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.
11th January 2009
Hedychium 'Carnival' .
The news this week has been all about winter temperatures. On tuesday we had the coldest night for 20 years and it has been interesting to see what effect it has had.
In the greenhouse I recorded temperatures of -5C, and outside it went down to -8C (if my thermometers are to be believed). The Met.Office recorded
lows of -4.5C for my area.
This Hedychium is an example of what happened to the evergreen Hedychium in the greenhouse. Hopefully they will all recover from the rhizomes, but it
was affecting to see the whole greenhouse turned to pulp overnight. I hadn't been expecting such a strong smell of boiled spinach to go with it!
The garden seems to have escaped fairly lightly. A few tender young plants have been hit, and some of them won't survive, but it is too early in the year
be sure of the final toll.
11th January 2009
Ranunculus ficaria ssp ficariiformis .
In the greenhouse this Lesser Celandine has flowered for the first time with me. It is a tetraploid that forms bulbils in the leaf axils after flowering.
It is possibly native to the south west, and is found throughout southern England, possibly as an escape from cultivation.
I need to spend more time poking around among wild Celandines this year, because I have never found it growing naturally. My plant has rather matt leaves
that were produced very early last year (October) and were slightly browned by the cold. I don't know if this is typical for the subspecies, and
I don't know how variable it is naturally. The bright flowers have been rather cheering among the assorted damage.
11th January 2009
Pelargonium sidoides Form 2 .
I have added a few Pelargonium species this year - a number of them from South Africa grow in similar locations to bulbs that have proved hardy,
so I have given them a try. This is the paler flowered form of the species - there is am almost black one about as well. It has a reputation for being hardy
but I wasn't convinced. Now I am!
I was specially pleased to see that the flowers were not damaged - usually a good sign that the plant hasn't been set back by the cold. A couple of seedlings of
Pelargonium luridum are also welcome survivors.
11th January 2009
Galanthus 'Melvillei' .
In the garden, I have continued to fell trees - there is only a short window of opportunity in winter when the weather is dry and there isn't too much growing.
I was felling the last one today, and could feel the cold air from the east warming as the wind came round to the west. Very gratifying. The garden responded almost immediately
(the warming really started last night). I had flowers open today that were still frozen yesterday morning, and snowdrops are opening
in fits and starts.
This Galanthus 'Melvillei' is a great delight. I got it from the garden of the late Marjery Fish, during that period when her nephew opened it occasionally
and sold a few plants, before the current commercial concern took over. It has struggled with me for the last several decades, and a couple of years ago I finally
planted it out in the woods, where it is slowly regaining strength. This is the first time it has been strong enough to flower in ten years (it hated life in a pot)
and in spite of the cold start, it is herald to a year of good things, I am sure.
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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