April plants

Tom Coward is head gardener at Gravetye Manor in East Sussex gravetyemanor.co.uk

TULIPA ‘BROWN SUGAR’

Hybrid tulips are a staple for spring colour in the flower garden. Their variety is their greatest charm and by using a mix of cultivars you can achieve a display from late March until the end of May. Most will only give a decent display for a year or two but a handful work well as perennials, performing reliably year after year. This is a particularly lovely Triumph tulip with a gorgeous scent, which we have used in one border at Gravetye for six years, and every spring it looks as good as the last. Best used in mixed borders among herbaceous perennials, its coppery-bronze colour works well with the‘Negrita’.