JEARRARD'S HERBAL
Thats enough introduction - on with the plants!
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... out in the garden.
11th April 2010
Geranium phaeum .
One of the consequences of a long cold winter is that when spring comes, it comes in a rush. A couple of weeks ago I was at an Alpine Garden Society show
and it was one of the best displays I have seen for years. A number of species had produced all their flowers in one go, so you could have tiny blobs
of colour in pots in almost any shade you can imagine. The same effect is occurring in the garden, everything is coming at once and it is difficult to keep up.
In my spare time I am doing some work in the herbaceous border, and watching Geranium phaeum slowly producing stems, and then suddenly
I found this one in full flower behind some Camellia. One of my favourite species of Geranium, it seeds around the place with enthusiasm
but it is always welcome.
11th April 2010
Tulipa wilsoniana
I have been growing a couple of the smaller tulip species this year to see how they react to being grown in pots - it is too wet through the winter here
to try them outside though I might do some experiments with raised beds.
This tiny scarlet species is native to Iran and Turkmenistan where it is at risk as a result of overgrazing so cultivated stocks are especially important.
I am hoping that it will produce seed without trouble, germinate freely and produce a new generation of fat little bulbs, and when that happens
I have no idea where I will put them, but cross that bridge when I get to it.
11th April 2010
Lathyrus aureus .
This is one of a very small number of yellow flowered peas, and probably the best of them for general use. I bought it last year and enjoyed
it in the greenhouse but I think it is too hot and dry in there, so it is destined for the herbaceous border once I have it back under control.
I didn't get any seed from it last year but with luck it will produce some outside. The heads of flowers are interesting rather than
spectacular. It is flowering at the same time as Lathyrus vernus as a result of the compression of the season. I hadn't thought about
hybridising them until I wrote that. Hmmm...
11th April 2010
Uvularia grandiflora 'Wisley Form' .
I am always amazed that the Uvularia forgive me. They sit in small pots in a shade house year after year and still manage a spring display.
I am finally getting some space organised in the shade outside, so I can start moving them out slowly, but if the season suddenly turns dry (as I fear it may)
then it will have to wait until autumn. They could go out this week I suppose, but there is no time. The Wisley form is slightly larger, slightly brighter,
slightly earlier and slightly more vigorous than is typical, but only slightly.
It flowers very early in the season but then carries on growing through summer, so it needs a cool corner where it can be overlooked
for quite a long time.
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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