JEARRARD'S HERBAL
Thats 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.
27th April 2008
Epimedium pubigerum .
There has been a flood of Chinese Epimedium species covering gardens for the last 20 years or so, and new hybrids are popping up
all over the place, but it would be a pity to forget the species from Europe and Asia Minor.
When I first started growing Epimedium, this was uncommon in gardens. Its subtle charms were overlooked in favour of
the big yellow 'pinnatum' group. Unfortunately I left it behind when I moved here, along with E.alpinum (very similar but straggling)
and E.x cantabridgiense. It has been almost impossible to replace them, they are just not showy enough for modern nurserymen.
Fortunately with the modern focus on conservation of garden plants, there are a few old fuddy-duddies like me hanging on to them!
27th April 2008
Ramonda serbica .
The hardy Gesneriads are a diverse group but they are all stars! I have grown this one for a number of years
and it is another example of me being over cautious. It has sat in a small greenhouse with the Pleione
and although it has grown it has been terribly slow. A couple of months ago I forgot to water it for a few too
many months and found it shrivelled to a crisp. I decided it was time to stop being so precious.
It now stands with the other Ramonda and it is astonishing how a day or two standing in water revived it.
This is the best I have ever seen it in flower and I might even get some seed (I'm not going to tell you
how bad I am with Ramonda seedlings - they are just so tiny)!
27th April 2008
Darlingtonia californica .
A very curious species of Pitcher Plant from northern California and Oregon. It grows beside mountain streams
and makes spectacular spreading colonies. Lovely in flower but it suffers if the summer temperatures go too
high. It is in the greenhouse for now but through the summer it will be moved to the shade house. If I had a decent piece
of bog garden I would plant it outside. I went prospecting for ground water and didn't find any so it will stay where it is for the moment.
27th April 2008
Geranium phaeum .
But Geranium phaeum is a much tougher thing, and seeds itself around the garden freely. I grow a number of named forms.
They are planted around the garden, and then the seedlings start to pop up. If the mower had started this afternoon then I would have mown the
path along the herbaceous border and I would know which were prospering and which needed more attention. It didn't happen. I spent a few minutes swearing
, but I still couldn't get a high enough tension for a spark, so in the end I went away and did something more interesting (weeding in the pots of
South African bulbs). In a minute I will go out and give it another go!
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.
If you want to contact me, the address is infoMONKEYjohnjearrard.co.uk
When typing the address in, please replace MONKEY with the more traditional @ symbol! I apologise for the tiresome performance involved, but I am getting too much
spam from automated systems as a result of having an address on the front page.