'Unusual' ginger flowers for first time at garden

An unusual yellow plant, rarely cultivated in the UK, is flowering at a tourist attraction in Kent for the first time.

Hedychium wardii, a yellow flowering ginger, was brought from India to England in the 1930s by Frank Kingdon-Ward, who is often referred to as the "last great plant hunter".

It is in bloom in time for the Plant Hunters Weekend in the World Garden at Lullingstone Castle which starts on Saturday.

Botanist Tom Hart Dyke, who owns the garden, said it was a "fantastic ginger" with a "gorgeous scent at night".

Mr Hart Dyke created The World Garden in 2005 to display the collections he had accumulated from his own travels around the globe.

An ornamental species not grown commercially, the yellow ginger is not widely-known, unlike it's red and orange varieties, according to a spokesperson for The World Garden.

Mr Hart Dyke said: "Despite being introduced 90 years ago, this ginger isn't grown by many people even though it's a great plant.

"It flowers earlier than most and does well in frosty pockets."

The modern-day pIant hunter said it was given to him by a grower in Essex eight years ago and this is the first time he has managed to get it to flower.

Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.