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JEARRARD'S HERBAL

Thats enough introduction - on with the plants!
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... out in the garden.

16th August 2009

Hedychium coccineum 'Form 4' .
It has been a rather frantic week and as a consequence the greenhouse has been a bit neglected. Gladiolus gueinzii has managed to come and go again without me noticing - there might be one last flower in the spike still to come, but I don't think so! When I finally got down there, it was good to see that the Hedychium are in full swing. The evergreen varieties are just starting to flower, though their performance is going to be a little erratic after a difficult winter.
This form of came from Kobakoba, it was grown from open pollinated seed from the national collection. Probably the best red flowered form I grow, it is (almost) without the tinge of orange shown by most forms of the species.


16th August 2009



Eucomis 'Joy's Purple' .
There are a number of Eucomis with purple or purple tinged leaves, but this is the darkest of the purple flowered forms. It has been good here in the greenhouse but I don't have enough to try it outside yet - if the weather damaged the flower spike then the leaves would not be sufficient to sustain interest.
The general dampness here is not good for Eucomis outdoors - I have a large raised bed of E.bicolor but it isn't really prospering. Even in a dry sunny location there is enough moisture to support a thick covering of moss, and make a home for every weed species recorded from the county!


16th August 2009



Tulbaghia leucantha H&B 11996 .
The identification of Tulbaghia remains problematical - the last stock I grew as T.leucantha turned out to be T.montana (which was very welcome once a proper name had been uncovered).
This stock was collected in South Africa by Hilliard and Burtt, so I hope it is correctly named - I haven't managed to track down a key to the genus yet and such photo's as there are online are a little confused. I have only had it for a short time but it is vigorous and I think rather charming. It is rich in oniony fragrance but I don't think I would want a gravy made from it (pungent rather than fragrant!)

16th August 2009



Arum Pictum .
Last week I had little pointy shoots sticking out of the pot but a warm week has seen it burst up into flower. I was a little worried by the bare pot through the summer but it has come through dormancy strongly. I wasn't able to detect any smell from it when I went searching nose first, but every now and then I pass nearby in the greenhouse, and something smells unexpectedly septic! The spring Arum were surprisingly dull this year so it is nice to have a little stunner, even if it is hinting of the winter to come! Fortunately the leaves seem to be quite tolerant of cold so it remains in good condition until the spring flowering ones take over.



Acorus Alocasia Anemone Arisaema Arum Asarum Aspidistra Begonia Bromeliads Camellia
Carnivorous Cautleya Chirita Chlorophytum Clivia Colocasia Crocosmia Dionaea Drosera Epimedium
Eucomis Fuchsia Galanthus Hedychium Helleborus Hemerocallis Hepatica Hosta Impatiens Iris
Liriope Ophiopogon Pinguicula Polygonatum Ranunculus ficaria Rhodohypoxis Rohdea Roscoea Sansevieria Sarracenia
Scilla Sempervivum Tricyrtis Tulbaghia Utricularia Viola odorata Watsonia

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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