JEARRARD'S HERBAL
Thats enough introduction - on with the plants!
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... out in the garden.
3rd May 2009
Clivia miniata 'Florid Orange' .
Cold weather and rain in the week have been quite welcome - the garden was getting hot and dry. I needed an excuse to hide in the greenhouse and pollinate
the Sarracenia, and cold wet weather is a great motivator.
The Clivia have started to flower, and I have to make up my mind which I am going to pollinate and which I am going to leave. Last years berries
are still on the plants, waiting to be harvested and cleaned, and then sown to catch the early spring weather ...oh well, missed that one!
This is 'Florid Orange' which is a seed strain raised to produce flowers rapidly from seed, for the mass market. I have been a little dismissive of
it in the past, but it has matured into a splendid clump and is making a really good show. There is a yellow flowered form as well, which I will look out for.
3rd May 2009
Geranium phaeum .
One of my favourite Geraniums, over the years I have raised far more seedlings than are needed. I have even named one or two, but when it is good,
the ordinary purple form is as magnificent as any of them.
This year I have a couple of variegated seedlings in flower. A plant with a yellow centre to the leaf that is not as good as 'Springtime', and a white
spotted form that is not as good as 'Taffs Jester', so they will both stay where they are and take their chances.
Every now and then I get the urge to collect all the varieties together in an orgy of purple geranium-ness, but so far I have fought it off.
An extreme of obsessiveness that (surprisingly), I don't need to visit!
3rd May 2009
Iris milesii .
This magnificent Iris has just opened its first flower in the greenhouse. I raised it from seed given to me as I.milesii
and as is often the case, the identification proves (three years later) to be hogwash. In this case I'm not bothered, because I think this is
lovely, and don't care what it's real name is.
3rd May 2009
Primula sieboldii 'Geisha Girl' .
I am giving Primula sieboldii another try this year. I grew a few varieties 20 years ago, and I enjoyed them but they disappeared, and I can't
really remember what happened. In the last year or so they have come back into the limelight - it looks like they are going to be promoted
as the next great woodland plant - so I thought I would remind myself why I dropped them last time. To be fair, Primula
are not really my thing, but if I can control the vine weevil I might have to give them another look. There is also a chance that they will flower
and disappear again, so I may have learnt nothing about them in 20 years!
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.
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