Thunberg’s bushclover
Sometimes I become fixated on a certain named cultivar of a plant, even if it means driving six hours to collect it! Well, I’ll admit we were already going in that direction and I had long wanted to visit Larch Cottage Nurseries in Cumbria, but this was the opportunity I needed and I have not been disappointed by my purchase.
Another member of the pea family, ‘Gibraltar’ is a very showy plant indeed; it flowers from late summer through to early autumn, and the arching stems, clothed in bluish-green foliage and laden with vivid purple pink flowers, are unstoppable – like a cascading waterfall. The growth this year has been phenomenal and each stem tip is touching the ground. I am thinking therefore, that the ideal place to grow this eye-catching plant would be on a slope, in a raised bed or spilling over a retaining wall.
This is a very hardy shrub and by the end of the winter all the previous year’s stems should be pruned to the ground and it will flower on the new growth. It seems to do fine on quite poor soil, well drained and in full sun. This cultivar was named for the Gibraltar estate in Delaware, USA where it was first discovered at the beginning of the 20th century.
NB Louise has published a beautifully produced book of her plant profiles – A Plant for Each Week of the Year. It costs £9.99 and is for sale in our online shop here.
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