Great Dixter held its Spring Plant Fair on Saturday April 1 and Sunday April 2. The house and gardens were also open to the public again, after the long winter break, and will remain so until the end of October 2017.
Twenty two nurseries were represented, with all kinds of plants, including Pennards edible plants, Domaine de la Source and Femme Flowers from the continent and our very own Great Dixter Nursery. Beth Chatto, a frequent visitor here when Christopher Lloyd, the owner, was alive, was represented with a wonderfully bright display. Others had conifers, grasses and Swallowfields had some of their auriculas in an auricula theatre, it seems hardly possible that the plants themselves are real!
The plantsmen gave regular talks,which were really informative, with the emphasis from Phoenix Perennials, for example, on the conservation of bees and the importance of scented spring bulbs and overwintering ivy. Apparently, ivy honey is foul tasting but to the bees it is very nutritious and gets them through the winter.
Eleven hundred people passed through the gate on Saturday, when the really serious buyers all come, and Sunday was also a great success. The hot dog stall did a roaring trade, with some controversy over whether buns or rolls were best, and, as always, Dixterites produced tasty homemade cakes.
It is a great way to welcome the spring and look forward to the new planting season. The only problem is the variety and the temptation to buy far too many plants, which then have to be placed in the (supposedly) well kept border!
The programme for the year’s events, opening times and prices for the house and garden are all up to date on the Great Dixter website. Come and visit the next fair in the autumn, why don’t you?
Photo Gillian Roder
