Bergenia cordifolia ' New Hybrids'

Miss Gertrude Jekyll
high priestess of the foliage cult
made lavish use of Bergenia
with great style in all of her gardens

She used bergenias
in large drifts of ground-cover
‘running back here and there
among taller plants’. She
planted them in long ribbons to soften
the hard edge of paving.

She gave much thought to flowers
in the house and picked the coloured leaves
in winter to arrange in bowls
with Christmas roses or forced hyacinths.

Of Bergenias, which she knew
as Megaseas, she wrote:
‘There is nothing flimsy or
temporary looking about the Megaseas
but rather a sort of grave and monumental look
that specially fits them for association
with masonry, or for any place
where a solid-looking edging
or full-stop is wanted.’

Mega seas
Hyper seas
Hemicyclaspis in purple
with red plates