How beautiful the spring was this year. With mostly sunny days and chilly nights, this kept the tulips going perfectly for much longer than usual. With good weather comes good tulips and I don’t remember them being better — even in the basking weeks we had in the terrible spring of 2020.
Whether it’s to learn more about bulb lasagnes and how to do them (see page 12); get help with putting together work-every-time colour combinations or nifty pot or border bulb successions; we’ve included lots of ideas and information on the pages here relevant to gardening in autumn. We are now all equally obsessed with narcissi as we are with tulips. They’re fantastic value for their perenniality and — with good new breeding — their length of flowering and vase life. So whether it’s the discreet, classy and scented tazetta species-like varieties (such as ‘Cragford’ or ‘Starlight Sensation’) or the OTT florists’ ones (such as ‘White Medal’ and ‘Erlicheer’), more like canapé pavlovas than something that looks like a daffodil, you’ll see a much expanded range. We love each and every one here, trialled and tested over the
last few years in my garden. We still do 90% of our photography at Perch Hill, but Tom’s Town Garden (see page 18) in Ely is becoming an ever-increasing theme with us at Sarah Raven — this autumn, it forms a larger percentage of our range. As more of us have less space, I love turning to Tom (@tomstowngarden) for beautiful combinations and ideas that suit the compact garden. You’ll see lots of autumn planting ideas from
his 10 x 7 metre garden. Whichever space it’s for, I’m so proud of our range which is bigger and better than ever, but still chosen carefully after much experimentation and thought, choosing the best varieties and always thinking of design. And of course, there’s more to discover online!
For the Chelsea Tulip Collection, see our website
containers
THAT ARE PACKED WITH
colour
Our containers MAKE the garden in spring. The borders, walls and hedges gradually fill out with leaves, flowers and new growth throughout April and May but in the meantime our pots, large and small, fill the place with beauty, scent and exuberance. It would be half the place it is without them. For our bulbs in particular, it’s pots all the way. 1.
Tulips and wallflowers are one of our all-time favourite combinations and this one is a cracker, with ‘Orange Marmalade’ a new and already classic Viridiflora tulip matched by the scented ‘Campbell’, both in contrast to the rich crimson velvet wallflower and tulip. Pushing out the perfume, this is perfect, as we have it, by an entranceway. 201962
2. Tulip ‘Dom Pedro’
We have been pursuing Tulip ‘Dom Pedro’ for 20 years since I saw it at the incredible living bulb museum, Hortus Bulborum, in the Netherlands. Part of the early-20th-century group of ‘Breeder’ tulips, ‘Dom Pedro’ is the most extraordinary in mahogany, or chocolate crimson. Scented, long and late-flowering, it is a STELLAR variety and we are so excited to have it in our range as a UK exclusive. 261964
new
3. Sarah’s Doorstep Tulip Collection
Place these at your door and I challenge you not to swoon each time you pass. Grouping three of my current favourites, each bringing something unique to the party — from the frilly frippery of ‘Cabanna Parrot’, to the elegant hues of ‘Limoncello’ and simplicity of ‘Northcap’. 261972
4. Avenue of Tulips Collection
Line your garden path with pots planted up with this vibrant display that unfolds from March into May. The show starts with ‘Orange Emperor’, then the baton passes to ‘Double You’, and finally to the shiny lipstick pink of ‘Cosmopolitan’ and plummy peony type ‘Showcase’. 262028
5. Apricot Pot Tulip Collection
Discovering ‘Marianne’ on a bulb hunting trip last spring inspired me to create this trio. Soft, romantic shades like milky coffee and mauve are on the up, and these are the perfect apricots to combine them with. 261983
6. Chocolate Orange Tulip Collection
Two very exciting new-to-the-market tulips here combined with two of my long-standing favourites to create the very best terracotta, blood orange and mahogany. An unusual and classy collection. 262043
inspired by nature
Whenever I’m out and about in nature, in a meadow or a wood, visiting an exhibition or walking round someone else’s garden, I’m always looking, thinking about and trying to notice beautiful and unusual colour, shape and texture combinations.
Whether it’s walking across the incredible white sandy beach of Taransay (in the Outer Hebrides) or up early with Jonathan Buckley (our photographer) on a spring morning to witness a marvellous sunrise (or westerly sunset), if there’s a beautiful colour combination, I photograph it or stash it away in my memory bank to use later on.
Then, as the new season of ‘designing and putting together new combinations’ is upon us, that’s what I draw on — ready-made ideas
which I know work beautifully.
