JEARRARD'S HERBAL
2nd April 2023
Freesia sparrmanii .
It has been a wet week. The dry spells have been short and misty, trapped in the wreckage of clouds that have crashed to the ground. I have been planting out hellebores,
filling in gaps and clearing things that have been in pots for too long. It's an enjoyable task made frantic by the pressure of rain. If I don't get it done now, I might not get another chance.
I have nearly finished now and it has gone well. I haven't been rained on, the earth has been warm and friable and I haven't ended the day covered in a layer of mud.
Despite the reality, it has felt fraught. Mischievous mist has whispered cold threats through the trees.
Freesia sparrmanii has been seeding itself around the Nerine house for a few years now in shades of mauve and pink. Last autumn I moved a number of the hardier Nerine outside
and it seems the Freesia travelled with them. It is looking much better outside than it did under glass, the plants are more compact and the colour is darker. It didn't start to grow until the New Year,
so it was protected from the extreme radiation frosts of last December. It will be interesting to see if it persists outside.
2nd April 2023
Magnolia 'Star Wars' .
It has been unsettling to watch the garden bloom. Through the winter there is a simple, clean aesthetic about the place. It isn't decorative but it is very satisfying.
It shows a world that is simple and manageable. Suddenly the ground has erupted into growth. The hellebore border was bare, the hellebores stood out in majestic flower
looking authoritative. In the last two weeks the bluebells have thrust up, filling every gap with foliage. There is no space for anything, the garden has all the relaxation of a crowded
tube train in the rush hour.
Two weeks ago, Magnolia 'Star Wars' was an elegant pattern of grey sticks flickering against the sky. This week has seen a pink explosion, the hard buds at the tips of the twigs have burst
like coloured pop-corn. I have planted a number of magnolias in the garden, some of them have established and a few have been remarkable. To date, 'Star Wars' has been the most satisfactory
of the pink cultivars. M. campbellii hasn't established - I think the top of the garden is too windy for it, but 'Star Wars' has been a good substitute. It flowered when still young,
has grown into a small tree, and blooms after the risk of frost has passed. I wanted to replace some of the Acer campestre in the garden with M. campbellii
and fill the garden with early flowers, but I think this might be a better candidate.
2nd April 2023
Erythronium hendersonii .
The annual Erythronium angst has started. I grow quite a lot of them, and there is a limit to the number of suitable spaces in the garden to plant them.
Erythronium hendersonii is doing well at the moment in a tub, but it would be better in the ground if I had somewhere suitable. The problem is, I have somewhere suitable.
Under the trees at the top of the garden I have a large planting of Erythronium 'Pagoda'. I like the way it forms a billowing mass of flowers, it is a broken carpet of bloom, but it has
integrity. It also has some spaces. I could pop the E. hendersonii into a gap. It might look quite nice, it would solve a problem, it might not offend me.
The same angst every year. I'm sure I don't want it up there, but it would be very convenient.
It is one of the earliest species to flower, it might have flowered and gone before the E. 'Pagoda' opened, it could be an inspired piece of planting. On the other hand, a few pinkish-white
flowers among the yellow would be unfortunate, at the very least. I will find somewhere else for it, watch it for a few more years before I risk mixing things up.
2nd April 2023
Pleione Glacier Peak .
The Pleione season has started. I am waiting for the moment the Pleione bench disappears under a cover of flowers and I am waiting for it with a touch of anxiety.
Last year I started experimenting with new growing media. I have spent the winter looking at pots, filled with confidence that the plants will be fine. Pleione are tough things
that laugh in the face of adversity, mostly. On the other hand I might have killed them all. I have done it once before. My teenage collection of Pleione
all died when I became convinced they wanted a warmer summer. I cooked the whole lot in a single season.
So I am sure my anxiety is unfounded, but I have a precedent. I get a lot of bright ideas, they aren't always successful.
Pleione Glacier Peak has done well. I fed them all more heavily last year, and so far it seems to have improved growth. Balanced against that, half of the collection have yet to appear.
It is early in the Pleione season, there is still plenty of time.
One way or another, the clouds of uncertainty will clear and I can get back to planting hellebores.