Re: Cerinthe retorta

I just received Making a Garden on a Greek Hillside, the just
published (postumously) work by Mary Jaqueline Tyrwhitt, the
creator of the landscape at Sparoza, the 'garden central' of
the Mediterranean Garden Society.  I have been rushing through
this fascinating book wherein 'Jacky' passes along her experience
in creating this garden on a dry and semi-barren hillside near
Athens.  On Cerinthe, she says:

"These are strange flowers, C. retorta stranger than C. major.
It has narrow, tubular flowers curving in a bunch like a
shepard's crook at the end of each stem.  Half the tube is a
dark, almost purple-brown, the rest fades through yellow to
white and the bracts that enfold the base of each floret are
also a rich purple-brown.  C. major has larger, fatter tubular
flowers, the front half vivid yellow and the base chocolate-
brown, each bunch surrounded by a frill of green, not purple,
bracts.  Both are very strong-growing annuals with large leaves
covered with white blotches.  They are ready to naturalize
themselves anywhere where the soil is relatively deep.  I
collected C. retorta on Aegina and C. major on Tinos, but they
are uncommon plants and always attract attention."

Jacky seems unfamiliar with the for C. major purpurascens, which
is currently so common in the trade (and now in gardens due to
self-sowing!)

She continues elsewhere about C. retorta:

"Cerinthe retorta is an attractive spring-flowering annual that
is one of the first plants to thrust up sturdy pairs of cotyledons
after the first rains.  I was given seeds from Agenia some years
ago and it has grown so well that now I eradicate it from the
garden knowing I shall see plenty of plants in the phrygana (not
the maquis) part of the hillside."

Her footnotes to describe these two parts of the landscape read:
"The term 'maquis' or 'macchie' is used to describe a dense shrub
vegetation from between 1.5 and 3.5 meters tall, which is largerly
composed of evergreen hard-leaved species.  The term 'phrygana'
designates open scrub in which dwarf, cushion-shaped, spiny,
aromatic and often grey-leaved shrubs predominate."

*** (BTW - I'm really enjoying this new book and will provide some
information about how all of you might obtain a copy as soon as I
get the information together!) ***

I found C. major purpurascens mildly interesting when it first can
into the trade so forcefully.  It was the 'new rare treasure' on
spring, and the 'tiresome weed' the next!  But I have not seen C.
retorta yet, and it sounds more interesting that its larger and
more popular cousin.  Does anyone know where I might obtain a few
seeds for this fall?



Sean A. O'Hara                       sean.ohara@poboxes.com
h o r t u l u s   a p t u s          710 Jean Street
'a garden suited to its purpose'     Oakland, CA 94610-1459, U.S.A.
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