Crazy for Corydalis

The defining plants of my pre - teenaged year were those that grew in the garden of my parent ’ 1930 ’s semi - uninvolved house in Plymouth . Climbing the wall wereRosa‘Masquerade ’ and R. ‘ Albertine ’ , a delightful loganberry and a variegated Aquilegia canadensis which decisively failed to flower . In the mete there were African marigolds in summer and crocus in spring , planted in small round beds beneath standard roses : ‘ Peace ’ , ‘ Iceberg ’ and ‘ Fragrant Cloud ’ . Hedges were fashion from prosperous privet and red escallonia , and the wall along the drive were mob with red valerian ( Centranthus ruber ) and an ineradicable mourning band we call in shekels and Malva sylvestris . That flora had soft , ferny , light greenish leafage and clear icteric prime sprouting from pinkish , succulent stems . It was the favourite gathering place for local snail , providing nerveless , plushy cover , out of harm ’s mode . Its persistence made it part of the garden ’s framework . Although I can chance no reference to it ever being referred to as bread and Malva sylvestris by anyone else , I know the weed ’s name : Corydalis lutea .

Corydalis lutea(known to most as yellowed fumitory ) , is one of those plant , likeErigeron karvinskianusorMeconopsis cambrica , that once you have it established in a wall or terrasse you will never be free of . That ’s not all bad as it ’s a pretty filler , but one can definitely have too much of a good thing . Yellow fumitory loves the West Country climate , which is generally damp and cool . Like so many plants , Corydalis luteaappreciates good drain , hence a penchant for walls and rockeries . Having come up short on finding any of my own exposure of the subject in hand , I stumbled upon this one on Pinterest , demonstrating both its rapacity and its power to play as an effortless ground cover in semi - shaded spot . Although a neat ocular companion for hostas , I can not recommend it if you are susceptible to snails .

Corydalis is a genus of about 470 coinage of annual and perennial herbaceous plant in thePapaveraceaefamily , aboriginal to the temperate Northern Hemisphere and high raft of tropical East Africa . They are most various in Asia and the Himalayas , with at least 357 mintage originating in China . The name Corydalis number from the Greekkorydalís , which mean ‘ crested lark ’ . This refers to the delicately balanced , boo - like aplomb of each individual peak on the stem . Others liken them to school of colourful polliwog navigating a sea of fine foliation . Corydalis flowers cover a broad colour spectrum , including red , pinkish , coral , orange , yellow , purple and , famously , blue .

Corydalis solidahas been planted in gardens since at least the sixteenth one C . It has mauvish - pink flower and naturalises well in grass or amongst spring - flowering bulbs . Imagine it with bluebells , primrose or late flowering narcissi and then go and plant some ! Two weekends ago I admiredCorydalis solidasubsp . solida‘Beth Evans ’ in the Lower Courtyard atSissinghurst . This cheerful mixture produces frail , pink - goad flowers and rarely tops six inches in elevation , make it ideal as an butt against plant life . Later in the year the leafage dies back quickly , allowing other plants to fill the same space . Anyone hunger redder flowers might tryCorydalis solidasubsp.solida‘George Baker ’ , which has brick - red flush that vary in colour depending on the character of the industrial plant and the frigidness of the preceding winter . The clon was earlier discovered in Romania , from whence most of the pink and red forms hail . Corydalis solida‘Zwanenburg ’ is study the fine red pattern , and has been have sex to change hand for three figure sums .

in person I like the quieter colours in Corydalis , especially the cross betweenCorydalis solidaand sulphur - flowered Siberian nativeCorydalis bracteata , known horticulturally asCorydalis×allenii . These make pale , creamy - yellow , mauve - suffused blooms above luxuriant , silvery - grayness leaf . Quite the most elegant fumitories you ’ll ever see .

Now , to the attention - grabbing blues from Eastern Asia . The most common isCorydalis flexuosa , which has an Award of Garden Merit from the RHS . Plants have fine divided , glaucous leafage , sometimes tinged with purpleness . blossom are electric risque , often tinged with purple , and are dead resistless . The physique ‘ China Blue ’ has heavenly , glacier - blue flowers that dribble on from leaping until July . ‘ Purple Leaf ’ produces mounds of smoky - blue foliation and azure efflorescence flushed with loss . If you may cross them down , Corydalis ornataandCorydalis turtschaninoviiare other interesting blueing .

Corydalis lutea(photo source unknown)

Thirty long time on I find myself without any genus Corydalis in my gardens at all , a position I am eager to remedy . bloom in spring and early summertime , Corydalis tend to have disappeared underground by midsummer , making them an ideal pardner for hostas , deciduous fern , grass and other repeated plants which come into leaf later in the year . Corydalis will grow nicely in mass of coarse-grained , humus - rich land , but must be kept cool and moist in summer , otherwise they will yield to mildew faster than you may say ‘ Jack Robinson ’ . The one I covet most isCorydalis cheilanthifolia , envision below in the Cottage Garden at Sissinghurst , a works one might easy err for a flowering fern , if such a thing existed . The leaves are exquisitely dissected and flushed with red in spring , whilst the heyday are bring out in thick , vertical plumes of canary yellowness . Quite a quite a little , even in the most alien of garden .

There are two National Collections of Corydalis ; one inDurham , and one inClacton - on - Sea . A comprehensive selection of seldom - found and unusual Corydalis is offer byRare Plantsin Wrexham , North Wales . Do let me cognize if you grow Corydalis and I have leave alone any of your darling out . TFG .

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