JEARRARD'S HERBAL
Thats enough introduction - on with the plants!
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... out in the garden.
6th December 2009
Impatiens stenantha .
It has been a cold week. A wet week. A miserable week. I have hidden in the greenhouse as far as possible, and started to repot the Sarracenia,
which is an endless job.
Wandering around the garden it seemed like nothing much was happening, and this Impatiens adds nothing to the sense of newness . It is quite delightful
and has been in flower since May. It is a good thing, and I should plant more of it around the place, instead of relying on the occasional self sown seedling.
I think it would probably do rather well under the trees. A heavy frost now would finish it for the year, so I was pleased to get a reasonable picture of it at last -
I have tried repeatedly through the season, but keep wobbling at the key moment.
6th December 2009
Narcissus romieuxii 'Joy Bishop' .
This pale yellow Narcissus has been much fresher. Some unexpected sunshine at lunchtime allowed me to catch it with the sun on its petals,
which I have been trying to achieve for almost a week now.
I have a small collection of hoop petticoat Narcissus, and I was hoping to see a few more of them producing buds but so far it has all been a bit leafy.
With luck there will be new flowers to keep me happy through the darkest weeks of winter. This one is a rather nice selection from an introduction of seed
by Jim Archibald (JCA 805). I mean to raise more seedlings from it, but somehow it hasn't happened yet. Perhaps next year!
6th December 2009
Galanthus elwesii .
The bright weather encouraged me to rummage around in the undergrowth looking for new shoots from the snowdrops. In amongst the fallen leaves
there are occasional glimpses of silvery leaf shoots, but I was surprised to find an early flower on Galanthus elwesii. This was a single bulb that I selected
from a group a few years ago because of the long narrow base of the petal, which allows flashes of the green inner segments to appear.
I rather liked it at the time, but in subsequent years it has been less impressive, though if it continues to flower this early
it will be very welcome.
6th December 2009
Helleborus x hybridus Double White .
I wasn't expecting to find snowdrops, and I wasn't expecting to find Hellebores. The sun had me out in the garden with nothing much to do, so I was
wandering around poking about and was surprised how much there was to find. Half a dozen of the Hellebores have strong flower shoot emerging from the
ground, but this is the only one that has opened yet.
Most of the afternoon has been spent weeding through the Hellebore beds to get them ready for the spring. I should have done it weeks ago, but have
been forced to get on with it by the new growth coming up. I have reluctantly cut the leaves off of the clumps, so that I am less likely to damage
them with the herbicide I use to keep the edges under control. I promised myself I would find the time to control the brambles by hand last year,
but there just aren't enough hours in the day. Not the perfect weather, or the perfect season to use a herbicide, but it is the only practicable way forward
at the moment.
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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