That’s just how these two collections came to be — our Shells on the Beach and April Sunrise Tulip Collections — both inspired by nature.
April Sunrise Tulip Collection Inspired by being up with the lark with Jonathan Buckley last April, photographing the garden full of tulips, these were the colours of the dawn. 261975
Sunrise at Perch Hill
April Sunrise Tulip Collection
Shells on the Beach Tulip Collection
My tulip version of our popular Shells on the Beach dahlia collection, in the same dreamy palette. Featuring some of my all-time favourites in a palette of coral, mauve, milky coffee and apricot — inspired by shells found on a beachcombing walk on a sailing holiday in the Outer Hebrides. 261807
Visit sarahraven.com for
Visit sarahraven.com for more inspiration
Shells on the Beach Tulip Collection
SARAH’S FAVOURITE TULIP
colour palettes
Sarah’s best colour combinations to guide you on what will work well in your space.
Tapestry Tulip Collection
A tulip mix in soft vintage silk, faded colours which I absolutely love. 260940
Tulip ‘Spring Green’
A classic green and ivory tulip which is very reliably perennial. A longstanding cottage garden favourite. 260243
Tulip ‘Blue Heaven’
This classically elegant shaped multi bloom tulip opens in a lovely bluish-pink hue. 261587
soft & warm
This palette is so fashionable, with a vintage, 1970s air. I think of these as cashmere jersey colours.
Tulip ‘La Belle Epoque’
You won’t find any other tulip like this. The most incredible colour — coffee mousse, flushed with pink, with double flowers which last for weeks. I really love it. 260860
Rose Bowl Tulip Collection
I picked and arranged these and immediately realised that they looked more like a bowl of June roses than tulips — so that’s what this set of four is called. Fragrant, full, frilly and feminine. 261569
boiled sweet
Bold and brilliant — this palette is definitely one for the colour lovers amongst us.
Tulips ‘Attila Graffiti’ and ‘Louvre Orange’ Mix
Rich carmine ‘Attila Graffiti’ matched by the base of the petal of ‘Louvre Orange’, with a vermilion contrast at its petal edge. If you like your colours strong and saturated, this pair is for you. 261331
Bold and Brilliant Tulip Collection
The contrast between the colours here is uplifting. All four have the elegant shape and perenniality of the lily-flowered group. They’re some of the best. 261300
Fruit Gum Tulip Collection
When these flowered in our whopper pots it reminded me of long car journeys with a bag of sweets. Saturated shades combine for a luminous, juicy and joyful combination. Long-flowering and excellent vase life. 261982
new
Tulip ‘Ballerina’
A beautiful orange with a sweet scent. An absolute must in my garden. 260206
Tulip ‘Queensday’
One of the tallest and most spectacular tulips you can grow which is extremely perennial. 260971
Dark Peony Flowered Tulip Collection
Luscious, full-petalled tulips in dazzling jewel-like colours, one of our favourite collections. These really do look like spring peonies. 260998
Shown growing here with Wallflower ‘Sugar Rush Purple Bicolour’ F1, see our website
dark & rich
Incredibly decadent and undeniably rich. This palette was one of my first true loves.
Tulip ‘Black Hero’
A spectacular double version of tulip ‘Queen of Night’. It’s tall and glossy and would be better called ‘Black Beauty’. 260208
THE TALE OF TULIP
Celebrating
10 years of Tulip
‘Sarah Raven’
Tulip ‘Sarah Raven’ What fantastic tulips, with the best colour of true, rich crimson and the most elegant flower shape. A very long flowerer too. 260963
‘Sarah Raven’
My parents had a tulip like this in their garden when I was a child. It had that typical, pointypetalled, lily-flowered shape and was a true crimson-black which doesn’t fade to purple. I remember it so well and have been on the look out for it ever since. I’ve trialled various tulips and none were what I was looking for. Then, during a visit to a tulip trial field about 10 years ago, feeling slightly grumpy without the right gear in the pouring rain, I spotted the tulip that is now called ‘Sarah Raven’. I fell in love with it and was able to bring a few bulbs home.
Super elegant, very perennial and good for cutting, we’ve nurtured this unique variety ever since. We are now very proud to announce that it has been awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM).
THE HISTORY OF OUR Venetian tulip collection
One of the best-ever collections created by us in 2007 and planted at Perch Hill every year since and sensational every single spring.
The first photo we have of this was taken on 24th April 2008. It included my three favourite colours: red, orange and crimson, which are so rich together. I love having been at this as long as I have because you then learn which varieties will just plain excel — and none more than this lot!
