The
Lyre Flower was referred to by a number of names in
the Victorian age, Dielytra, Diclutra, Dicentra,
Fumaria and Corydalis among them. Hibberd
preferred 'Lyre Flower', simply because that was what
it was first called on introduction into Britain, and
Hibberd objected to any change on principle.
The
Lyre Flower came originally from northern China, brought
back to Britain by Robert Fortune in 1846.
It
was a hardy and accommodating plant, but grew best in
a deep, mellow, sandy loam with some degree of shelter.
It was also susceptible to frost and strong winds.
Hibberd
wrote that the absolute best specimen he had ever seen
was to be found in the little front courtyard of a small
dairy in Highgate, where a tuft of it grew almost four
feet high and as many wide.
The
Lyre Flower looked at its best when planted out with
hyacinths and early tulips and tazetta narcissi within
a conservatory, and was easy to manage as a pot plant.
There were few pests which ever bothered it.
