JEARRARD'S HERBAL
13th October 2024
Utricularia reniformis
It has been a strange week in the garden. Cold winds have kept temperatures down and the sunshine has been pleasant without providing much heat.
The greenhouse is still cushioned with warmth but it feels fragile, as though the last heat might wash through the doors and the dank winter chill set in.
The aurora borealis might have been visible from the garden on Thursday night, a quick check showed that cloud cover and tree cover were enough to obscure it.
Frustratingly, it was visible slightly further south, away from the thin cloud. I will have to wait for another opportunity. At the same time the overnight temperature plunged.
I don't think we came near to frost but a few things have been bronzed. The Impatiens and Hedychium spicatum have cast off their gleeful summery appearance
and hung their heads.
In the greenhouse I have been watching the flower spike developing on Utricularia reniformis. It has slowed as the temperature drops and I thought that it might fail.
A decent frost would collapse the flower stem though the leaves would persist. For years I grew slowly in a large pot. In the last couple of years I have divided it and repotted very frequently
and it has responded with great vigour. Flowers spikes were once a rarity but now I get a couple every year, almost at random.
13th October 2024
Hedychium coccineum aurantiacum
I had a great adventure on Tuesday. Afer a couple of weeks confined to the house I was able to do a quick tour of the garden, riding on the lawnmower. It isn't the most stylish mobility vehicle,
but it can cope with the terrain. Even with a chill wind, it was nice to get outside again.
The Hedychium border has advanced in a few weeks. When I last looked at it the plants were growing sturdily. The border had a tidy, upright growth
like the hairstyle of an (older) person who has enthusiastically embraced practicality. This week the plants have grown taller, clumps have started to splay.
The border has the 'decorative hair' appearance favoured by the young who while away the hours flicking flowing locks from their faces. They seem to enjoy it so much
that it would be unnecessarily cruel to point out that it will all all out one day. The cheerful thoughts of a balding man.
Hedychum coccineum aurantiacum has flowered, sputtering quietly like an indoor firework. One flower head could hardly be called a riot of colour
but it is a rowdy rejection of the dark skies and falling temperatures.
13th October 2024
Rosa x odorata 'Viridiflora'
It is the small things that are most telling at this time of year. The spectacle of summer is over, the garden doesn't have to compete with the startling sunshine.
As I drive over the hill in summer, the sea is visible on the horizon. It doesn't sparkle but it paints a pure blue line that holds the sky in place.
Now the sunshine has gone, the sea is a dark blur, merging the sky and the distant land. The big picture has given way to the wonder of small things.
I almost walked past Rosa x odorata 'Viridiflora' as I went to the greenhouse. It seems to flower best from autumn through to spring. Perhaps
I just don't notice it during summers cacophony of colour. It is a plant of many moods. When it is feeling rushed or obstinate the double flowers fill with rust-brown petals
and it is a remarkable example of unremitting ugliness. At other times, if it is of a mind, it will produce flowers with clear green petals untarnished by grumpiness.
It is having a good time this week with two delightful green flowers nestled in the disguising foliage.
13th October 2024
Dendrobium Australian Regal Sparkler
It has been heartening to see that the greenhouse has chugged along perfectly well without me. On the other hand, it is also a bit of a slap in the face that it manages without
my endless primping and preening. I am both delighted and slightly peeved, but not as mad as I would have been if things had died without my attention.
The Dendrobium have had a mediocre year. They came through the winter moderately well but spring was very slow to get started and they depend on the heat of summer
for proper growth. In the middle of the year I changed my potting medium to see if I could improve things. I think it helped, but summer growth has been delayed.
We need several more weeks of warmth if the new canes are going to mature enough to overwinter safely. I don't want to bring them indoors but I may be forced to.
Dendrobium Australian Regal Sparkler has been the surprise of the week, producing a single flower. Many of the Australian hybrids flower through the winter and spring.
I was pleased to see that this one managed it before there was a serious risk of frost.
It is a small detail at a time of year when small details are the most telling.