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.
23rd May 2010
Ranunculus repens 'Pleniflorus'.
As the weather has warmed up this week I have been rushing to get things planted in the herbaceous border. It is rapidly turning into a home for the displaced.
The creeping buttercup forms have started to flower and so I am moving them to new locations, where they can trail and spread to their hearts content.
This double flowered form is a delightful thing which spreads rapidly but not offensively through other plants and then produces
occasional perfect flowers. If it produced seed it would be a hazard.
23rd May 2010
Disa Unikewbet.
Having spent all my spare time this week thrashing about with a spade and some buckets, it was a nice surprise to get into the greenhouse and find the
first of the Disa in flower. This is a complex hybrid and it is intermediate between its many parents and consequently it is rather a moderate thing.
Moderate colour, moderate height, moderate sized flower but wonderful and early!
Currently it really stands out in the greenhouse, but over the next few weeks it will be joined by some more extreme members of the genus
and it may fade ionto the background a bit. Seedlings from it could be interesting because of their complex heritage.
23rd May 2010
Albuca humilis .
After years of appreciating this little bulb I finally got around to buying a couple of other species last year and I am curious to see if they perform as well.
I got this one by accident - the seed was supposed to be a Zephyranthes , and I think some of it probably was, because in a few months when these
white flowers are over, a few pink Zephyranthes flowers will appear in the pot. That sort of confusion would normally drive me to distraction
but in this case I find it curiously charming. The bulbs are now getting quite crowded in the pot so I will soon have to split them up, at which stage
I will probably sort out the mixture. In the meantime I enjoy the "free" Albuca and later on the Zephyranthes will be a bonus.
23rd May 2010
Roscoea cautleyoides 'Early Yellow'.
I am sure I have mentioned before the depressing period for gingers during April. The Hedychium are still not showing and you have to hope they are
dormant rather than dead. The Roscoea are in the same category. Rows and rows of empty looking pots. It is frighteningly easy to convince
yourself that they are all dead. The phrase 'Early Yellow' in this case is just the plants way of taunting me. It is among the first
of the R.cautleyoides forms to flower, but there are many others open at the same time, and this is hardly early.
Last week I finally saw some little noses peep up from the pots, and this week I have flowers, so 'Quick Yellow' might have been a better name. Now
that the ginger season has started I am finding signs of new growth all around, so they have survived another year.
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
spam from automated systems as a result of having an address on the front page.