JEARRARD'S HERBAL
Thats enough introduction - on with the plants!
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... out in the garden.
29th March 2009
Calanthe kawanoi .
A cold chill returned to the week, but it doesn't seem to have slowed things down at all. A drop of very cold rain in the last few days of the week
meant cold nights, but we were spared frost. There wasn't a lot of water, but it helped to moisten the woodland which was very welcome.
This Calanthe had been rushing into flower for the last couple of weeks, and has opened. It comes from Japan and I have heard reports that it is a tetraploid form of
C.striata. It is much larger in all it's parts than C.striata and although I can't really say it is easier to grow, it
has certainly been easier to flower (my C.striata just produces more and more growths, without ever flowering, but this year I have ripped
it into a dozen pieces, which might add some vigour for next year). Very cheering to see the seasons orchids starting.
29th March 2009
Gladiolus gracilis .
The last couple of weekends have been busy - last week I visited Cotswold Garden Flowers and came back with a couple of winter flowering Gladiolus,
which could have appeared here, but didn't. My own seedlings of Gladiolus gracilis have flowered this week from impossibly thin wiry stems.
The pale blue flowers were slightly scented last year, but I can't detect any perfume this time. It is probably just too cold. It needs to be watered through the winter
or the new growth will be feeble and dessicated, and the plants won't flower. Survived being frozen solid in the pot this year, so I guess it is reasonably hardy!
29th March 2009
Arisaema nepenthoides .
I have been ignoring the bulbous aroids because they stay dry until spring warms up, but yesterday I visited the Alpine Garden Society show
at Exeter, and although there wasn't much in the way of Aroids on show (lots of everything else though, a great year) there was one Eminium
so I went down to look at mine and found this Arisaema had started the season. Several others are through the compost so I am hoping for a good year.
29th March 2009
Epimedium grandiflorum 'Crimson Queen' .
The Epimedium look set to produce a stunning display this year as well - they need more space than they have at present, but I have a plan.
Now all I need is the time to carry it through. All the pots are needing to be watered regularly, and I'm not sure an extra hours light in the evening is going to be enough, but it's
a help.
'Crimson Queen' is a rather old cultivar, but one of the most striking red flowered forms of the species. There are dozens of other sensational forms open at the moment
, including a few new ones, but that will have to wait until next week, which will be here before you know it.
Up in the garden, digging the new terrace continues. It is looking like a Herculean endeavour but it will be worth it in the end. Hopefully the dry
weather will continue for a few more days which will save me from wallowing around in the mud. Once it is done, I move on to making space for the
expanding Epimedium (and I'm hoping that as a consequence there will also be more space for the ferns and Polygonatum .
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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