First planted 18 years ago by Bea Andrews (our Head Gardener at the time), we’ve grown this same combination every year since and I now love to occasionally spy this trio peering over people’s garden walls or hedges!
Bea is now a florist and returns to Perch Hill to fill every vase and table with flowers for our courses and open days. So I’d say good people and good varieties go round and round.
Excellent planted en masse in containers, lining garden paths or weaved into borders (as shown right). It’s equally stunning paired with wallflowers in a single pot or as a vibrant one pot wonder completely on its own.
We also love it planted in bumper quantities in borders, surrounded by honesty (lunaria) and euphorbias to accentuate the bold and brilliant colours of the tulips.
Shown growing here with Lunaria annua and Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii
Venetian Tulip Collection Wonderful. It flowers from April to May and will brighten up your spring garden. 260319
Growing in a border with purple honesty (lunaria)
Growing in the Oast Garden in 2008
Large Ribbed Planter 420223
4 SIMPLE STEPS FOR GROWING
a succession of spring flowers
To get dense and flowery spring pot displays, try layering bulbs in what the Dutch call a bulb lasagne, planting them up one on top of another. The largest and latest flowering bulbs go in deepest, moving to the smallest and earliest in the top layer.
1 STEP
Tulips are the perfect base for a cheery and bright spring container. These will be the last to flower and should go into your pot first to fill the deepest layer
2 STEP
Narcissi or another tulip are best for the central layer as they will both flower in the middle of spring. Muscari also make a great selection
March – April April – May
3 STEP
Irises, crocus or scilla (see below) are some of the earliest to bloom in early spring, so make a perfect top layer. Plant these varieties last
4 STEP
Cover with rose prunings or pot topper seedlings to keep grey squirrels at bay. Et voila! You’ve made your own bulb lasagne. Now sit back, relax and wait for the glorious succession of spring colour to unfold...
Horticultural Coarse Grit 430243 Peat Free Compost 430197 (shown above in our Large Grey Rattan Pot) See our website for more autumn gardening essentials
Large Grey Rattan Pot 420580
Scilla siberica 261349
Ginger Snap Tulip Mix 261751
our favourite bulb lasagne
Try one of our best bulb recipes for unbeatable spring colour.
See page 31
‘Sarah Raven’ See page 10
See page 9
Crocus minimus ‘Spring Beauty’
My favourite crocus. The outer petals have a white base, feathered and veined with the deepest purple; the inner is revealed when the flowers open — a lovely soft mauve. 260542
February – March
March – April
April – May
Iris ‘Pauline’ (Reticulata)
A beautiful plumed tricorn hat, in expensive silk-velvet, with the finest dabs and strokes of gold and white on this one’s falls. 261532
by Esther Palmer
Brilliant Bulb Lasagne Collection
If you don’t fancy mixing and matching your own bulb lasagne varieties these are our favourite bulbs to plant in layers for a succession of flowers. 260937
Illustration
Tulip ‘Ballerina’
Tulip
Narcissus ‘Actaea’
bulb lasagne COLLECTIONS
Enjoy an effortless succession of spring interest with our carefully curated collections.
Spring Centrepiece
Container Collection
A hugely successful bulb lasagne — not with tulips this time — but with narcissi and grape hyacinths. This sat on the table outside our kitchen window where we loved it from March into May, Plus, it offers the most delicious scent too. 261724
new
White & Cream Bulb Lasagne
Collection
The perfect mix of subtle paint chart hues and interesting shapes for an elegant spring show. Flowering in succession from early April to late May, our handpicked trio of Viridiflora and Triumph tulips, plus multi-headed narcissus, works beautifully in pots. 262032
See our website for Huge Centrepiece Tub
White Garden Bulb Collection
Perfect for a shady corner. You’ve got the fabulous Tulip ‘White Valley’ syn ‘Exotic Emperor’, a favourite here now for 20 years, plus the super-flowery hyacinth, delicate narcissus and elegant white-frosted, soft blue grape hyacinth. Flowers for eight weeks (at least). 261758
A GUIDE TO POT SIZES & QUANTITIES
Follow Josie’s (Head Gardener at Perch Hill) simple guide to full pots
Dia.30cm = 30 Bulbs
Dia.45cm = 45 Bulbs
Dia.60cm = 60 Bulbs
The above guidelines are based on the size of average-sized bulbs, such as tulips
EXPERT TOP TIP
Plant your bulbs in two or more layers for abundant results
Folk Story Mix
A perfect bulb pairing of the pure white, multi-headed narcissus with a zap of contrast from this standout tulip, all the better for the flash of purple. 261840
Brunnera macrophylla ‘Silver Spear’ 513110
Shade Pot Bulb Collection
Running along the north and very shady wall of our barn, this water trough collection shines light, colour and prettiness into one of the potentially darkest and dullest spots. Hard to beat for shade. The bulbs are planted deeply and left where they are to reappear every March. Includes Tulip ‘Purissima’ and Narcissus ‘Sailboat’. 261839
planter for bulb lasagnes
Green Tub Planter 420533
Also available in blue, see our website
Last autumn, Sarah planted a bulb lasagne in our bestselling Tub Planter with Iris ‘Purple Hill’, Narcissus ‘Starlight Sensation’ and Tulip ‘White Valley’ syn ‘Exotic Emperor’ (see our website for these varieties). She placed this pot on the path between the barn and lawn at Perch Hill where its successional display looked fantastic from mid-February to mid-May.
