Buddleja × pikei 'Hever' remains in commerce in the UK and France. Rather tender, a sunny location against a wall is to be preferred. Buddleja × pikei Buddleja × pikei is an English hybrid of "Buddleja alternifolia" and "Buddleja crispa" raised by Mr A V Pike, Head Gardener at Hever Castle, Kent. The cultivar was described and named in 1950 by Harold Fletcher, Regius Keeper at the RBG Edinburgh. "Buddleja" × "pikei" is a lax, straggly, deciduous, free-flowering shrub growing to a height of about 1.5 m. The leaves are < 15 cm long, narrowly lanceolate with scalloped margins. The inflorescences are terminal
Irene Astor, Baroness Astor of Hever 12 days old), the youngest of four children of military officer Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (1861–1928), and Dorothy Maud Vivian (1879–1939). Her brother was George Haig, 2nd Earl Haig (1918–2009). During World War II she worked for the Red Cross and was also involved in the Girls' Training Corps. She married Gavin Astor, later the 2nd Baron Astor of Hever, eldest son of John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever (1886–1971), and Violet Mary Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound (1889–1965) on 4 October 1945. She became Lady Astor of Hever when her husband succeeded to the barony on the death of his