Exburys head gardener on mission to re-discover lost hydrangeas

As the colourful Hydrangea Walk at Exbury Gardens in the New Forest bursts into full bloom, head gardener John Anderson has revealed that he is on a quest to re-discover forgotten varieties of the colourful plant.

Many of Exburys hydrangeas are the so-called Teller series, lacecaps (Hydrangea macrophylla) bred in Switzerland for their bright colour. Teller is the German word for plate, describing the flat, plate-like flowerhead and each of the hybrids was named after a bird, such as robin, redstart, chaffinch, nightingale bullfinch, dove and peacock.

The Teller hybrids line one side of Exburys long border showcasing these beautiful plants. John, who admires the clear strong colours and beautiful lacy flowerheads is seeking to add to the 18 or so hybrids already there.

There were around 25 hybrids and we would like to re-establish the full range here by finding lost and forgotten hybrids, he said. It will be a few years before we can say for sure that we have the correct names for the ones we already grow.

They are particularly good plants, with strong stems and clear colours and I would not want them to be forgotten.