Rare “sheep-eating” plant flowers in Hampshire School garden
There’s always something exciting happening in a National Garden Scheme garden, from money raised to delicious cakes served but you don’t often find a rare ‘sheep-eating’ plant flowering!
Wicor Primary Community School in Hampshire, which opens for the National Garden Scheme in June, has a Jurassic garden, landscaped using Jurassic limestone from Ham Hill in Somerset. Around ten years ago the muddy patch of grass was next on the list to add to the themed, teaching gardens.
“The planting scheme within the garden is themed around this prehistoric era using tree ferns, grasses, different varieties of ferns, Gunnera tinctoria, rodgersia, palms and some unusual varieties of hardy tropicals including the media attention grabbing plant,” explains Louise Moreton, Horticulturalist at Wicor Primary.
The giant Sheep’s Wool Plant, Puya chilensis, is commonly known as chagual in its native Chile, as well as being referred to as the sheep-eating plant. It is also simply known as Puya.
“This unusual plant to the UK is now flowering, something it does once in its lifetime,” says Louise. “It is rare for this plant to flower in this country without being under glass and you can see it possibly still in bloom on Saturday 22nd June from 12 until 4pm when we open for the National Garden Scheme. Come along and talk with the gardening team who help care for it. The plant is dubbed a ‘sheep-eating’ plant due to its deadly features. It is not actually carnivorous, but the plant is believed to be hazardous to sheep and birds which may become entangled in the spiney leaves.”
“It is rare for it to flower outside in the UK but the recent hot and dry weather is probably what has triggered this rare occurrence. It’s a real example for the pupils who care for the gardens, to see climate change so visibly in action,” adds Louise.
See the ‘sheep-eater’ for yourself when Wicor Primary School Community Garden opens for the National Garden Scheme on Sunday 22 June.
For details click here
