The Echiums have very much enjoyed the rain last week and now the heat and sun. They will be even taller than usual with these ideal early Summer conditions. The two tall upright species pininana and wildpretii have been regular highlights at this time of the year for a long time now. Most of the pininana have some pink wildpretii colour in them courtesy of the bees who move between both of the species. They love the Echium spp. and feed on them for several months. There is still one pure E wildpretii growing on a wall in the tractor yard pictured here, and also a few in the greenhouse where the free draining remnants of mortar mimic the arid nature of their home on the Canary Islands.
Peak Echium also signals time for the Rare Plant Fair which is scheduled for 31st of May. All details are on the Events page of the website and on the Tregrehan socials. Over 20 nurseries will be attending with a feast of interesting plants which are as different to what can be seen in your local garden centre as is possible to grow! Entry to the fair is free with a reduced price visit to the garden of £10.00. It is always useful to have some cash handy for garden entry and also as some nurseries will not have a card machine. Please leave pets at home as the site does get crowded and pets aren’t able to enter the garden area. Proceeds from the teas and cakes this year will be for Marie Curie Cancer Care. We very much look forward to seeing all the stallholders and visiting plantaholics again in 2026…..