a trip to the Dutch tulip fields
Join Sarah and our bulb Buying team as they go on the hunt for the latest and most stylish tulip varieties to introduce to our ever growing range.
In April Ruth, Tom, Josie and I head off to the Netherlands to visit bulb breeders and trial fields from right up in the north of the country to the seaside at Noordwijk, where we usually stay.
We have several breeders and bulb traders who we’ve built relationships with for many years. You know quickly who likes the same sorts of colours, shapes and eccentricities as we do and those are the people it’s fun and creative to work with.
We do long days but always return on a huge high, amazed that yet again we’ve found even more new, supremely beautiful varieties to add to our range. We are often working in the early stages of a tulip’s development — and some new ones won’t see the light of day for
five years or more, but we are always buzzing with excitement and dying to present what we’ve found to the home team.
We hope you can feel that individuality in our range here, because truly, we love and devote ourselves to it — always keen to hunt out the unusual and best spring-flowering bulbs to then trial and test for reliability and perenniality at Perch Hill before we launch a new tulip, or collection, to you.
OUR TULIP BULBS
• Are grown in the ground one year longer than most of our competitors to give you the best and biggest, most sumptuous tulips with larger flowers and taller stems.
• Are bagged and labelled individually, so you can choose exactly where to plant each colour.
• 45 bulbs will fill a Dia.45cm pot in two layers for an abundant spring display.
1. Tulips as Peonies Collection
We all love a peony, and here, I’ve chosen a mix of soft-coloured tulips to imitate them as accurately as I can, flowering a good few weeks before even the earliest peony. Pretty irresistible. 261811
2. Tulip hageri ‘Little Beauty’
This pretty species tulip has exquisite bright pink flowers with deep blue centres and a delicious scent. 260472
3. Tulip ‘Dutch Delight’
Named in honour of its Dutch heritage, this candy pink visitor is most welcome in the borders at Perch Hill. 261994
4. Tulip ‘Sanne’
This tulip opens pink, then fades to a delicious apricot. I’ve come to really love it. 261046
a visit to Tom’s town garden
Tom Stimpson is our Head of Horticulture (@tomstowngarden) and he has a beautiful garden — small, exquisite and perfectly formed! Together, Sarah and Tom have curated an array of bold and brilliant plant and bulb collections for small gardens.
Town Garden Spring Succession Bulb Collection 261904, for Florence Table, see our website
Narcissus ‘Minnow’
Crocus ‘Flower Record’
Muscari armeniacum ‘Babies Breath’
SARAH: Tom’s garden is full of pots, large terracotta containers standing on the paths and in the borders, as well as tons of smaller pots lining the path edges and lifted on to metal tables. And he uses plant theatres — which enable you to cram so much more in.
For February, he has pots of mini iris (reticulatas) and crocus. Then from early March he uses narcissus and pot toppers to start flowering even earlier, producing winterflowering pansies. Then he moves to having lots of tulips, chosen carefully to give flowers and colour all the way through spring.
TOM: Bulb planting in autumn is something I look forward to doing every year because I know the garden will be transformed with colour the following spring.
In early October, I begin to plant the smaller, table-top pots with iris, crocus and muscari and then towards the end of October the focus shifts to narcissi. The delicate and softly coloured varieties which have a wonderful fragrance are favourites; a few will come inside when they begin to flower in spring.
