 | Parentage: C. 'Ruby Cluster' x C. monspeliensis |
 | Flower colour: white with blotches (blotch RHS Colour Chart ref. 187B) |
 | Flower diameter: 3.5cm |
 | Height & Spread: 1.5m x 2m |
 | Habit: arching, vigorous |
 | Notes: Hardy and exceptionally floriferous over a long period; tolerates
some pruning and will sprout regularly from base. Raised by me as a blotched
counterpart to C. x platysepalus. It has the smallest flowers
of any blotched cistus. |
 | This cultivar is named in memory of the ballet dancer and actor,
Christopher Gable,
former Artistic Director of
Northern Ballet
Theatre, who sadly died in 1998. It was he who developed
Northern Ballet Theatre from a small regional company into an
internationally respected and cherished company with a unique style. Without
him Northern Ballet Theatre would probably not exist today.
Central School of Ballet
was also founded by Christopher Gable and Ann Stannard
in 1982.
Christopher had another career as an actor and music lovers will
remember his moving portrayal of Eric Fenby in Ken Russell's 1968 TV film about the
last years of composer Frederick Delius, "Song of Summer". |
 | Apart from some
plants released in error by the propagating nursery through garden centres
during 2004, this cultivar was exclusively released in 2005 to members of
the Friends of Northern Ballet Theatre
as a living memorial to Christopher. Propagation material is now
available to interested nurseries. |