JEARRARD'S HERBAL
Thats enough introduction - on with the plants!
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... out in the garden.
1st June 2008
Geranium phaeum .
It has been a busy week, and the garden has started to move at light speed. This pale pink Geranium phaeum seedling is looking delightful at the moment
. There are three rather similar ones flowering in the bed for the first time this year, and I am doing my best to ignore them. There are far too many named
seedlings in circulation, however beautiful they may be, and I am guilty of naming a number of them. I managed to wean myself off of breeding them in 1990,
but every now and then I find one and think "maybe just one more.." . No. No no no no no no. Not a single one. This is lovely, but there are better already
. It is just a pleasant surprise to run across.
1st June 2008
Watsonia (knysnana x pillansii) .
While I am on the subject of the Iridaceae, the Watsonia are a wonderful group. I'm not entirely convinced by the identity of this one
because I can't see any trace of the tall, small flowered, bright orange Watsonia pillansii in its appearance, but I'm not going to bleat about it
, because it is a lovely thing. When the first flower opened it cheered the whole morning, and then I had to drive down to the post office, and
passed a tiny 'cat latrine' front garden with a big clump of Watsonia pillansii bursting into bloom unexpectedly, and all I can do
is laugh at my own conceit.
1st June 2008
Orthrosanthus multiflorus .
What with all the Watsonia and Crocosmia around the place, I have a phytomagnetic attraction
to odd members of the Iridaceae. I ran into this one last year sitting smugly in a pot pretending to be a Libertia.
A genus from South and West Australia and tropical South America (this is one of the Australian contingent)
they don't have a reputation for hardiness. Clive Innes recommends a minimum of 12degC through the winter but this one sat in a pot outside all year without damage.
Clearly the Aussies are tougher than you might expect!
1st June 2008
Iris pseudacorus 'Bastardii' .
And while I am on the subject of pleasant surprises, this pale flowered form of the native yellow flag Iris wasn't expected.
It appeared in a pot that was supposed to contain Iris ensata 'Carnival Prince', which is big and purple
like ... and I'm getting myself into trouble here so let's just say 'Bastardii' and move on seamlessly.
I went back to check last years photos and found a picture of 'Carnival Prince' flowering away merrily as expected.
I had a closer look at the pot and found it had two occupants which have now been separated. I was all geared
up to be irritated by the loss of the Iris ensata and instead I have a free bonus.
BOGOF is the phrase, I think!
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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about what is going on, if you are interested.
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