The renowned horticulturalist and botanical artist’s name, Lady Beatrix Stanley, her expertise and drawings, can be found waltzing across pages of many guides to irises. Lady Beatrix (1877-1944) was an aristocrat, the daughter of a marquis and the wife of an earl’s younger son who was later knighted for his service to the government, and well known in the English horticultural circles of her time. Beatrix Taylour married George Frederick Stanley in 1903, and they were posted to India between 1929-1934, where George served, first as Governor of Madras, now Chennai, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and for one year as Acting Viceroy of India. During the Stanleys’ time in India, Beatrix made gardens around the Governor’s residence in what was then called Ootacamund.
With a passion for florals, Beatrix studied the native plants of various Indian regions, including Kashmir, and documented her experiences in writing and plant portraits, forwarding some of her drawings to the Royal Horticultural Society in London which Moorcroft designer, Nicola Slaney, studied within the famous RHS Lindley Collections during this Beatrix Stanley project for the RHS.. This remarkable lady also published her work with a number of articles written for The Gardener’s Chronicle.
Famous Edwardian gardener, E.A. Bowles, who wrote My Garden in Autumn and Winter amongst other books on horticulture, was within her circle of friends. She and her friends propagated, cultivated and swapped plants, some of which are still sold today. She is honoured by the Iris that carries her name. Iris histrioides ‘Lady Beatrix Stanley’, is a dwarf, bulbous iris, growing to 10cm tall, with narrow squared leaves, that are short at flowering but elongate later. In early spring, single flowers, 6-7cm across, are borne on short stems. Flowers are an exquisite violet-blue with heavily-spotted falls marked with white and with a striking yellow central ridge. Undoubtedly, she was more than simply a gardening fanatic cultivating the garden at her home, Sibbertoft Manor, near Market Harborough in Leicestershire.
It was at Sibbertoft that she nurtured and developed a wonderful collection of bulbous plants. She introduced new plants to the beautiful gardens surrounding the black and white manor, including rhododendron trees which give a blaze of colour in the springtime and statuesque American Oak trees which provide shade in the summer. It was for this reason that it was felt that the Moorcroft plaque featuring a stylised Lady Beatrix Stanley iris should carry the name of her home.
Iris histrioides 'Lady Beatrix Stanley' RHS / Tim Sandall
It should be noted that the iris carrying the famous horticulturalist’s name is also featured on the Moorcroft RHS loving cup (not in this promotion). Combining black and white geometrical shapes with the stunning Lady Beatrix Stanley iris, Nicola was able to stylize this attractive flower into Art Nouveau linework, inspired by the period in which Lady Stanley lived and the home she loved so dearly.
Was: £325.00
NOW £165