are now releasing more stunning hybrids. Many of these outstanding plants have been featured in the Garden’s Illustrated magazine article, along with others from the Harvington Roscoea family.
Roscoea ‘Harvington Bethany’Roscoea ‘Harvington Raw Silk’ AGMRoscoea ‘Harvington Rose’
Our Roscoea are robust, clump-forming, and vigorous plants, they can thrive anywhere in the British Isles when positioned in dappled shade with moist, free-draining soil. They are well-suited for woodland gardens, shaded borders, or as part of a rock garden where its unique and exotic blooms can be appreciated up close. They will also happily grow in a large container in a shaded corner of a patio.
Our Harvington Roscoea Collection provides a succession of flowering and includes a set of award-winning distinctive plants bred by Hugh Nunn. They are selected for their beauty, vigour and garden worthiness. The Collection includes one pot each of Roscoea ‘Harvington Royale’, Roscoea ‘Harvington Raw Silk’ AGM and Roscoea ‘Harvington Imperial’, and is offered at a discount.
Last year we were delighted to introduce three new members of the Harvington Erythronium family, namely ‘Harvington Lilli’, ‘Harvington Elizabeth’ and ‘Harvington Imogen’ .
Gardens Illustrated Magazine April 2023
‘Gardens Illustrated’ , as part of their 30th anniversary edition published in 2023, wrote a wonderful piece about our Harvington Erythronium breeding programme here at Twelve Nunns. Started by Hugh and Liz Nunn from a nursery based in the village of Harvington during the mid 1980’s, the article explained how this programme ‘spans two generations and has taken more than 20 years of careful, meticulous selection to create a three new Harvington erythroniums. And now that Harvington trio is finally ready to meet the world.’
But why breed Erythroniums?
‘They’ve got everything: grace, poise and charm.’ That, and their rarity value, makes them compelling to grow,” says Penny. And just like that, the compulsion to create something wonderful is inherited from one generation to the next.’ (Alys Fowler, Gardens Illustrated April 2023).
Erythronium are quite simply stunning! Flowering from early March, their upturned petals reveal delicate markings and brightly contrasting stamen atop of slim stems, each stem producing three flowers, contrasting well with their mottled foliage.
But don’t be deceived, these are easy to grow, as long as they are positioned in a cool, dapple-shaded area with protection from strong winds.
Erythronium will clump up beautifully for you with a little care. Once Erythronium bulbs are planted in groups in your garden they will provide colour next Spring. In time, if the soil around the flowering bulbs is left undisturbed, they will set seed and begin to naturalise.
We are delighted to be able to offer you a chance to experience these magnificent erythronium yourselves. Along with our Harvington Erythroniums, including our three new family members, we also have the rarely available Erythronium hendersonii and Erythronium howellii, but only whilst stocks last.
For those of you who would like to make a more eye catching display, we have some great offers on E.White Beauty, E.Old Aberdeen and E.Harvington Sunshine.
We send all our Erythronium as dormant, freshly lifted, flowering size bulbs from July through to September ready for potting up or planting directly into the garden. Each flowering size bulb has been carefully grown for at least 4 years.
There is a wonderful article written by Val Bourne in ‘The English Garden’ magazine (April 2024) focussing on our Harvington hellebores. Supported by fabulous photographs of some of our varieties, beautifully captured by Annaick Guitteny, the piece outlines the story of Harvington hellebores, and includes a section on how to care for them.
Roscoea produce stunning flowers and are robust and easy to grow. Our range includes a great selection of colours, and with differing flowering times, can create a stunning display from May right through August.
We are constantly reviewing what we can do to improve Twelve Nunns Green Credentials, working to help save our environment as well as your pennies! We are proud of what we have achieved so far.
Packaging – those of you whom have bought from us before will be aware that the packaging we use is all recyclable – right down to the the gummed, compostable paper tape we use to seal our boxes (no need to strip off any vinyl tape before recycling or composting). Our packaging solutions are as a result of a continual evolution of ideas.
Saving compost – a 9cm pot only uses 0.5 litres of compost. Compare this to the 2 litres of compost if you buy a plant at a garden centre in a 2 litre pot. And our freshly lifted bare rooted bulbs only require a handful of coir to protect them during transit – this all helps save our precious natural resources. And of course this really helps you save your pennies!
The plants we send to you from Twelve Nunns are either in small pots or are supplied as freshly lifted bare root rhizomes, bulbs and tubers. We breed, propagate and grow all of the plants and bulbs here on our Lincolnshire nursery.
Saving plastic – smaller pots mean less plastic. We are working on removing plastic completely from our deliveries, in terms of both pots and labels. We are planning to replace our labels with a fully recyclable paper based product.
We are also very excited about a product we have discovered recently called a wool pot that is produced in the UK. Along with a wool based topping, these provide exactly the type of protective packaging the plants need to ensure they reach you in tip top condition. They can be recycled and are compostable. We work in a village surrounded by sheep farmers, so making use of a bi-product that is often wasted or undervalued seems a good idea to us.
Saving fuel (so less air pollution) – lighter, smaller boxes that weigh less mean less fuel is needed to transport them.
