... out in the garden.

14th July 2013

Impatiens kilimanjari x pseudoviola
It has been a strange week. I have spent a few days visiting family and gardens. By a happy accident of timing I was able to avoid visiting family's gardens so I feel quite rested. In my absence the garden has been coping very nicely. This Impatiens has been looking after itself for many years now so I was certain it woudn't miss me for a few days.
It will stand a slight frost, but it gets killed in severe weather. Fortunately it seeds rather freely or I would have lost it by now. It came up in the floor of a greenhouse that is in need of renovation and it is the last thing that will be removed before I begin. Where it will be removed to is the sticking point. I had hoped that a short break might lead in the direction of inspiration but it failed to strike. Perhaps if I slept on it ...

14th July 2013

Iris ensata 'Gracieuse'
I was planning to visit Marwood Hill Gardens to see the Iris ensata as soon as they opened but this is the first and I have only just got home. I will have to leave it for a week before I can cope with another day out.
The number of named forms of Iris ensata is increasing every year. I suspect that there are no ugly seedlings and that a lot more are being named than even a fanatic could need. I have a dozen, or two dozen, or something like that but it is easy to fit them in and I could live with a few more. They seem to grow perfectly well in the border though it is possible that they need to be lifted and divided every few years if they are to flower profusely. One of my visits this week was to Wakehurst Place where they have a collection housed in a little dell among the trees. It was very evident that the recently divided plants were flowering more freely than the older clumps.

14th July 2013

Podophyllum 'Spotty Dotty'
Podophyllum are wonderful when they are established. They have become more popular in recent years thanks to the wonders of tissue culture. This one was a bit miffy for a year or two but it was planted out as soon as it showed signs that it was increasing and it has gone from strength to strength. The large red flowers hang below the leaves and would be easy to miss.
I have also tried 'Kaleidoscope' but it got weaker rather than stronger and now it has gone. I don't think I have been alone in finding it less good, but I will give it another try.
The leaves are strangely camouflaged in the garden. From a distance they are barely noticeable but as you get closer they suddenly differentiate into bright blobs of purple and green that almost shout out loud. It can be quite unsettling.

14th July 2013

Phygelius x rectus 'Ivory Twist'
Phygelius have been lurking on the edges of fame for many years now. The introduction of P.aequalis 'Yellow Trumpet' had enormous significance. Suddenly breeders had some variation in colour available and for a while it seemed that every man and his dog were naming seedlings. Things were just starting to calm down when 'Sani Pass' was discovered (named after the location in South Africa where it was found). It has dark pink flowers with almost no trace of yellow pigment. Suddenly the breeders had a new bandwaggon and on they leapt. Several different series of colours have been raised and named and it was only a question of time before a pink with no yellow and a yellow with no pink were combined to get a white with no purity. Ivory is such a convenient description.
Last year it was a little feeble, but this year it is more vigorous and a couple of plants in the greenhouse are flowering well. The next thing will be a dwarf one for the bedding plant market and then a full range of flower colours with golden leaves. I think there is more 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 spam from automated systems as a result of having an address on the front page.