JEARRARD'S HERBAL
That's enough introduction - on with the plants!
To navigate this site use the links above or the detailed links at the bottom of this page.
... out in the garden.
20th September 2026
Hydrangea x versicolor .
The soft skies and gentle mists of autumn have enveloped the garden this week. I closed the door on the greenhouse to squeeze the last of the warmth
from the late season sunshine. There is a Vanda in bud and I would like to see it flower before the long shadow of winter sends us all scurrying
back into the house for some warmth.
The annual parade of the pessimists has started, people are talking about the terrible things that the winter weather will bring. Now they have
experienced the alliterative "beast from the east" they trot it out as soon as the heat and drought of summer are over. I smile.
There was no rain forecast yesterday but it fell all day.
Hydrangea x versicolor slowed up during the drought but it has been remarkably tolerant. As soon as the rain arrived it bounced back into flowering action.
I can't tell it apart from Hydrangea febrifuga growing a few yards away but I don't let it worry me, both are good.
20th September 2026
Strobilanthes pentastemonoides .
Strobilanthes pentastemonoides started flowering a fortnight ago but it takes a while for it to really get going.
Finally it has formed a dome of flowers and demonstrated its magnificence. Strobilanthes can be a bit straggly and almost weedy.
They are forgiven because they produce rich purple flowers late in the year, just when the garden has started to yearn for some exuberance.
I don't know if this is a particularly good form, a fortuitous location, or the dedicated trimming of deer and rabbits but it
has made a splendid mound of flowers and will continue to do so for many weeks.
20th September 2026
Hedychium 'Devon Cream' .
Just behind the Strobilanthes the Hedychium border has reached the pinnacle of growth for the season. Summer heat has resulted in strong growth
and the drought, although hated by the plants, has left them compact. Now things are back in the hands of the weather. If it stays warm there might be a late spectacle
of blooming from things that don't usually have a long enough season here. An early frost will put paid to thse aspirations.
I am not mentioning Hedychium to the parade of pessimists, I don't want to be told how awful it might be.
(I refer the honorable member to my earlier comments on the reliablity of the weather forecast).
I have come to the conclusion that if there were patterns in the weather, and it was possible to forecast it, then we would have got it cracked by now
(and I am a natural prevaricator who doesn't come to conclusions lightly).
Hedychium 'Devon Cream' is an excellent plant because it is reliable and early. In the next weeks we will see if others follow it into flower.
20th September 2026
Colchicum autumnale 'Alboplenum'.
The new herbaceous border was cut out of the hillside as a terrace. I had lived with a slope for a decade and it was unsatisfactory. Too steep to make use of the space
without feeling uneasy and too shallow to create a theatrical display. Opportinism and a man with a mechanical excavator (laser-levelled) changed the topography in a few hours.
Digger drivers are amazing.
It is slightly inconvenient that the bedrock is only 30 or 40 cm below the surface here. One end of the border is basically broken rock with enough soils to make a mess.
It doesn't really suit herbaceous plants but I have some spring Crocus in there. Peonies didn't really establish but there is an Agapanthus
that has found a space through the stone.
A few years ago I split my clump of Colchicum x agrippinum and they have done well transplanted into the mean soil. Last year I did the same to C. autumnale 'Alboplenum'
and I have been gratified at the result.
To find particular groups of plants I grow, click on the genus name in the table above. Click on the "Index" box at the top of the page for the full list.
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