Gold Lace Primula

This Primrose is not rare, but it is more unusual in American gardens.Highly esteemed by British Primulaphiles, this ornamental primrose has a strong base of enthusiasts who strive for perfection with such things and a perfect gold edge that splits each petal, so that the blossom looks as if it has 10 petals and not five ( which this does), a good distribution of color that is nearly black (which this one has) and a thrum pistol, and not a pin ( oops..) (crazy American!). Pins and thrums are a constant worry of real primula enthusiasts, for in England, if you enter a pin flowering primrose in a primrose show, it is automatically disqualified ( a pin plant is one where the pistol extends out of the tube, see my flowers above). In England, these plants would be burned, or at least, banished to the far corners of the garden as punishment for not being perfect. 

Here in America, we worry less about such natural things, and who knows, I may even enter this in our National Primrose Show this Friday. Oh, wait……John Richards the Primrose expert is coming here for a cocktail party on Friday, I had better hide it!