Once November arrives, it’s all about tulips! Larger pots are used for these, and I plant (in lasagne layers) quite heavily for maximum flowers and impact. I couldn’t imagine spring without tulips — absolutely one of my favourite blooms for colour, visual impact and for cutting.
1. Tulip cretica ‘Hilde’
Small but tough. In the wild these flower after the upland snows have melted, so it is particularly suited to exposed and cold sites. 261959
2. Perfect Spring Posy Collection
A lovely spring posy for a windowsill or bedside vase. Sarah and Tom absolutely love it for its simplicity, elegance and fragrance. 261902
3. Narcissus ‘Snipe’
Small but mighty in character, ‘Snipe’ won me over in our trials at Perch Hill. Lightly scented. 262008
4. Petite and Discreet Bulb Collection
These four provided colour and interest through March and April. Quite lovely. 261906
5. Tom’s Narcissus Collection
Classy, perfumed and all the better up close. 262012
To find out more about Tom’s town garden visit our website
fireworks
IN YOUR BORDERS
WITH
alliums
If you love your garden to be showy and floriferous — a feast for your eyes, as well as for our native pollinators, who’ll love their nectar-rich flowers — then you’ve got to grow alliums. They’ll still be appearing reliably for over 20 years. They are garden stalwarts, invaluable for their early flowers (‘Purple Rain’ and ‘Purple Sensation’) which come into bloom as the last of the tulips fade, carrying the colour firework baton through until the lilies (Allium cristophii, see right growing with gladiolus) and then finally the dahlias in July.
Edge Allium Collection I love crazy Allium ‘Magic’ which lives up to its name with its eccentric twists and twirls to some of its stems. It lasts for months. It’s underplanted with the pretty Allium ‘Eros’ which we use as a cut and edible flower. And of course, both are continually humming with all sorts of exciting bees. 261770
Border
Plant spire-shaped varieties and delicate minarets amongst your alliums and add vibrant orange hues — both create a rich contrast to their deep purple bursts.
1. Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’
Like alliums and aquilegias, we all need them for our May garden and this one flowers long and hard. I love it in a softer orange than most. 200605
2. Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’
One of the earliest varieties which produces some of the longest spikes to add minarets to your borders. 190615
3. Gladiolus and Allium Pairing
The epitome of flowery rockets with sparkler starbursts — wonderful for filling unassuming corners. Statement varieties of two of the very best summer bulbs — Gladiolus communis subsp. Byzantinus and Allium ‘Purple Sensation’, combined here to stunning effect. Will flower over a long period from May into June. 262024
4. Arthur’s Allium Collection
Arthur Parkinson, florist and Sarah’s original podcast co-host and friend (see page 25), chose this collection of three alliums which cover everything alliums can do, from intense colour to sparkler-like, architectural glamour. These all have the RHS AGM — and are reliable and easy to grow, coming back year on year. 261486
1 & 2. For Allium hollandicum ‘Purple Sensation’, see our website 4.
spring flowers
FOR PICKING AND ARRANGING
As well as growing plenty of plants and flowers at Perch Hill, we love to pick them too, my garden supplies every single stem for decorating our greenhouses, barn and shop for our open days. And I’ve been at it now for over 30 years.
My new book out next spring A Year of Cut Flowers tells the tale of all I’ve learnt since writing my first ever book, The Cutting Garden in 1996. Here’s the cream of the perennial and bulb crop, grown and photographed in my house and garden.
See page 8 for Tulips ‘Belle Epoque’ and ‘Blue
and for ‘Black Hero’ see page 10
Heaven’
1. Sarah’s Desert Island Allium Collection
If I could squirrel away just a few bulbs when sent off to a desert island, it would be these. Flowers from the end of May right through the summer and loved by pollinators. 261987
2. Bea’s Bulb Collection
Bea, once Head Gardener here and now our florist, picked out this romantic trio last spring. Two beautifully voluptuous tulips are joined by a distinctive fritillary for a calm, discreet beauty which really wows. 261976
3. Tulip ‘Slawa’
Deep rich crimson and apricot in one flower. One of the all-time great tulips for picking and Josie’s (our Head Gardener) favourite tulip which goes with almost any colour combination and palette. We grow more of this now than even ‘Ballerina’. 261144
4. Tulip ‘Go Go Red’
I adore lily-flowered tulips, the catwalk models of the bunch; and this quirky addition with its saturated hue and eccentric shape is no exception. 261996
5. Allium schubertii
My favourite eccentric and showy firework allium for cutting with vast, pink, spiky and sweet-scented flowers. 260010
6. Fritillaria acmopetala
Sultry, exotic and to me irresistible, these fritillaries thrive in pots, large or small. 190728
10 times more at
Mellow Tulip Collection
We found this incredible family of tulips in a field of one of our favourite breeders in the Netherlands on a freezing cold day in a hail storm and gale, yet this could not be more opposite — warm, mellow, faded, vintage. Perfect! 261919
Tulip ‘Copex Cairo’
Lending itself to warm, exotic colour combinations, the almost striated petals, veined in the most delicate way, invite a closer look. A rarely grown variety. 261960
Tulip ‘Verona Sunrise’
Voluptuous pinky coral double flowers that open to reveal a stunning saturated sunrise that gradually fades into vintage appeal over time. 262005
TOP TIPS FOR longer vase life
Straighten tulip stems
To keep heavy-headed parrot tulips from flopping over, create a hole with a pin just below the flower head. This is where the growth plate is. New cells growing here are newly divided so they have no lignin. Sticking a pin in (and removing it) disrupts the cellular division resulting in more rigid stems.
