JEARRARD'S HERBAL
3rd November 2024
Correa alba 'Pinkie'
Winter has started to rattle branches in the garden and I have started to look to the greenhouse for diversion. The Hedychium house has been repaired
and my attention has turned to the Hedychium still in there, which need to be sorted and planted out. I'm not sure where they are going to go, but if
I start at the beginning I should make some progress. This time I need to be sure that I have put permanent labels in with them as they are planted out.
I was in a hurry when I planted the first half of the collection and left the labels for another day. Several years later I finally got around to it just
as the temporary labels were fading. They were all decipherable in the end but in one case I read the name from the marking bleached into it by the sun.
Correa alba 'Pinkie' flowered through the roof repairs as though nothing was happening. I will have to keep a close eye on it now that I can no longer
rely on the rain to water it. The new roof is wonderful, I hope I don't neglect things. This Correa has been beautiful for years,
I would hate to see it suffer.
3rd November 2024
Galanthus reginae-olgae 'Cambridge'
Most of the autumn snowdrops grow under cover with the Nerine. They were watered a week ago, they should go for a few more days without needing attention.
In the garden I have been watching the earliest forms of G. elwesii. The first green noses have appeared above the ground but no sign of flower
buds yet. Once they appear the snowdrop season will have started undeniably and with it, the winter. The greenhouse snowdrops act as an early warning
but they flower when the greenhouse is still warm, at least on the sunny days. Warners of winter rather than the companions of snow.
Galanthus reginae-olgae 'Cambridge' is a very old selection of the species from Cambridge Botanic Garden. It is distinctive not for its
appearance but for its staying power. It was introduced at a time when G. reginae-olgae was developing its reputation for dropping dead
at any opportunity. 'Cambridge' was the first clone to be identified, selected from the species for its proven durability. Since then a large number
of cultivars have been named. Many are durable, some are vigorous.
'Cambridge' is still the bench-mark for reliability.
3rd November 2024
Hoya carnosa
I grow all of my Bletilla in a sealed-off corner of the greenhouse. In the spring the temperature rises early and as summer heats up
I have a window that I can open to cool things down. It seems to suit the Bletilla and one or two other terrestrial orchids.
When I needed a warm corner to grow Hoya carnosa it seemed the obvious choice. The Hoya has done well, it needs a bigger pot
and there really isn't space. At present my plan is to root some cuttings in the spring, by way of insurance, and move the Hoya.
Worrying times. If the Hoya had died in the first year I would have shrugged my shoulders in a 'que sera' way and moved on. Several years later and I
am very fond of it. I would hate to find that I had moved it to a colder spot and lost it.
It has worked very hard for my affection, flowering twice a year and bringing a sense of displaced exoticism to the greenhouse like finding a peacock
in the garden one morning.
This is the second flowering. If anything these are more wonderful than the summer flowers, appearing as the first chills start to settle. I have closed the
greenhouse window for the year.
3rd November 2024
Nerine 'Lost Dreams'
All around the garden winter is hanging, waiting to fall. I was out in the car this afternoon and drove past a mature Ginkgo in full autumn colour.
It dripped with golden leaves and looked fatigued by the weight of decoration. It seemed that one good sneeze would disturb the lot
and the last golden sunshine of summer would be shed into the gutter. Almost instinctively I held my breath as we drove past.
I didn't want to be the one.
As the autumn leaves fall, the Nerine have shot up. They have a short season but it is raucous and defiant in the face of the grey weather.
Skies may be dark but the Nerine are in the pink.
N. 'Lost Dreams' has a wistful look, the grey-lilac flowers have an orange throat. Opulence stained with regret as though a price
had been paid. The 'Dreams' series of Nerine were raised by Sir Peter Smithers in Switzerland. Those seedlings that showed promise
were give a temporary 'Dreams' name while they were being assessed. In the event the names stuck.
One sudden gust and the autumn colour will be gone. I am trying not to sneeze.