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.
6th September 2009
Zephyranthes 'Labuffarosea' .
Autumn may be a bit gloomy, with all the dreary season to come and the rest of it, but the garden has been filling with delightful things. I was in Dorset yesterday
and at the NCCPG sale at Rosemoor today, and I have come home with some lovely plants, and was sorely tempted to show some of them here, but the garden
has been working all year to produce some good things, and it would be a pity to see them usurped at the last minute.
This Zephyranthes was collected by Yucca Do Nursery in Tamaulipes, Mexico and is believed to be a natural hybrid. My stock is rather pale pinkish, but deeper
pinks and picotee are also known. It sits in a pot minding its own business and from time to time produces a short lived but wonderful flower.
6th September 2009
Gladiolus murielae .
I have a big pot of this Gladiolus growing in the greenhouse - it would be a small pot but they are so cheap I had to buy 20 corms, so they
went into a big pot. It has never done well for me outside but is reliable under cover. Over the years it has wandered aimlessly among names like
a teenager in a clothes shop. Acidanthera murielae was a popular choice for some time, and still is in commercial catalogues,
Gladiolus callianthus and Acidanthera bicolor have both been tried for size and Gladiolus murielae is currently in fashion.
The large white flowers soar over the green leaves, which remain in good condition for the duration of the display and keeps it looking fresh and bright.
Smells like the aforementioned teenager.
6th September 2009
Nerine filifolia .
A wonderful tiny little Nerine species. When I first grew it I treated it like a Nerine and allowed it to get dry between waterings
and eventually I managed to kill it without ever seeing the flowers. More recently I have learned that it likes to be wet and with its toes almost permanently in water
it has bulked up and flowered. I would like to try some hybrids with N.sarniensis and its cultivars, but they aren't open yet so the timimg might be a bit tight.
Some short growing hybrids that divided enthusiastically would be a good step forward for the genus.
6th September 2009
Sinningia conspicua .
I was seriously considering spending this week dwelling entirely among the gesneriads. Briggsia kurzii arrived this week and came out of the box in full flower
, but it will be better next year (and there is a slim chance that by then i will have something to say instead of just drooling on the page).
Aeschynanthus novogracilis would have been here, but the photos were a bit dodgy (try again next week). And then the Sinningia...
S.sellovii was great last year in full sun - this year in the shade it has grown enormous, and the tiny flowers perch rather ridiculously
on the top. Sinningia conspicua did rather poorly in sun last year but has been a cool beauty this year, like elderflower cordial in the shade.
It overwintered in the pot as a big fat tuber, and I'm not sure if it will propagate from cuttings. Perhaps I will have to wait for seed.
I have managed to avoid the temptation to fill the page with scarlet. Saw the first bright red leaf on the Liquidambar this evening, so if we get some decent
weather, there will be more in weeks to come.
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
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