JEARRARD'S HERBAL
20th August 2023
Impatiens glandulifera
Everywhere the garden is showing the early signs of autumn like a slice of bread that had been left out overnight. The ground is moist, but the garden is a little dry
and a little curled at the edges. However it is too early to declare the end of summer. The temperature has gone up again, the sun has come out,
and the late summer rush of herbaceous growth is looking lush. Bananas are looking particularly good at the moment, they have settled into the maturity of new growth
and will continue to look opulent until the autumn winds shred the foliage. They only spend two or three months at their prime, which is not long for a foliage effect,
but for a couple of months they are astonishing.
Further up in the garden the ground is menaced by Impatiens glandulifera. It appeared in the area about ten years ago and has advanced down the hill towards me.
I am fighting it off, but it has no trouble jumping the garden wall from the field next door. I remove them on sight, but in the warm weather they go from seedlings to
full flower in a few weeks. It's a very beautiful plant from a much-loved genus, perhaps I should just live with it, I certainly can't eradicate it. This one came up
through a patch of brambles. I took the picture and pulled it out. I can't stop it, but perhaps I can slow its progress.
20th August 2023
Dahlia merckii
Summer heat has helped the dahlias along. The last few months have seen a number of new species arrive in the garden and I am struggling to find places to plant them.
Dahlia purpurascens went into a pot while I think about it. It will have to go into the ground soon if it is to have a chance in winter,
the pot will not offer enough protection. If it doesn't survive in the ground I am unlikely to keep fussing over it, tender dahlias require more work than
I am prepared to put in. With age I have learnt to use all of the possible inflections of the phrase "Never mind".
Dahlia merckii is more reliable. My only concern is that it has been in the ground for so long that it will die of old age. I propagate it every year
but always seem to give them away without putting one on into the garden. It is easily raised from seed, so if I lost it I could start again without trouble
but it seems a waste. It may be easy from seed but it is even easier from cuttings.
20th August 2023
Nerine seedling
I started the week with one of the tasks that have to be done. I removed the spent flower spikes from the Disa. There are one or two left on the late flowering hybrids,
but the display has ended. Like a wilting button-hole, it was time to throw them away. They should leave a gap in the garden, but it isn't a real gap. The red Roscoea
are already filling it. I spent a happy evening sorting them out. I want to raise a few more hybrids this year. It has been a couple of years since I last raised seedlings
and the urge has come upon me. I want more with purple foliage and I want more with pink flowers.
The end of the Disa season has coincided with the start of the nerines. For several years now I have been raising seedlings from 'Catherine'
in the hope of getting an increased range of colours in the very early flowering selections. This pale seedling from 'Janet' appeared out of the blue, but for
a couple of years now it has been the first to flower. It opens in the middle of August, when most of the other cultivars are still dormant. 'Catherine' will be open in the next week,
and it may be possible to do the first pollination before the start of September. I'm not sure why I want very early Nerine. I just find them comforting
as the rest of the garden grows tired.
20th August 2023
Petunia exserta
It is just possible that I learnt to say "Never mind" longer ago than I imagined. I look at the increasing collection of dahlias and remember that this is my
second brush with the genus. I grew quite a lot in the noughties. I had a bit of a fixation on them earlier as well, about 10 years b.b. (before blogging).
If we get a seriously hard winter I may lose them all again. Never mind.
I said it when I lost Petunia exserta. I like the species, I was taking care to keep it but I see that I last recorded it in 2018. It is very easy to lose track of annuals.
Never mind, I have plenty of seed in the fridge. I can sow it any time. I imagine that I still have a large packet of old seed in the fridge if I bother to look.
I won't bother. Some things are best left undisturbed and the salad compartment of my fridge is one of them.
This Petunia arrived of its own volition. I have recycled old compost and up came a seedling. I am reminded why I like the species so much, I will take
extra care for a few years. The end result will be the same, I will get absent minded and overlook it again. In the meantime I will remember to scatter
the seed about willy-nilly and hope that the plant takes advantage of the opportunity.