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One of the oldest double primroses. Lilac flowers on long stalks that lie on the ground and sneak out
between the rosette of leaves. Sachaverel Sitwell, writing in 1939 about the types of double primrose that have come from abroad, says: "The third type is Marie Crousse, purple edged with white, and not, in the writers opinion, of outstanding interest." Writing on the Essex Gardens Trust website in 2019, Jill Devon says: "One very vigorous and beautiful variety is Marie Crousse, which was given an Award of Merit in 1882 by The Royal Horticultural Society. Bred by Felix Crousse, a French horticulturist, and named after his daughter, it is an exquisite deep-rosy purple. (Poor Marie Crousse, who died at the tender age of 25, also gave her name to a very similar double auricula and paler pink peony.)" Barnhaven Primroses say: "Florence Bellis began working on the Barnhaven double primroses in the 1950’s after finding a few specks of pollen clinging to the petals of the old variety ‘Marie Crousse’, and this exciting adventure has continued ever since with each successor of Barnhaven. Double primroses don’t carry seed and have very little pollen and therefore necessitate a complicated breeding programme." |
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| 18th April 2010 | ||