JEARRARD'S HERBAL
30th August 2026
Amaryllis belladonna .
It has been a startlingly hot summer and I'm sure many of us are surveying our gardens and wondering what the future holds.
This may be the consequence of global warming or it may be a freak hot spell, probably a little bit of both, but it has been a testing time.
For me it has emphasised the value of diversity in the garden. Some things have suffered but others have done well.
Amarllis flowers are uncommon here, though I grow dozens of plants. Summers are generally too mild and moist.
However this year flowers have appeared in goodly numbers and this one interested me.
It is a seedling raised from Japanese seed several years ago. I was told that the white seeds would produce white flowered plants (seeds are usually pink)
but that is evidently not the case. This was a white seed but it is a good pink flower.
I assume the mother plant was white flowered and responsible for the white seed
30th August 2026
Hedychium gardnerianum 'Annette' .
The evergreen Hedychium have started. It will be interesting to see it the hot weather encourages some of the more reluctant bloomers into flower
later in the autumn.
Hedychium gardnerianum 'Annette' has been reliable on the south wall of the house and is making a good show. It does not stand out from the typical
appearance of the species to my eye, but it is the only one I have that reliably sets seed here.
30th August 2026
Hydrangea macrophylla 'Hortmarahso' MAGICAL RHAPSODY .
The hydrangeas stood up remerkably well to the drought. In many parts of the country they were a dead loss but here we got just enough moisture to keep them going.
Now the rain has come they have stood up and continue to give a good show of trauma-stained flowers. H. m. 'Hortmarhaso' makes a compact shrub with upright
stems carrying green flowers. It was striking when it started flowering at the end of June and is still looking good.
However, I am glad that I garden on a mildly acid soil that produces blue hydrangeas. Green flowers with undertones of pink might not be so elegant.
30th August 2026
Nerine masoniorum .
The nerine season has started. Nerine masoniorum shouldn't have come as a surprise but it did. The first of the greenhouse hybrids can not be far behind.