Vitis 'Brant'

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Last month I was lucky enough to visit Dyffryn Gardens a lovely edwardian garden near Cardiff in South Wales. It is soon to be under the care of the National Trust and has already undergone a considerable amount of restoration supported by a private trust fund. Dyffryn has impressive vistas as well as a series of interconnected, enclosed gardens designed by landscape architect Thomas Mawson in 1906. These were commissioned by John Cory a relative of Cedric Morris.


V.'Brant' is a popular ornamental vine in Europe valued for it's spectacular Fall colour, but frequently mislabeled as V. 'Brandt'. In fact this was the case two years ago when I visited Dyfferyn Gardens. So at that time I left a lengthy note leaving the details of Brant's history and I was delighted to see at this visit that the labels had been corrected. Yeah! a victory for Canadian horticultural history !



V. 'Brant' was hybridized by Charles Arnold in Paris Ontario in 1860. Paris Ont. is in Brant county the home of Joseph Brant the famous Mohawk military and political leader, after whom, I like to think, this vine was named.

Joseph Brant portrait painted by George Romney in 1776

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