JEARRARD'S HERBAL
24th July 2022
Prospero obtusifolium .
The heat of last week softened in a strong breeze over the weekend. By the start of this week the tempertature in the garden had dropped by 10degC.
The garden isn't looking refreshed, that will take some significant rain, but it was looking less desperate. Occasional mists have blown in from the sea,
taunting with their cool moisture but not delivering any meaningful water. The ground is still baked hard, the hydrangeas are still on the point of wilting.
Only the bananas seem to be prospering. Over the last week they have unrolled new leaves and fleshed out the bare bones of winter. Perhaps their large leaves
are able to trap water from the misty air. However they are doing it, the heat and moisture suited them well.
Despite the lack of rain, as we move away from the summer solstice the shadow of autumn has started to lengthen. Prospero obtusifolium burst into
flower with a little fanfare. The species is described as having broad leaves that lie flat on the ground, my plants have upright thread leaves that place it in
Prospero autumnale. I could change the name but it's still too hot for messing around with details.
24th July 2022
Iris x norrisii .
There are a few plants that have been thriving in the heat. I have grown Iris x norrisii rather badly for a decade. It has produced flowers with the grudging reluctance of a
cheap airline providing a refund. I had been keeping it too dry. In the very worst times I lost the plant entirely and have only kept it going because I saved some seed
(freely produced and easily germinated). Since then I have kept it hot and wet. It has responded by growing larger than ever before and producing an abundance of short lived
red-and-orange flowers.
There is still a question mark over the identity of my plants. It should a hybrid between I. domestica with a strange orange flower very like this one, and
I. dichotoma which has blue iris flowers. I struggle to see the influence of the latter, however my plant is darker red than I.domestica,
which I grew from seed specifically to settle the issue. It didn't work, I am still unsure. The next step is to grow I. dichotoma and make the hybrid for myself
but I'm not sure it's worth the effort. In the final analysis, it is this unlikely scarlet iris flower that appeals to me, whatever its proper name.
24th July 2022
Haemanthus humilis .
It isn't just the hardy autumn bulbs that are moving. Last week I spent some time weeding in the Nerine house, preparing for the season to come.
There was no sign of emerging flower spikes. I poked carefully through the tufted clumps of N.masoniorum leaves looking for emerging spikes - nothing yet.
I sought out N. 'Catherine' , usually the first of the N. sarniensis cultivars to flower here, but she is still dormant. It won't be long,
around the country people are starting to say that their Nerine are on the move.
I watered them ten days ago to soften the blow of the heat and serve as a wake up call. Almost immediately Haemanthus humilis responded,
the pink inflorescence appearing from the centre of the dry bulb. Over the course of the week it has grown taller, the flowers have opened
and the inflorescence has been followed out of the bulb by a pair of hairy leaves. It's all very exciting. For months the Nerine house has been asleep in the summer sun
but the reckless display of autumn is imminent.
At a more practical level, the appearance of H.humilis reassures me that I haven't killed everything in the greenhouse.
24th July 2022
Strobilanthes wallichii .
Outside, the perpetual battle between order and disorder continues. I still haven't reorganised the herbaceous border but nothing can be done until the end of autumn.
There's no point meddling with things until there is some moisture in the soil. Perhaps by then I will know what I am doing. I managed the majority of the spring weeding
before the summer arrived so the border looks neglected but not abandoned.
Autumn anemones are sending up their flower heads and the last of the daylilies are speckling the scene with colour. Between them, the first bloom of Strobilanthes wallichii has opened.
By next week the mound of hairy foliage will shimmer with purple-blue flowers. They say that one of the secrets to a successful herbaceous border is repetition. I'm too greedy for that,
I want one of everything. Fortunately the Strobilanthes is wiser than me, scattering seedlings about in a gentle way and filling the gaps. It's a good thing
and as the border becomes more shaded by surrounding trees it becomes more telling.