Hose-in-Hose primulas – the You and Me Series
January 26, 2010
In the Hose-in-Hose form the calyx (the leafy part behind the flower) is transformed into the petals of another flower - so it looks as if one flower is nestling inside another. The name derives from the way fashionable Elizabethan gentlemen wore their long stockings (their “hose”) with one inside the other and with the top of the outer one turned down. Fascinating – and with double the color.
These types turn up occasionally in the wild in Britain, amongst the familiar wild primroses, and plants were dug up and planted in gardens. But eventually they faded away, perhaps weakened by virus.
Barnhaven Primroses, who send seed all over the world, have always listed a mixture that included a few hose-in-hose types but now they're available in eight separate colors and a mixture from Owl’s Acre
Plants of two of the colors, You and Me Maroon Lace and also You and Me Cream (seen atthe top here), are available in North America from Heronswood Nursery.
Seed of all eight individual colors, and a mixture, for shipping to Britain and around the world, is available from Owl’s Acre Speciality Seeds.
Thanks again to Simon Crawford for the pictures.