We visited Forde Abbey in Dorset recently. It’s an amazing garden and well worth a visit.
In the Kitchen Garden we spotted this beautiful dark flowered Helenium .
They tell me that it’s name is Helenium ‘Dark Beauty’
It caught my eye growing in the dramatic setting of the Walled Garden. The deep red flowers of the Helenium and dark green foliage were enhanced by the pale plants surrounding it.
I’ve never seen it before and a quick search has revealed only snippets of information about this particular variety. Apparently it grows to approximately 1metre / 3′ 6″ tall when fully mature (the plants in these photographs were less than half that)
You may know it as Helenium ‘Dunkle Pracht’.
Helenium plants need a sunny position and moisture retentive but not waterlogged soil. They dislike wet winters and don’t cope very well with drought either! Adding a generous mulch of garden compost and giving a thorough soak once each week should be enough to get new plants off to a really good start. When the flowers fade deadhead to encourage new blooms and prolong the flowering period. Like most perennials Heleiums benefit from dividing every 3 years or so. Remove the central old growth and replant clumps with fresh new shoots from around the edge of the original plants.
Do you know or grow Helenium ‘Dark Beauty’?
If so perhaps you can tell us more about these gorgeous plants.
Happy Gardening! Gillian 🙂
