Think of Derby, and you might summon-up images of railways, fine china, Real Ale, and Brian Clough’s all-conquering team of the Seventies.

Visit Derby, and it’s fair to say that these days you’d not only appreciate its contribution to the industrial revolution, but also just how far it’s now come thanks to around £2.2-billlion worth of regeneration.

But Hydrangeas?

Who could imagine that Derby would hold a national collection, recognised by Plant Heritage (formerly known as the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens)?

Started in 1984, Derby’s Hydrangea collection is the largest in Britain and the third largest in the world.  It now holds over 400 different types.  Although, by the time you read this, don’t be surprised it has added a few more!

The Holehird garden at Windermere in Cumbria has more than 300 types of Hydrangea, and The Garden House in Erbistock, Wrexham is also fast-approaching 300.  But neither can compare with Derby’s collection, which now stands third in the world, behind The Esveld Nursery in Holland with around 600 types, and the Shamrock Garden in France with a hugely impressive 1,000 different types of Hydrangea.

So what goes into creating a national collection?  In the past, thousands of different types of cultivated plants have been lost from British gardens.  Many go out of fashion, or just get abandoned by the nursery trade.  But Plant Heritage has encouraged gardeners and botanists to visit collections to compare and study many plants from a single genus all in one place.  Formed in conjunction with the Royal Horticultural Society the British collections scheme is the envy of plantsmen and women, and botanists, all over the world.  And Derby’s national collection is now a very important part of that scheme.

Based within easy walking distance of the city centre, the collection is located in Darley Park - donated in 1929 to the people of derby by the Evans family who founded the cotton mills at Darley Abbey.  Today, the collection is cared for by the Friends of Darley Open Spaces, and while part of it is open to the public year-round, the full Hydrangea collection is available to view during the “blooming season”, between July and October.  Full details can be found at www.hydrangeaderby.co.uk.

Located next to the butterfly garden, and not far from the Wildflower Meadow, the collection - and Darley Park itself - is one of the real “insider tips” for anyone who plans to visit Derby these days.

Otter, shrews, barn owls, woodpeckers, kingfishers and emerald damselfly are all found in the Park; and the Peregrine falcons which nest on the Cathedral are often spotted overhead.

For further details, visit www.darleyandnutwood.org.uk.

For all other tourist information from Derby, visit www.visitderby.co.uk

For further information, please contact:

Michelle Booth Michelle.Booth@derby.gov.uk    Telephone: 01332-643414

Maggie Tillson  Maggie.Tillson@derby.gov.uk      Telephone: 01332-643414