The Wardian Case

The Wardian Case

By award winning floral designer and Royal Warrant Holder, Shane Connolly

The Wardian Case takes inspiration from an early form of terrarium from the Victorian Era, used to protect plants during their transportation overseas.

Shane’s modern take on the design is a refined display of nature that reflects the blending of the heritage and contemporary design of Chelsea Barracks, such as the original Victorian Railings that surround the development. The crown on top is a nod to HM The Queen’s upcoming Platinum Jubilee and the royal history of the site, and the variety of plants and herbs that can be seen here celebrate the exuberance of nature and this year’s ‘Beautifully British’ Belgravia in Bloom theme. Plants range from those that are native to Britain but have travelled the world and been hybridised, to those that are considered quintessentially British. This includes the iconic rose, a nod to the development’s signature Chelsea Barracks rose.

Connolly has fused the creativity and eccentricity of Victorian creators with contemporary designs to create a celebration of Britain, nature, and sustainability

Post show, plants will be donated to various community and charitable gardens that focus on wellbeing sensory gardens for people with disabilities or who grow medicinal plants. 

Plant List

PLANTS WHICH ARE NATIVE TO BRITAIN BUT HAVE TRAVELLED OVER THE WORLD AND BEEN HYBRIDISED:

 

SAMBUCUS NIGRA BLACK BEAUTY

Sambucus nigra is native to Europe as far east as Turkey. It is native in, and common throughout, the British Isles. It has been introduced to parts of most other continents of the world

It grows in a variety of conditions including both wet and dry fertile soils, primarily in sunny locations. The plant is a very common feature of hedgerows and scrubland in Britain and northern Europe but is also widely grown as an ornamental shrub or small tree. Both the flowers and the berries have a long tradition of culinary use, primarily for cordial and wine. The Latin specific epithet nigra means "black", and refers to the deeply dark colour of the berries.

Sambucus nigra 'Black Beauty' has almost black foliage and sweet, lemon scented, pale pink flowers in early summer. Compared to common elder, it's a much more ornamental option

 

DIGITALIS/FOXGLOVE:

Foxglove is a well-known plant across the UK, which produces a spike of purple-pink flowers between June and September. It can grow up to 2m tall and is found in heathland, woodland edges, and gardens. This pretty flower is also a valuable source of nectar for bees

Digitalis is native to Europe, western Asia, and northwestern Africa. The flowers are tubular in shape, produced on a tall spike, and vary in colour with species, from purple to pink, white, and yellow. The scientific name means "finger".

The best-known species is the common foxglove, Digitalis purpurea. This biennial is often grown as an ornamental plant due to its vivid flowers which range in colour from various purple tints through pink and purely white. The flowers can also possess various marks and spottings. Other garden-worthy species include D. ferruginea, D. grandiflora, D. lutea, and D. parviflora.

The term digitalis is also used for drug preparations that contain cardiac glycosides, particularly one called digoxin, extracted from various plants of this genus. Foxglove has medicinal uses but is also very toxic to humans and other animals, and consumption can even lead to death

 

PLANTS THAT HAVE NATIVE BRITISH COUSINS:

RUBUS PHOENICOLASIUS

A type of blackberry /raspberry, Rubus phoenicolasius (Japanese wineberry,[2] wine raspberry, wineberry or dewberry) is an Asian species of raspberry (Rubus subgenus Idaeobatus) in the rose family, native to China, Japan, and Korea.

The species was introduced to Europe and North America as an ornamental plant and for its potential in breeding hybrid raspberries. It has subsequently escaped from cultivation and become naturalized in parts of Europe and North America.

Wineberries grow vigorously and can form extensive, dense thickets that displace many native species. Wineberries can be found in many habitats, such as forest, fields, stream banks, and wetland edges, as well as open woods.^[11] The first years of growth for wineberries are longer (approximately 32%) than many other black and red raspberries

 

LONICERA X HECKROTTII

Honeysuckles (Lonicera) are arching shrubs or twining vines in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. 

Honeysuckle derives its name from the edible sweet nectar obtainable from its tubular flowers. The name Lonicera stems from Adam Lonicer, a Renaissance botanist.

Common honeysuckle, Shakespeare's "luscious woodbine". It's one of those British plants that looks so exotic it's difficult to believe it's native. It's not just a beauty visually, but gives a heady scent, particularly in the evenings and at night.

Suggested planting locations and garden types

• City and courtyard gardens
• Wildlife gardens
•  

CIRSIUM ASTROPURPUREUM

Cirsium is a genus of perennial and biennial flowering plants in the Asteraceae, one of several genera known commonly as thistles. They are more precisely known as plume thistles

 

EUPHORBIA AMY ‘RUBRA’

Euphorbia is a very large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). "Euphorbia" is sometimes used in ordinary English to collectively refer to all members of Euphorbiaceae (in deference to the type genus), not just to members of the genus.[2] Some euphorbias are commercially widely available, such as poinsettias at Christmas.

