Miss Willmott's Ghosts: the extraordinary life and gardens of a forgotten genius

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Jekyll, Gertrude (October 1914). "Review of The Genus Rosa by Ellen Willmott". The Quarterly Review. 221: 363–375. True, it is not winter yet, but in colder climates the temperatures remain below 10C during the day now and the night temperatures often dip below 0C. In these conditions, if sown and put outside right away, the seeds cannot imbibe properly for the cold stratification to be effective. Sadly, the performance is coming to an end and Miss Willmott’s Ghost will leave the stage. I’ve yet to work out how to replace her. Any suggestions? Miss Willmott’s Ghost is the most famous tale associated with this pioneering and eccentric gardener. The story exists in different forms. Miss Willmott’s Ghost looked fabulous for the rest of the summer. She became ghostlier (yet still attractive) with the arrival of autumn, the cones turning into dark seedheads and the bracts and stems fading to almost white.

Grow Your Own Miss Willmott’s ghost in the famous White Garden at Sissinghurst Castle, England. Photo: Kendra Wilson, gardenista.com Hobhouse and Wood, Penelope and Christopher (1988). Painted Gardens. English Watercolours 1850-1914. London: Pavilion. p.208. ISBN 978-1-85145-638-3. She was also known for being a prodigious spender. In 1905 she bought a third estate in Ventimiglia, Italy. [1] Willmott used her wealth to fund plant-hunting expeditions to China and the Middle East, [1] and species discovered on these excursions would often be named after her. The expeditions she sponsored included those of Ernest Henry Wilson, who named Ceratostigma willmottianum, Rosa willmottiae and Corylopsis willmottiae after her. [9] Over fifty plant species or varieties were named for her and her gardens. [8] Sow indoors. Surface sow onto moist well-drained seed compost. Just cover with vermiculite. Propagate 18-22°C. for 2-4 weeks. Do not exclude light. Germination can be slow. Seal seed container in a polythene bag and leave for 2 further weeks, then cold stratify. Move to a fridge 4°C for 3-6 weeks. After this return to warmth but no more than 18°C. If germination does not occur within 6-10 weeks return to fridge for further 3-6 weeks. Examine regularly whilst in fridge and immediately remove any seeds which show signs of germination. Move to 8cm pots. Acclimatise and plant out after danger of frost has passed. Now, more reasoned heads than mine will suggest that it’s most likely I accidentally introduced it through the soil of another plant or that a goldfinch (they loveeryngium seeds!) dropped a seed from another garden, but I like to think that the ghost of Miss Willmott herself planted it as a reminder to let my garden be as natural as possible.

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Such was her passion for plants and gardening that later in life Miss Willmott managed to spend most of her vast inheritance. Today Warley Place exists as ruins and is run as a reserve by the Essex Wildlife Trust. Willmott received a substantial inheritance from her godmother, another keen gardener, Countess Helen Tasker of Middleton Hall, Brentwood, who died in 1888. [6] [7] This enabled her to buy her first property near Aix-les-Bains, France, in 1890. [1] [2] Horticultural career [ edit ] Ceratostigma willmottianum, one of over 60 species named after Ellen Willmott or Warley Place. Wallis, Lucy (28 May 2022). "Sabotage and pistols - was Ellen Willmott gardening's 'bad girl'?". BBC News . Retrieved 28 May 2022. Ellen Ann Willmott: a Woman of Horticultural Destiny". Shakespeare Birthplace Trust . Retrieved 29 May 2022. Stunning in the garden on a summer’s day, the plant is even more impressive on a moonlit night, when flowers give off what can only be described as a ghostly glow. Miss Wilmott’s ghost indeed! A definite star for your moon garden!

In addition to her career in horticulture, Willmott also had other, lesser known accomplishments in particular photography and ornamental turning. [3] In 1932, Willmost presented her Holtzapffel lathe, some examples of her ornamental turning work, and a number of photographs and slides of horticultural subjects to the History of Science Museum, Oxford. [21] Later life [ edit ]Miss Willmott’s Ghost lurks in a rough corner of my garden. It branches like a candelabra, with many metallic heads all dressed in silvery-white bracts, each resembling an Elizabethan ruff. It was at its peak as July ended. But if moonlight falls on them, the silvery white skeletons remain wonderfully spooky. It was well worth the wait. In fact, from spring to autumn, Miss Willmott’s Ghost had me captivated. Heavily veined green leaves emerged in November. Then the first flower cone appeared. Over the next month, stems powered out of the ground and branched out, forming a plant of about 90cm by 90cm. By this point, the bracts and cones had developed a newly-minted silveriness. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ Willmott’s prodigious spending during her lifetime caused financial difficulties in later life, forcing her to sell her French and Italian properties, and eventually her personal possessions. [2] She became increasingly eccentric and paranoid: she booby-trapped her estate to deter thieves, and carried a revolver in her handbag. [9] [3] Willmott was arrested on suspicion of shoplifting in 1928, although later acquitted. [22] Please have a recap on how to proceed for sowing at this time, including if you wish to provide cold/moist stratification in the fridge:

For those in zone 6 and below, at this time I recommend to follow the advice from “Practical considerations for sowing in late fall –winter” (I changed the title from “sowing in the winter”). Giant sea holly is a tall biennial, easy to grow in cooler temperate climates (USDA zones 4 to 7) and able to survive in poor, well-drained, even dry soils where it maintains itself by self-sowing. It can be a tall plant, usually about 1.2m (4 feet) tall, but sometimes 1.8m (6 feet). In my garden, it’s the latter, rising on stiff stems from well above most of the plants around it. The upper part of the plant is silvery blue green and very spiny. Photo: www.whiteflowerfarm.com Ellen Ann Willmott gardener and botanical rosarian". The Garden. 104 (6): 241–246. June 1979. {{ cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year ( link)

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Looking out at the garden, through the kitchen window, the shrub roses are still, in mid-October, blooming in the beds. The morning sky is fine, and the low sun is shining on the lawn. a b "A Short History of Warley Place". Warleyplace.org. Essex Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 24 May 2010 . Retrieved 12 April 2010. a b c d e f g h i j k Le Lièvre, Audrey (2004). "Willmott, Ellen Ann (1858–1934)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (onlineed.). Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/ref:odnb/48838 . Retrieved 12 April 2010. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.) You could, I suppose, buy a plant of Miss Willmott’s ghost, but it makes far more sense to grow it from seed, readily available from many seed companies. Just sow it outdoors in early spring or, better yet, late fall (it needs a bit of a natural cold treatment to sprout well) in a sunny spot and let it do its thing. In year two (or three: in my short-season climate, it tends to act as a triennial), the flowers will go to seed, drop to the ground and take care of planting themselves. Thus, it becomes almost a perennial … but a perennial that pops up here and there, never exactly where you expected it. Prefers full sun in a light well-drained soil. Will tolerate very light shade. Plant into final position while the plant is young. The roots are often several feet long and do not like to be disturbed.