The flora in Benton End’s walled garden has dwindled since the time artist-plantsman Cedric Morris gardened here. Yet one of the persistent and surviving plants, which still appears exotic today, is the crown imperial fritillary. These chunky-stemmed plants rise through late-winter, flowering as soon as the season shifts, when they become a blazing statement. Morris painted both yellow- and orange-flowered cultivars among tulips and wood spurge in his 1934 work Easter Bouquet.
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How to achieve the look
Container and composition
I found this galvanised water tank tumbled down a hedge bank, covered in brambles, on a countryside project I worked on several years ago. The landowners kindly let me take it, and I’ve created many plantings in it since. I like to try short-term displays in a container of this scale, although it would serve well as a planter for a small tree. If you find something similar, start by punching drainage holes through the base.
The tracery of the twiggy Prunus tenella is shown off best against a dark backdrop. Its grey branches seem as similarly cold as the metal container and it is the fieriness of the crown imperial fritillaries, which, by contrast, offer warmth and signal the change in season.
Cultivation and care
Such a container takes a lot of soil to fill it, which can be expensive. I’ve used cut turf sods at the bottom, but a home-made compost, clean of perennial weeds, would be great. The soil level will sink over time but can be topped up with a sterilised, loam-based growing medium every winter, especially easy if the planting is short term.
The creamy, goblet-shaped tulip, Tulipa ‘Purissima’, is early flowering and reliably perennial. This large specimen of Prunus tenella has been transplanted from my garden after several years of growth. Along with the tulip and crown imperial fritillaries, they could all continue year after year within this container. You could use Kerria japonica or a Chaenomeles in place of the Prunus.
Plants
Prunus tenella Dwarf Russian almond is a running, early flowering, small shrub for full sun. Height and spread: 1.2m x 1.5m.
Symphytum orientale This white-flowered comfrey has slightly shorter proportions than Symphytum officinale. 50cm x 45cm. RHS H6†.
Vinca major var. oxyloba A very vigorous periwinkle with starry, purple flowers over a long season. 30cm x 90cm. RHS H6.
Tulipa ‘Purissima’ A fosteriana tulip, with petals that first open with a slight soft-yellow flush. They are comparatively weather resistant. 40cm x 10cm. AGM*. RHS H6, USDA 3a-8b.
Fritillaria imperialis ‘Rubra Maxima’ Remarkably exotic-looking member of the fritillary genus. At Benton End, these have persisted for 50 years, both in sun and partial shade. I’ve also used the slightly smaller (90cm x 20cm), yellow cultivar F. imperialis ‘Lutea’. 1.1m x 20cm. RHS H7, USDA 5a-8b.