Join Polly Nicholson for a Tour of the Tulips at Blackland House.
We will gather together for a 10:30 AM start in the private garden at Blacklands with freshly brewed coffee (or tea) and cake, and an introductory talk by Polly. She will explain what led her to specialise in tulips, and highlight the many different types that she grows, with full disclosure on the organic methods that are implemented to keep them thriving year after year.
Early may is peak flowering period for the historic tulips in our National Collection, which have a later season than most other varieties, making this the perfect time to visit. A wide selection of these old and rare cultivars will be on display as cut flowers, in containers and growing in the walled garden, their mesmerising flamed and feathered petals drawing you in for closer inspection. After you have had your fill of these show bench we will meander through the garden to take in naturalised tulip plantings of species and annual tulip varieties, which have made themselves at home in grass and herbaceous settings. Along the route will be a plethora of pots grouped together in clusters or standing sentinel at key points, never showy or shouty – except for a massive display of ruffled doubles by the pool – but subtle and sometimes exotic. Polly loves to share all her trade secrets, so you will leave with a plethora of information.
This half-day tulip visit is the ideal opportunity to spend some time amongst the tulips and other spring flowering plants, and ask the questions that you always wanted answered (and please don’t hold back, there is no such thing as a stupid question). Signed copies of Polly’s book ‘The Tulip Garden’ will be for sale, along with a few plants and bunches of cut flowers.
Event details
Tickets are £85 per person. Numbers limited.
A word of warning – morning and afternoon sessions will run along a similar format, so it would not be advisable to sign up for both. Instead, why not go and visit the prehistoric stone circles at Avebury (10 minutes by car) or head north to Westonbirt Arboretum (45 minutes ) or Tetbury for some antique hunting (50 minutes, or 55 minutes for Lorford’s Hangers). If you want to make a whole trip of it, then I suggest you base yourself overnight at The Pig in the Cotswolds within Rosemary Verey’s famed garden, or Calcot Manor which has a very nice spa.
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Photography by Britt Willoughby