Bon Accord primroses
Bon Accord primroses were bred in the last decade of the 1800s and the early 1900s in Aberdeen by the Cocker Brothers. It was a very well known nursery at the time. There were many double primroses produced by them – maybe over a hundred varieties. In reality there were probably around a dozen varieties that sold in any quantity.
The Cocker brothers gave their primroses the prefix ‘Bon Accord’ because it is the motto of the City of Aberdeen. These plants are very much part of the Scottish horticultural heritage. A characteristic of the plants is that they generally grew from what the Victorians called a ‘footstalk’, basically they have a polyanthus habit – the flowers radiate out from a short stem . There are only a few varieties left now. ‘Bon Accord Purple’ grows very well for me. Its a lovely rich purple shade, much better than it looks in any of my photos! It is long-flowering with a second flush in the Autumn. ‘Bon Accord Gem’ is also very good; a more compact plant with neat cerise flowers.
Sadly I think most of the lovely varieties that were once available are now lost. I should love to find more. ‘Bon Accord Purity’ was white with tinges of green with a fairly compact habit. I think it sounds lovely.