Sear your stem ends
For perennials and shrubs pour boiling water into a mug and sear 10% of the stem end then immediately place into cold water. The length of time Sarah sears stems for is proportional to the woodiness of the stems, two seconds for a bluebell, 20 seconds for a rose.
Smokey Hues Tulip Collection
A carefully curated palette that’s fashionable right now. 262031
THE SARAH RAVEN
AArit Anderson
This season, we’re thrilled to welcome even more fabulous tastemakers to the Collective.
Arit Anderson is a garden designer, writer and BBC Gardeners’ World presenter. She blends a background in fashion and wellness with a passion for plants and climate-conscious gardening.
Arit Anderson’s Favourite Tulip Mix
We asked Arit to select her favourites last spring — this is the result. In an exotic palette of hot reds and orange, with intensely contrasting hues of deep plum. These eight tulips bring a mix of quirky shapes and statement colour to your spring displays. 261977
Arthur Parkinson
Arthur is a writer, illustrator and gardener, with five books to his name — including the latest, The Hen Party, which will be released in October. He’s known for gardening in pots, raising rare-breed hens, and teaching flower arranging independently and with Sarah nationwide.
Kim Murray
Kim Murray is wife to former number one tennis player
Andy Murray, a mother of their four young children and a hotelier at Cromlix, the five-star country house hotel in Dunblane. She is also an artist and author.
Kim’s Cromlix Tulip Collection
I came across Kim Murray (Sears) in a magazine article earlier this year. The interview told us that the ultimate excitement for husband Andy is winning a tennis tournament, whereas, for Kim, it’s when the Sarah Raven catalogue drops through the door! We’ve worked on this tulip collection together with beautiful peach, orange and crimson varieties grown partly at Perch Hill and partly in Kim’s own garden in Surrey. They also grow armfuls of these varieties to fill bedrooms at their spectacular hotel Cromlix, near Dunblane, on the Scottish central belt. 261912
Arthur Parkinson’s
Flower Yard Bulb Collection
Vivid and just a little bit theatrical. This is a trio inspired by one of Arthur’s signature colour palettes, which groups three of Arthur’s favourite bulbs for containers. It merges the merlot tones of ‘Ronaldo’, with hot orange accents courtesy of tulip ‘Request’ and slightly punkish Fritillaria ‘Orange Beauty’.
261971
Anna Potter
Anna is an author and co-founder of Swallows & Damsons, a UK based flower shop, which opened in 2008. Whilst designing and teaching worldwide for renowned clients, Anna has also authored two best selling books.
Swallows and Damsons Tulip Collection
Talented florist Anna created this sumptuous line up in her signature Dutch masters palette. Featuring some of our most characterful and intensely coloured tulips — including ‘Black Hero’ and ‘Cairo’ — Anna’s artful collection evokes drama in the vase or grouped together in pots. Grow against a dark painted wall or fence to really bring these vibrant tulips to life. 261981
Shane Connolly
Shane is a renowned floral designer and ambassador for sustainable floristry. His clients range from great public institutions like The V&A, the RA and the National Portrait Gallery, to a veritable who’s who of the great and the good of British life.
Shane Connolly’s Delightful Duo Tulip Collection
Demonstrating his knack for unique arrangements, Shane has combined the lily-flowered ‘Dolls’ Minuet’ with the ever-changing coral tones of ‘Verona Sunrise’. This tulip pairing has long-flowering periods and excellent vase life when cut. Grow in pots by the front door to enjoy their generous display up close. 261978
SCAN THE CODE to meet the rest of this season’s Sarah Raven Collective and discover more
bring spring closer
Flowers from January; these early flowers help keep the winter blues at bay. Plus, they feed our early-emerging bumblebees — an extra bonus!
