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.
15th March 2009
Ranunculus ficaria 'Elan'.
Spring has gone beyond the point of no return. It has been warm all week, I have opened all the doors in the greenhouse, and I was going to start
refilling it with all the refugees from winter, but I got distracted!
Snowdrops and Hellebores have been the staple diet for weeks now, and they are still going strong. Galanthus plicatus 'Warham' is almost perfect at the moment
and the Hellebores have hit yet another of those peaks where you think things couldn't possible be better, but both of them are old news.
Sadly, in the week, spring moved from a trickle to a flood, and it has swept away all the old standbyes.
The Lesser Celandines are having a wonderful year, opening wide in the sunshine. The doubles have never been more floriferous, and 'Elan' has ...elan!
15th March 2009
Epimedium x versicolor 'Cherry Tart'.
Last week there was nothing but some curly growth at the base of the Epimedium, but this week several have burst into flower.
E.pinnatum colchicum L321 is usually the first, and it is looking good now, but there are also a few new things. This form of E.x versicolor
is a seedling from Judy Springer in Virginia and is a great addition to the versicolor tribe (which have been static for too long given the great range
of colour now available in E.grandiflorum).
15th March 2009
Soldanella 'Spring Symphony' .
In recent years a hybrid Soldanella (carpatica x pusilla) has been circulating. It is an excellent plant, and it is inevitable that people will raise seedlings
from it. This one was raised by Edrom Nurseries, and is the best of theirs. I have a tray full of my own seedlings, and 'Sudden Spring' has also been named (I think
by Aberconwy Nursery, but I may be wrong). Rather like the Hellebores, they are all good.
Can't see any buds on any of the other species yet, but they all need repotting, and I should get on to that in the next few days, or perhaps they are just not
going to flower this year.
15th March 2009
Cyclamen repandum .
Despite my determination to fight clear of the clinging clutches of Cyclamen they seem to increase here. When they are happy, they are too exuberant for my taste
, the flowers form in great congested bunches that destroy their elegant poise. When they are being feeble, they are just pointless, so I really only like them when
they are mediocre, which is a difficult thing to aspire to. Fortunately, they survive my mild disenchantment and flower without much in the way of encouragement.
This C.repandum has been sitting in the same pot for four years now and I should really do something about it. There are loads of seedlings in there as well
which would benefit from some more space. One day I am sure I am going to get the hots for Cyclamen and it will all start to matter to me
but for now it is just pink stuff in a pot.
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.