We passionately believe that all these savings are crucially needed for the future health and stability of our environment. By following our Twelve Nunns Green Credentials we are also helping to support our farming community. By buying our plants you are playing a part in a greener future.
See in the autumn with our Narcissus cyclamineus offer . What could be better than a carpet of this delightful Narcissus. Making an appearance in February, this petite daffodil has vivid yellow petals that sweep fully back revealing its long flower tube, surrounded by slender, pale green foliage.
Narcissus cyclamineus AGM are sold to you in pots rather than as loose bulbs, because the bulbs of this daffodil must not dry out. All plants offered are propagated and grown by us here on our specialist nursery based in South Lincolnshire. The bulbs are 3 years old and most will flower in the first spring season after planting and will flower year after year thereafter. We supply at least three flowering sized bulbs per pot.
20% off of 6 or more Harvington Hellebores® until 30th September 2023.
Looking at that unloved shady spot in the corner of the garden? Or the patio that will soon be devoid of colour after the demise of your beautiful summer pots? Our Harvington Hellebores® September Discount is here to help.
Picture this……….
Our Discount gives you an opportunity to purchase a selection of Harvington Hellebores® in 9cm pots fromour extensive range of colours and varieties – the choice is yours!
These are ready for planting in your garden or containers now.
The June edition of the Alpine Garden Society AGS Journal, offers a valuable insight into growing Trillium and Arisaema.
Anyone who subscribes to the The Alpine Garden Society (AGS) receives ‘The Alpine Gardener’, the quarterly journal packed full of beautiful photographs illustrating interesting and informative articles. There are nuggets of information from expert growers who have spent many years finding ways to cultivate more unusual plants. It allows us as the reader to share in their journeys, to gain a greater understanding of plants that are familiar to us, as well as being introduced to many that aren’t.
In June’s edition we were particularly interested in two articles that align with our own specialisms Trillium and Arisaema.
Paddy Tobin lays bare his extensive journey with Trillium and how he come to appreciate them as plants that will flourish. As Paddy states,
‘These plants changed my experience of and attitude to trilliums completely – now I had plants that would grow and increase and make a decent contribution to the garden’(page 169 The Alpine Gardener June 2023).
His earlier experiences were disappointing, working with dried rhizomes that failed to flourish. Using healthier rhizomes he quickly realised that,
‘These trilliums were not the Cinderella plants I had grown poorly for years, but ones which were worth their place in the garden for their vigour, performance and beauty’ (page 169 The Alpine Gardener June 2023).
He mentions some varieties that have done particularly well, as his ‘Star garden performers’ and ‘US natives’. One of his ‘Star garden performers’ is Trillium chloropetalum.
Here at Twelve Nunns, we have a selection of these varieties available to pre-order now. They are sent as freshly lifted, healthy Trillium rhizomes with live roots in moist packing material. Our rhizomes are at least 4 years old. Given the right situation and soil they should flower after 1 year of planting.
Robert Rolfe then provides some wonderful insights into the world of Arisaema, focusing on a number of species, the choicest of which is Arisaema candidissimum. Discussing the history of the cultivation of Arisaema he notes that:-
‘A. candidissimum was (to quote from EB Anderson’s Hardy Bulbs, published in 1964) for a long time “the only species …available in the ordinary course of events, though this is a very beautiful one“. If you choose just one, choose this.’ (Page 214 The Alpine Gardener June 2023)
The Alpine Garden Society (AGS) are an international, UK based, charitable organisation primarily concerned with the cultivation of alpine and mountain plants from around the world. The AGS is also involved in the study and conservation of alpine plants in the wild. Click here for more information about the Society.
Here at Twelve Nunns we are looking forward to the long summer days of June. With the extra hours of daylight there is even more time to spend investing in our gardens. We have some great offers on Harvington® Hellebores 9cm pots and plugs this month, along with a special discount on the stunning Erythronium dens-canis ‘Old Aberdeen’.
Discounts on Harvington® Hellebores as 9cm pots (offer ends 30th June 2023)
Buy 12 or more pots Save 15% Buy 18 or more pots Save 25%
The incredibly informative and beautifully presented Gardens Illustratedmagazine has featured our Erythroniums this month (April 2023) in their 30th Anniversary issue. We are immensely proud of, and grateful for the amazing article written by Alys Fowler, supported by the stunning photography of Clive Nichols. It focuses on our Erythronium breeding programme, and introduces three new additions to the Harvington Erythronium family:-
Erythronium hendersonii x oregonum ‘Harvington Elizabeth’
Erythronium hendersonii x oregonum ‘Harvington Imogen’
Erythronium hendersonii x oregonum ‘Harvington Lilli’
Erythronium bulbs are available to pre-order now. Offer closes 31 May 2023.
I just wanted to thank you for my recent order of 3 stinking hellebores. I was impressed with the size and condition of the plants, and they were so well packaged (packaging fully recyclable, I noted), that they arrived in perfect condition. Many thanks, they certainly exceeded my expectations in terms of what I have come to expect from other plant nurseries, I will have no hesitation in ordering from you in the future.
Saira, Bedford
Discounts for Harvington Hellebores® as 9cm pots ends 17/09/2024. Plus savings now available on Narcissus bulbs Dismiss
