JEARRARD'S HERBAL
Thats enough introduction - on with the plants!
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... out in the garden.
3rd January 2010
Galanthus elwesii 'Hiemalis' .
Welcome to the New Year, and the sudden change that happens in the garden. We have had a run of frosty nights, so there isn't much to see on the Camellias,
which is one of the places I look for pictures at this time of the year, and I thought I might be scratching around to find anything to show this week.
I have even been eyeing up some of the foliage plants (Rohdea , Aspidistra and the like) but after a sunny day yesterday
we had a mild night and the ground has started to push forth its bounty.
Last week the snowdrops were just promising glaucous marks on the ground, but this week there are shoots all over. 'Hiemalis' has now been expanded into
the Hiemalis Group, to cover the G.elwesii forms that flower early, around Christmas. It has been a bit late this year but it is very welcome.
3rd January 2010
Helleborus x hybridus .
The Hellebores are also getting over a fortnight of inactivity. I have had a double white flowered one in flower for a few weeks, and keep expecting more - but nothing!
A warm day has been enough to start them off again. Wonderful fat shoots bubbling with buds pushing upwards. This one is a seedling I raised
(not even last decade or last century) last millennium. At the time I had a limited selection of plants that had been with me for a long time. The gene pool
encompassed a range of wonders and possibility best summed up by the phrase 'muddy pink'. To be brutally honest, this is one of the better manifestations
of the type. There will be a selection of wonders to follow. Cleaner colours, spotless, broad tepals, but this spotty pinky one is welcome
to re-start the season (and it's growing behind a fern that will allow it to be ignored when there are better things on show).
3rd January 2010
Hepatica pubescens .
Hopefully, this week also marks the season of awkwardness for the Hepatica. The winter buds are not yet bursting, but there are a few flowers
escaping from the side of them. The plants stop growing in mid-summer, and then there is a period of slow decay until they decide there is enough spring in the air
to keep them happy. They always look as though a vine weevil has set up home beneath the crowns, and more than once I have killed plants by looking for
a non-existant pest among their roots.
This one has a pretty flower, but it is unlikely to open fully at this time of the year. It will take more than just a hint of spring before it
expands into large pink saucers.
3rd January 2010
Narcissus romieuxii JCA 805Y .
This is a seedling from Jim Archibalds introduction JCA 805. Over the years there have been a number of cultivars selected from it - 'Julia Jane'
and 'Joy Bishop' are noteworthy examples, this one has a letter - Y, and it's a good question! It isn't particularly large, pale, yellow or beautiful.
It is, however, in flower, so perhaps it doesn't need a justification.
There are a mass of buds coming up on other forms. They have all burst through the surface this week and are an indication of the Alpine pottiness 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.
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