JEARRARD'S HERBAL
Thats enough introduction - on with the plants!
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... out in the garden.
6th April 2008
Cyrtanthus mackenii .
A very typical South African bulb. The leaves are rather scrappy, it does well in rather dry conditions, doesn't really get
on in the cold, and then produces astonishing flowers from time to time. I have grown it for a few decades now, but somehow have never really
expanded the range I grow. The flowers opened just in time to add an orange garnish to the weekend.
A quick trip to the Cornwall Garden Society Show to see what the county is up to, horticulturally. Camellias, naturally. I'm not a great lover of them
but seeing them in the competative classes, row after row in white paper cups, demonstrated what a truly ugly tribe they are.
6th April 2008
Gladiolus gracilis .
Meantime, back among the bulbs, this winter growing Gladiolus species has been delightful. It is rather floppy, and has to be held up with sticks
, but the subtle blue lilac flowers were wonderful. This is the first time I have seen it in flower.
In the rest of the garden, it has been a week of digging big holes with a big yellow machine, and then filling them in again. I was looking for water, but unfortunately
I didn't find it.
Time to call in a mad dowser with some sticks!
6th April 2008
Epimedium 'Madame Butterfly' .
This is one of Robin White's new introductions, and once again it is the first time I have seen it flower. Most of the Epimedium have been
moved in the last few weeks, and I am worried that they will get too much sun, but with diggers and such like wandering round the garden, it
is better to have them out of harms way for a while. They are all pushing up flower spikes now, though only the earliest of them have actually flowered.
6th April 2008
Epimedium platypetalum .
... which brings us to this poor unfortunate. I have bought Epimedium platypetalum from four different suppliers now, all of them quite reliable,
and I have got four different plants. None of them are the real thing. This one came from a skilled and knowledgeable grower, and is in the
pinnatum-perralderianum-peralchicum group, but without the leaves it is too early to speculate which. Perhaps I am just jinxed. I am astonished that
this picture is worth showing - I was dodging hail showers in fairly typical strange April weather. I almost had enough to make a snowman
but it was melting as I gathered it together. During the week, all the plants packed away for the winter have been moved out, so I hope it warms up soon!
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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