In the 1800s in the UK, a curious bloke figured out an ingenious way to display tender plants.

The vinca has been fantastic this year - more flowers than ever. Auricula Theatre is a Power Poppy Digital Digi Stamp Set illustrated by Marcella Hawley. I planted loads for the centenary but haven't seen a single seedling yet. Hang an auricula theatre on a north or north-east wall (an old bookshelf will do) and enjoy these gorgeous flowers at eye level throughout April and into May. I bought the plants, I had the terracotta pots, I had the shelves, now I need to sort out some sort of roof or cover to keep the rain off them to make this display into a real 'theatre'. I'm wondering if these are two different colours or if the one on the left will look the same when it blooms. While some can be grown successfully in the open ground, they are most commonly displayed in pots, when their. Although fully hardy many, like most alpines, benefit by some protection from winter wet. Some of the plants came with more than one in the pot. These alpine plants are members of the primula family and prized for their jewel like flowers in a vast array of colours and forms. That's causing the tidemarks on the pots. I'm watering them by placing them in a tray with water. A number seem to have quite a lot of meal or farina on them (not sure the best term as I'm quite new to auriculas). I didn't buy any specific varieties (what do you want for 1.99 from the garden centre!) so when they turn out to be nice colours, it's a bonus. In his Theater of Plants ( 1640 ) he copies the bad figure from the Antwerp Dodoens. Only the one on the bottom shelf, on the far right has no blooms and no buds, out of the 17 I bought. Auricula and the flower known to us as the Alpine Auricula.

Auricula theater