Start Spring in February Bulb Collection
These three petite bulbs are perfect planted into small scale pots and raised up on to windowsills or outdoor tables. They give us food for the eyes — and for early-emerging bumblebees — food for the abdomens. 261858
February – March
1. Iris reticulata ‘Blue Note’
Of all the reticulatas this is simply stunning. The petals are intense in indigo to electric blue. 262016
2. Tulip ‘Ice Stick’
The earliest of the early-earlies, flowering in early March. 261479
3. Fritillaria meleagris
One of our most beautiful native wildflowers, this exotic-looking beauty is easy to grow. 261920
4. Galanthus nivalis (Common Snowdrop) One of the very first things to emerge and one of the loveliest New Year vases. 261065
5. Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non scripta) Plant your own mini bluebell wood now and love them forever afterwards. 260739
6. Iris reticulata ‘Clairette’
A painterly profusion of lilac petals, white throats and royal blue tips. A miniature masterpiece. 262015
7. Helleborus x sahinii ‘Winterbells’ Grown as a houseplant, cut flower or border perennial for dappled shade, this newly bred hellebore flowers almost all year – I love it! 200437
8. Clematis x cartmanii ‘Avalanche’ Dense with white flowers, this really does cascade down from a shrub or tree like an avalanche. 200869
9. Pulmonaria ‘Raspberry Splash’
With its vibrant pink and raspberry-hued flowers against silver-speckled leaves, this charming perennial brings a splash of colour to shady spots. 201901
meadows
LAWNS & hedegrows
Brighten woodland areas, shady spots, grassy meadows and lawns with swathes of spectacular flowers.
Perennial bulbs are more and more our thing, as we experiment with which varieties are best for returning year after year, or gradually spreading naturally to colonise their corners.
This makes bulb growing more sustainable, affordable and easier, as you don’t have to add new every autumn.
This selection here are tried and tested to do just that. They’ve reappeared in my garden now for over five years — and some for more like 20.
An optimistic, cheering sight; a create-yourown-alpine-meadow for spring. 261841
1. Gladiolus communis subsp. byzantinus These magenta spires stud the olive groves in the Mediterranean. Known as ‘Whistling Jack’ in Cornwall and the Scilly Isles where it is also naturalised. Excellent in borders or grass. 260038
2. Crocus tommasinianus
The best, early crocus for grass, and the bees love them. Freely self-sows. 260008
3. Tulip sylvestris
The wild native tulip which grows well in grass and in light shade under trees and it has a delicious scent. Plant it this year and it will be there for decades. 260865
4. Tulip and Narcissus
Naturalising Collection
A great pair to last a lifetime in an orchard or on a lawn. 261494
5. Early Spring Jewels Collection
This mix greets me from early March until the end of April. 261772
6. Narcissus ‘Actaea’
Beautiful, delicate and flowers one month earlier than the classic ‘Pheasant’s Eye’ narcissi. Highly scented and excellent in a border or grass. 260120
7. The Carien Crocus Collection
The prettiest, most delicate looking forms. 261355
Orchard Camassia and Daffodil Collection
2.
Naturalised bulbs at Great Dixter
3. See page 29 for Fritillaria meleagris 1.
naturalising YOUR BULBS en masse
Introduce our bumper-sized collections to your outside space. With over 80 bulbs in each pack, you’re bound to enjoy dense sprinklings of flowers all spring long.
Each of these bulb mixes include only varieties which naturalise and spread slowly, covering more and more ground. With each year, their clumps get bigger and stronger, so that after maybe three to five years, you can lift and divide them to make even more plants. Do this in the spring as they die down, but when their leaves are still green. This is low-maintenance, sustainable bulb growing for the busy gardener.