Several spurges are grown as garden plants, among them poinsettia (E. pulcherrima) and the succulent E. trigona. E. pekinensis (Chinese: 大戟; pinyin: dàjǐ) is used in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is regarded as one of the 50 fundamental herbs. Several Euphorbia species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), like the spurge hawkmoths (Hyles euphorbiae and Hyles tithymali), as well as the giant leopard moth.

Ingenol mebutate, a drug used to treat actinic keratosis, is a diterpenoid found in Euphorbia peplus.

 

LAMIUM ‘BEACON’S SILVER’

Lamium (dead-nettles) is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae,[3] of which it is the type genus.

 

 

PLANTS WHICH HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO BRITIAN AND ARE NOW THOUGHT TO BE QUINTESSENTIALLY BRITISH:

 

HUMULUS LUPULUA AUREUS

Humulus, hop, is a small genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae.. The hop is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Hops are the female flowers (seed cones, strobiles) of the hop species H. lupulus; as a main flavour and aroma ingredient in many beer styles, H. lupulus is widely cultivated for use by the brewing industry.

 

Hops likely originated in China, but the first documented use was in the 8th century when Benedictine monks used them for brewing in a Bavarian abbey outside of Munich, Germany. Before hops, beer was flavored and preserved with gruit, a combination of heather, mugwort and other locally grown herbs and spices

The cultivation of hops in the UK was probably introduced from Flanders to England in the Maidstone area of Kent at the end of the 15th century

 

FICUS CAICA DALMATIE

The fig is the edible fruit of Ficus carica, a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world, both for its fruit and as an ornamental plant.

The edible fig is one of the first plants that were cultivated by humans.Figs were widespread in ancient Greece, and their cultivation was described by both Aristotle and Theophrastus

 

LILIUM REGALE

Lilium regale, called the regal lily, royal lily, king's lily, or, in New Zealand, the Christmas lily, is a species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae, with trumpet-shaped flowers. It is native to southwestern China,[8][1] and it was introduced to England in 1903 by Ernest Henry Wilson. Lilium regale, like many in the genus, is toxic to cats, with ingestion causing potentially fatal renal failure.[

 

 

RHODODENDRON MARIE FORTE

Rhododendron (/ˌroʊdəˈdɛndrən/; from Ancient Greek ῥόδον rhódon "rose" and δένδρον déndron "tree")[5][6] is a very large genus of 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). It is either evergreen or deciduous.

The rhododendron is the national flower of Nepal, where the flower is considered edible and enjoyed for its sour taste. The pickled flower can last for months and the flower juice is also marketed. The flower, fresh or dried, is added to fish curry in the belief that it will soften the bones. The juice of rhododendron flower is used to make a squash called burans (named after the flower) in the hilly regions of Uttarakhand. It is admired for its distinctive flavor and color

 

 

OTHER INTRODUCED PLANTS WHICH HAVE BECOME POPULAR IN BRITISH GARDENS:

 

RODGERSIA AESCULIFOLIA

Rodgersia is a genus of flowering plants in the Saxifragaceae family.  Rodgersia are herbaceous perennials originating from east Asia. Rodgersia aesculifolia was discovered by Father Armand David in 1869.

 

LOROPETALUM RUBUM ‘FIRE DANCE’

Loropetalum chinense f. rubrum, commonly known as Chinese Fringe Flower or Loropetalum, is native to south China, Japan and Burma. In its native habitat it grows as a woodland shrub.

 Loropetalum was first introduced to Europe as an ornamental plant the 1880's, and is believed to have been cultivated in North America since the early 1930's.
Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum is a native of China, and was first discovered in 1928 in Hunan province. It was rediscovered in the late 1980's and subsequently introduced to the United States. Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum generally has alternate, ovate leaves to 6 cm long and 3 cm wide. The plant is evergreen or partly evergreen depending on winter temperature. Leaf color ranges from light to dark burgundy, occasionally green, depending on light intensity, cultural conditions and cultivar. Shoots are slender, brown, and densely pubescent, pith is solid. Leaves are generally densely pubescent overall.

 

 

SPIRAEA NIPPONICA SNOW MOUND

Spiraea nipponica is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae, native to the island of Shikoku, Japan. Growing to 1.2–2.5 m (4–8 ft) tall and broad, it is a deciduous shrub with clusters of small, bowl-shaped white flowers in midsummer.

Native American groups have various medicinal uses for local Spiraea species. S. betulifolia is used for abdominal pain and made into a tea. The Blackfoot use S. splendens root in an enema and to treat venereal conditions