JEARRARD'S HERBAL
Thats enough introduction - on with the plants!
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... out in the garden.
26th April 2026
Paeonia rockii .
Spring continues to assault the garden and the garden continues to respond by sticking out its floral tongue and blowing raspberries. I had hoped that the strong winds
a fortnight ago would be the last puff of angry weather for a while but there have been another couple of windy days this week battering and bruising new growth.
Camellia rosthorniana 'Elina' was looking at its best until the wind gave it a good thrashing. It hasn't hurt the shrub but the flowers look dejected.
Sheltering in the Agave house, Paeonia rockii is patchily magnificent. I have half a dozen or so seedlings up there, planted when they were ridiculously cheap.
If I cleaned off the roof of the greenhouse (fallen pine needles mostly) then they would get enough light to flower. It's on the list of tasks to do as soon as the worst
consequences of Storm Goretti have been cleared away.
These aren't pure P. rockii, although there are a couple that match the description, but seedlings and hybrids raised in China. White, pink, purple and single or double,
there is a delightful assortment.
26th April 2026
Rhododendron 'Loderi King George'.
For many years Rhododendron 'Loderi King George' has suffered in the wind at the top of the garden. I planted three of them and two have grown well.
The third has struggled, catching the worst of the wind. The large ones flower fairly well on the leeward side, they are a little less enthusiastic on the windward
and tend to lose leaves. The small one has yet to flower and it might be most sensible to move it to somewhere more protected.
They were sheltered by two large pine trees and in recent years I have been 'beefing up' the windbreak to protect them at a lower level.
Unfortunately Storm Goretti brought one of the pine trees down so they are facing the winter with uncertainty. The tree missed the Rhododendron as it fell
- and missed the Agave house by inches as well - so things went well. At present the fallen branches are giving good wind protection
but the situation will be different when they have been removed. I would leave them in place but although they missed the Rhododendron and the
Agave house, they landed on the path and have blocked that entire side of the garden. I got this picture by creeping through a gap.
26th April 2026
Roscoea cautleyoides 'Early Purple' .
The new herbaceous border continues to provide surprises. Over the last few years I have planted it with anything I can find that might succeed.
Fortunately I have kept a reasonably accurate list of what I planted. For the most part I am able to determine what shoots are as they come up.
I have forgotton (for now) the names of some of the Hosta but they will come back to me as the weeks go by and the plants grow larger.
A couple of years ago I planted Roscoea out there to make space in the greenhouse and they have done well.
Roscoea cautleyoides 'Early Purple' is the first to flower. It reminded me to water the pots still in the greenhouse, it is time they were woken up.
If things have gone well, then these will be followed by a range of yellow flowered selections in the next few weeks.
26th April 2026
Scilla verna .
I have a snowdrop border and it is augmented by Narcissus and Erythronium to keep things interesting. On one side it is protected by a hedge on camellias.
Looking at it on Thursday it was clear that spring had left the border. Hardly a single flower from the bulbs, the camellias are covered in sparkling new growth
and shedding flowers like old people shedding floral hats after a thunderstorm.
I have a couple of rather select Camassia up there, just starting to flower, and I note that there a are a number of seedlings scattered around that will not be as choice.
It's the way of things.
More welcome are some seedlings of Scilla verna appearing in odd places. It is a favourite plant of mine and for years it has remained as a tight clump. At last it has started to spead
and if it covered the border in a thick turf of May flowers, as it does on the cliffs, I would be pleased. I don't think the other bulbs would mind, they are long finished.
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.
I have a lot of good intentions when it comes to updating this site, and I try to keep a note
about what is going on, if you are interested.
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