1. Leiden Gardenscape Mix
A collection of brilliant naturaliser bulbs, these diminutive beauties will illuminate your garden every spring. Includes a mix of narcissus, chionodoxa, puschkinia, fritillaria, crocus and scilla. 262037
2. Bulbs for Naturalising Collection
A combination of easy-toestablish naturalising bulbs for spring. With crocus, camassia, muscari and narcissus. 260994
3. Spice Up Your Grass Collection
Sustainable gardening is increasingly at the forefront of our minds, so we have been experimenting with planting lots of bulbs into grass to see which do best and increase year on year. I adore this swathe of species tulips and fritillaria. 261818
4. Naturalising Duo
Growing bulbs in grass en masse has become hugely popular and these two are the perfect candidates. Fully hardy and perennial, the slender petals of tulip ‘Purple Dream’ will return annually to contrast the gentle primrose of the Lent Lily Daffodil. 262033
5. Gouda Gardenscape Mix
Five iconic spring flowers in some of my most beloved varieties. This mix combines narcissus, scilla, muscari, snakeshead fritillary and the incomparable Tulipa sylvestris to excellent effect. 262036
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We offer a Lifetime Guarantee for all fully hardy plants
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KEY TO OUR SYMBOLS
Look out for the below symbols to help you choose the best varieties for your garden’s aspect
Full sun
Part shade
Full shade
courses & events WITH SARAH
Come and enjoy a day of learning and inspiration at Perch Hill with Sarah on one of our many specialised courses.
A Year Full of Flowers: Gardening for all seasons with Sarah Raven at Perch Hill Farm Colour and scent are the hallmarks of Sarah’s style and they are simple luxuries that everyone can bring into their garden. On this day course, she (along with her Head Gardener Josie) will give you inspiration, planting ideas and expert advice for a beautiful garden all year round. See all you’ve been taught come to life at Perch Hill, with plenty of time to privately explore the garden
Visit sarahraven.com/courses-events to discover more
contact & delivery information
We aim to send out all our plants and bulbs at the best time for planting, so your items may arrive at different times. For full despatch information on individual varieties, please see our website. Subject to availability and unforeseen seasonal circumstances, delivery may take longer during peak season.
For more delivery details visit sarahraven.com/delivery
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Free delivery on orders over £100*
Standard delivery from £5.99 Next day delivery from £6.99
Plant substitutions
On rare occasions, we may send an alternative plant that will be carefully chosen as a suitable substitute. If you are unhappy with the substitution, we will issue a full refund.
Returns, refunds and exchanges
We hope that you are delighted with your order. However, if this is not the case for any reason, you must let us know within 28 days and we will replace or refund your item.
Sarah Raven lifetime guarantee
We offer a lifetime guarantee for all fully hardy plants. This includes hardy perennials, climbers, shrubs and trees only. All other categories have a one year guarantee. For more information please visit sarahraven.com/terms or contact our customer service team.
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Wooden Log Bird Feeder
A simple, basic bird feeder, particularly good for keeping garden birds alive in the cold. They lose fat overnight when temperatures plummet and this allows them to restock. 380143
Glazed Bird Baths
These beautiful glazed green dishes come in two sizes and make great, lovely-to-look-at bird baths in the garden. They can also be used as saucers for containers, or to display large pillar candles. 380124
new new feed THEb rds
Sarah Raven Nesting Box
Beautiful, durable and safe; the ultimate nest box for your garden birds. Give your garden birds a really good-looking place to nest with these exclusive nest boxes, made from 15mm thick reclaimed teak with an intern shelf which helps protect against predators. 380132
Bird School: A Beginner in the Wood
We’ve been gardening organically at Perch Hill now for decades and hugely recommend all gardeners do the same. As sustainably conscious company, we love and want to encourage nature and wildlife to the garden and as part of this, looking after the birds will help you look after the garden
Squirrel Proof Fat Ball Feeder
Tried and tested by my husband, Adam, in his bird hide. Cleverly designed to keep squirrels away from the fat balls inside, this feeder only lets little birds in to reach the prize. 380142
Step inside Adam Nicolson’s woodland hide at Perch Hill and discover the secret lives of birds. An exquisite blend of observation, philosophy and wonder. A journey of listening, watching and learning from the everyday birds we so often overlook. Beautifully written and deeply insightful, this book will change how you see and hear the wild. 380142
Spring Table Tulip Collection
A bright and breezy gathering of a late spring garden with tulips of all shapes, which looks wonderful mixed in with alliums and spring leaves — so you too can recreate the freshness of spring on your eating table. 261754
Tudor
Rose Tulip Collection
The Tudor rose brought together the reds of Lancaster and the whites of York, and here it is in tulip form, but made better and richer by the deep blood-reds of ‘Palmyra’ and ‘Uncle Tom’. Long-flowering and perennial varieties only included here. 261753
Sarah Raven
Tulip Collection I want to wear this, or design a fabric based on this combination — the soft milky-coffee and apricot colours of the three main tulips grounded by rich crimson, stopping the group from being too sweet. 261801
