Tubers of a rare flower that has been a family heirloom for more than half a century will go on sale over the May bank holiday to raise money for charity.
Peter Hickson and his wife Sheila will be selling tubers of their flame-orange 'Monarch of the East' dahlias on Monday May 30 to raise money for the Boarbank Hall Augustinian Convent in Allithwaite.
The Monarch of the East dahlia is no ordinary flower, its dinner-plate-sized head and fine, slender stalk make it a main attraction for any garden and has become a family heirloom in the Hickson family. They will be available at the convent's annual fundraising gala on Spring Bank Holiday Monday.
Mr Hickson, of Allithwaite, inherited the dahlia from his father, who started planting the flower in 1954. When Mr Hickson moved to Grange over 30 years ago to work as a director at K Shoes, he took a Monarch tuber from his father's garden and planted it in Cumbria, where it has been flourishing ever since.
He said: "That Monarch of the East was bred in the USA in about 1938 and from what I understand it was a very popular flower. Now I think it is only available from one grower in Switzerland. I do have surplus tubers each year, I don't want to take any money for them but I am happy for people to give a donation to local charity and they are welcome to their own Monarch of the East.
Mr Hickson's father bought the original tuber from Unwins Seeds in Cambridge for two shillings and sixpence and the family have been planting the same tuber and its descendants ever since.
Mr Hickson and his wife Sheila Hickson (nee Phizacklea) spend a lot of time in their garden, especially now that they are both retired. Mr Hickson admits that his wife, a former GP in Grange, is the head gardener and takes care of all the tricky plants but the dahlias are his pride and joy.
Since the story about Mr Hickson and his dahlias was first published in 2015, he has received attention from the national press and requests from other dahlia enthusiasts in the UK.
Mr Hickson said: "We had a couple who were on holiday from Oxford who just called in to see if they could get a Monarch tuber. They made a donation to the flood appeal and so I was quite happy to give one away and I have had other people from the North East of England calling me up because they saw the story in the Daily Mirror."
The dahlia is an exotic flower must be nurtured through the winter in special conditions in order for it to flower again from mid-summer until autumn. Now is the time for the tubers to be re-planted in the flower beds ready for their 2016 season.
As we arrived at Mr Hickson's garden to catch up with him during Spring planting, he had lined up his dahlia tubers like little soldiers, all ready to go in to the ground.
He said: "One of the most important things to remember when planting dahlias or any other exotic flower is that slugs are the enemy. You need to make sure they are defended against slugs with either pellets or some other deterrent.
"The other thing that keeps dahlias in good condition is digging them up just before the first frost, to keep them warm in my potting shed during the colder months. I have just got all these tubers out now and once they are in some good, firm soil or compost they should grow easily until the autumn. They should be fine in our climate with the rain we get but they will need a little water each day if the weather dries out."
The Monarch of the East has already made its way all over the UK and in to Europe as Mr Hickson is keen to pass on his tubers to other horticultural friends. He said: "The most northerly Monarch now resides in Scotland, up past Glasgow. I met a gentleman at a wedding up there, he was the bride's father, and he said he was interested in flowers so he now plants them every year."
Meanwhile at the opposite end of the compass, Mr Hickson's Monarch of the East now grows in another of his friend's gardens in Olonzac in the South of France.
"I took a tuber over to France courtesy of Ryanair and it thrives in that climate. My friend has to water it twice a day but he always posts a photo on Facebook every year to show me that his has flowered first."
Mr Hickson would love to transport a dahlia to Australia, where his daughter lives in Perth with her family, but sadly he will not be allowed to take the tubers through Australian customs. He has just extended the reach of the Monarch of the East to Bootle in West Cumbria in the garden of Evening Mail photographer Leanne Bolger and to myself in Ulverston in South Cumbria.
The Monarch of The East will be visible for people driving through Flookburgh, as they are planted each year to decorate the war memorial there and flower until the first frost.
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