Spring Flower Festival

Narcissus ‘Thalia’ is a classic and elegant old daffodil variety that was bred pre-1916 from Narcissus triandus, it is one of the few daffodils that open out pure white. ‘Thalia’ is a multi-headed, scented daffodil reaching 30cm in height and we have planted these bulbs in their thousands, in distinct clusters throughout the garden.

Tulipa ‘Doll’s Minuet’ is a viridiflora type with long-lasting, magenta-pink petals streaked with green. The flowers reach a height of 40cm and ‘Doll’s Minuet’ has a reputation as a reliably perennial tulip. It has been in cultivation since it was first introduced in the 1960’s.

Tulipa ‘Rems Favourite’ is a modern variety that was introduced at the turn of the millennium and bred to look like a classic Rembrandt tulip, with painterly purple brushstrokes over the white petals. It is a strong and robust cultivar, and we use it at the edge of the flowerbeds where people can appreciate the variation – no two flowers are identical. It is a midseason, triumph type tulip, reaching a height of 50cm.

Tulipa ‘Paul Scherer’ has a classic, egg shaped flower with intense near-black petals and is one of the darkest tulips that you can grow.  The flower sits on tall stems above contrasting grey foliage and it is triumph type which flowers slightly later in the season.

Tulipa ‘Purple Dream’ is a lily flowered tulip, in a rich magenta with fluted petals which gradually open into a goblet shape as the flower ages. They reveal an ombre spot of yellow-white in the centre. This tulip is often said to be reliably perennial and would work equally well in pots or in the border, looking particularly striking with the zesty green of our Euphorbia seguieriana.

Tulipa ‘Shirley’ has been popular since its introduction in the 1960s, it is a later flowering, colour-changing variety which opens creamy yellow, but then pales and magically develops a purple edge along the perimeters of the petals, which looks like it has been drawn on in pencil crayon. Lilac spots appear and with no two flowers being the same in pattern, it is a charming tulip to watch evolve.

Tulipa ‘Negrita’ is often celebrated as one of the all-time greatest purple tulips, it is considered a confidently perennial variety with a robust stem and inky veining on the petals, as though colour has been drawn up from within the earth. It has been working its magic in many a garden and pot display since it was first introduced in the 1970s.

Tulipa ‘Fontainebleau’ was introduced in the late nineties and has beautiful blue grey leaves a dark stem and incredible bi-colour petals with a soft roll to the white edges.

Malus ‘Evereste’ is a beautiful variety of crabapple which provides year-round interest in the garden. In spring the leaves open first followed by pink buds which uncurl to reveal white blossom flowers, completely covering these small trees. Throughout the winter the scarlett red crabapples remain on the tree like little baubles shining in the winter weather and providing a vital food resource for our birds when the ground is frozen.

When you look closely at the small blue Scilla siberica flowers they have a remarkable characteristic, as the pollen of Scilla is steely blue in colour. Pollen varies in colour across different flower species and can range from bright yellow and rusty red, through to ochre and green, however blue is quite rare.

Lungwort is a deciduous perennial which thrives in shady areas. It carpets the ground with bright blue flowers in early springtime and looks beautiful with our hellebores and snowdrops. Lungwort is so named because the leaves are shaped like lungs and the plant was traditionally used to treat diseases of the lungs, with the word ‘Pulmo’ meaning lung in Latin.

Puschkinia scilloides var. libanotica is also known as striped squill or Russian snowdrop. Visitors often comment that they look like tiny hyacinths with blue stripes running down the petals. Puschkinia like to be planted in an area where the soil gets spring moisture and summer warmth. We use these bulbs in repeated clusters between our perennials and use them in combination with other groups of Scilla siberica and Scilla luciliae. They prefer a bit of space in their grouping and can be naturalised at the base of hedges, shrubs or trees, where they will bulk up in numbers over time.

Wed 21 April 2021, 6.30pm

In this online talk, The Hepworth Wakefield’s Cultural Gardener, Katy Merrington, discussed the spring planting in our garden, where we have recently planted 60,000 spring flowering bulbs including tulips, snowdrops, scilla and daffodils.

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Tue 27 April 2021, 6.30pm

Designer of The Hepworth Wakefield Garden,  Tom Stuart-Smith was joined in conversation with garden historian and journalist, Tim Richardson. During this talk, participants gained an insight into the inspiration and methods behind Stuart-Smith‘s many award-winning gardens across the world.

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Thu 29 April 2021, 6.30pm

A-winning garden and landscape designer, writer, radio and television broadcaster Matthew Wilson joined us to explore the principles of garden design and the range of considerations involved when putting a garden together.

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Sat 1 May 2021, 6.30pm

In this online talk, award-winning photographer Jason Ingram shared his experience of photographing plants and gardens, offering his expertise and tips on how to capture the best photographs of your own garden.