JEARRARD'S HERBAL
3rd March 2024
Petunia exserta
The weather has been mild and wet, staying comfortably within the envelope of spring expectations. Temperatures have fallen away a little from the unseasonal
highs of early February but the garden has been frost free. The threat of lower night temperatures in the last few days meant that I put
some fleece out again in the greenhouse, just to be on the safe side, but I don't think it was needed. Next week I will gather the fleece up for the final time,
put it away safely, and look forward to summer.
While I was wrestling with the gossamer fabric I noticed that the greenhouse had welcomed the arrival of summer while I was still undecided.
Last autumn I found a volunteer seedling of Petunia exserta growing among some herbaceous plants. It has been a couple of years since I grew it deliberately
and I thought that it had died out. A single plant was immensely cheering. I resolved to save seed and forgot to do so almost simultaneously.
The burning colour of summer arrived in the form of a Petunia flower, just as the new seasons Petunia bedding is appearing in the garden centres.
Petunia exserta has survived the winter, I really must collect some seed and grow a few more. It is one of those garden resolutions that has survived the winter.
3rd March 2024
Crocus 'Whitewell Purple'
Crocus don't like this garden now, but not as much as they didn't like this garden once. I see that as a major triumph of time, gardening and opportunism.
There are a few Crocus in the garden, and although I can't fix an exact date of planting, I can fix it approximately. Back in the winter of 1982/3
I was looking for some easy things to grow in pots for cheap spring colour. Crocus 'Whitewell Purple' was one of the things I chose
and they performed remarkably well. I had thirty of them growing in 7cm pots and they did an excellent job dispelling the gloom of a long-forgotten winter.
A couple of years later they were still lying around in the same pots looking dejected and unloved. They were planted out in the garden
in preference to throwing them onto the compost. For decades nothing much further was seen of them, but in the last few years they have started to flower again.
Last week I counted fifteen small clumps of them in bud. It has taken a long time but they are establishing.
I have siezed the opportunity. Over a couple of years I have planted C. tommasinianus and C. 'Ruby Giant' in the new herbaceous border.
They are still there. It's a major triumph.
3rd March 2024
Corydalis solida 'Beth Evans'
Perhaps it just takes dry bulbs a while to establish. I can't remember when I did the first trial of Corydalis solida in the garden.
I will have kept a note of it somewhere, but it was a decade or more ago. I started with some interesting purple seedlings
and learned that dull purple was not a good colour for a woodland context. I moved on to the red forms, and put in single plants
of 'Beth Evans' (cheap and pink), 'George Baker' (scarlet but not cheap) and 'Firecracker' (bank-breakingly spectacular). The first year felt like a failure,
they survived weakly but I wasn't hopeful. A few years later they haven't increased, but they are strong. About three years ago I put in another fifty 'George Baker',
a compromise between colour and price.
This year I am reconsidering the strategy. 'Beth Evans' is stronger, paler, earlier and more floriferous. I may temper my scarlet ambition to pink
and settle for an earlier, cheaper display when I put more bulbs in. I would like to think that they might seed themselves a bit but there is no sign of it yet.
3rd March 2024
Trillium kurabayashii
The Corydalis are planted under the trees at the top of the garden. I try to keep it simple to maintain because it is the furthest part of the garden
at the top of a slope. I am a lazy gardener. It is an adventure in discovery to find the things that will give a wave of spring colour
without effort. The Corydalis are the latest bright idea. I would love a bright red carpet, like some bright red pools, and settle for some bright red specks.
I have started a trial with Trillium kurabayashii. After two years it is stronger than it was when it was planted. Last year I planted a little friend
to keep it company. That hasn't reappeared yet. I am looking at the bare space quizzically. Trillium kurabayashii is said to be the easiest of the species to establish
but I might try a couple of other common species to see if one fits better.
Perhaps they will just take a decade or two to establish. That will be fine. During the week I noticed the buds breaking on the trees. It means that the slow pace of
the winter garden is quickening. I find the frantic rush of the summer garden quite stressful. The Trillium can take their time, I don't mind having a slow garden.