JEARRARD'S HERBAL
Thats enough introduction - on with the plants!
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... out in the garden.
23rd March 2025
Primula allionii 'Cissie' .
A week of glorious spring. The tentative charm of the early season has given way to a more robust performance from the early plants.
The Blackthorn has been flowering for a few weeks now but earlier this morning I saw a magnificent one growing as a small tree
and shining in the sunshine. Sometimes Blackthorn can be a dull colour, especially as it opens. The green colour of the calyx
can lend a yellowish tone to the opening flowers. This specimen was persil-white and really cheering against a sky
that had turned hopefully-grey. There hasn't been much rain. It had started to concern me slightly. Overnight showers in the week helped
but a grey sky was as appealing as the white-cloud Prunus.
In the shelter of the greenhouse, Primula allionii has moved from tentative blushing to full-on flower. The display won't last for long
but for about a week the plant will cover itself with glory. 'Cissie' has been the best performer for me, growing strongly and flowering
abundantly. Some of the more feeble cultivars are slowly dying away here and although I will regret their eventual loss I think it's
probably for the best. My greenhouse is not really Primula allionii territory and I would prefer to use the space for things that are thriving.
23rd March March 2025
Erythronium 'Susanna' .
A similar division of vigour is happening among the Erythronium although I am responding differently. E. japonicum was the first to flower
and came and went in a rush. 'Susannah' has followed it but found a slower timeline. The first flower appeared almost at ground level
but it will continue to flower as the stems elongate and should give two or three weeks of display. At present the Erythronium
are mixed up in a border with the snowdrops. Most are doing well but a few, mostly modern hybrids, are proving weaker.
My plan is to move the weak ones around the garden as the season develops and see if I can find their happy place. If I can then it is a triumph of management,
if I can't and they insist on sulking away then I will be stoic and whistle a happy tune.
I always need spaces to plant more daffodils.
23rd March 2025
Paphiopedilum American Hybrid.
At the start of March I relax a little. The worst of winter has passed, it is time to untangle some of the winter knots.
In the second week of March the greenhouse was warm in the sunshine and there were no frosts in the forecast so I took the opportunity
to empty the bathroom of the orchids that had been sheltering there for the winter. The earlier they go out the longer growing season they get
(as long as the warmth continues). They re-joined the orchids that stayed out there and took their chances. Paphiopedilum American Hybrid
was one of the latter.
I have been dipping my toe into the wide ocean of Paphiopedilum rather cautiously. It started with Paphiopedilum insigne
which has been undamaged in a cold greenhouse for several years. It came through the Beast from the East safely and has encouraged me to try a
few more. The American Hybrid has suffered a bit of leaf damage through the last few winters but has grown out of it rapidly.
Unfortunately it flowers in mid-winter and the flower stem has always been destroyed. I was beginning to think that it was a waste of space
but this year it has survived.
Perhaps this was a once-in-a-lifetime oddity but I prefer to be optimistic. I might try a few more common
Paphiopedilum this year.
23rd March 2025
Helleborus x hybridus Black Double.
At the top of the garden, the hellebore border has had a good year. Last spring I thought that it was a bit feeble, but couldn't put a finger on a reason.
I was beginning to wonder if they were just the wrong thing in the wrong place. I had got as far as planting extra daffodils among them
to improve appearances. It has worked wonders but it also seems to have perked up the hellebores. Perhaps they are just more mature now,
perhaps I left the foliage on them for longer last autumn, perhaps they just do their own thing.
I'm hoping that the upturn in performance is part of a trend. I have been raising seedlings in the greenhouse to bulk up the planting.
I was particularly pleased to see this black double plant in flower. I have a few of these but they haven't been very strong.
Hopefully this is a good sign. Black is not a particularly good colour for a large bed and the double-flowered blacks do not seem to be very strong.
The new seedlings I am growing are mostly yellows and whites (I hope). They make a much stronger show in the dappled shade of trees.
If I was asked why I grew the double blacks then I would reply that the answer is in the picture.
Because I can.
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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