JEARRARD'S HERBAL
Thats enough introduction - on with the plants!
To navigate this site use the links above or the detailed links at the bottom of this page.
... out in the garden.
7th June 2026
Dregea sinensis 'Variegata'.
It has been a cold week in the garden. June has not really lived up to its flaming reputation. Fortunately the cold weather has been accompanied by rain,
which was very welcome. The garden is refreshed, the rainwater tanks for the Disa are refilled. It is a good state to be in when facing the summer
(if we get one).
The greenhouse is a little better protected against the vagaries of the weather. Dregea sinensis 'Variegata' has come into flower.
It is a plant that has had a bouncing presence in the garden. I first grew it in the 1980s, I don't know how I lost it but it isn't there now.
It's another plant that likes a warm, sunny position and that will be the underlying cause of its demise.
I grew it again in the 2000s with the same outcome. Last year I bought it again because I think it is lovely, and perhaps I can grow it in a pot
for long enough to propagate a replacement when it finally dies.
Perhaps it will simply bounce forward another twenty years.
7th June 2026
Petunia exserta .
Petunia exserta follows a similar cycle of appearance and disappearance but over a shorter time. I have a secret that I feel should be a guilty-secret, but it isn't.
I like petunias in all their varied, ridiculous, colourful forms. I especially liked the first red petunias bred, despite being produced in a lab by gene transfer.
They were fab, one might almost say groovy. People started wagging their fingers at gene transfer at about the same time Petunia exserta was introduced from Brazil.
It turns out that most petunias are free with their affection. One source of red colour was banned and another came along to fill the gap.
I like the original species enough to try to keep it going. I don't grow any others that it might become overly friendly with. A few years ago
I lost my last plant but was delighted when one came up as a weed in some Crocosmia pots. Now I try to save seed and I expect that, if I looked, I might find
some twenty-year-old seed at the back of the refrigerator. Think of it as a last resort.
7th June 2026
Crinodendron hookerianum 'Alf Robbins' .
Crinodendron hookerianum is a magnificent scarlet flowered shrub. It is difficult to see how it could be improved.
Certainly the pink flowered 'Ada Hoffman' doesn't do it. Delightful as it is, it is just not scarlet. Like a pinkish sunset, it is welcome
but not enthralling. It doesn't stir relentless excitement into the garden like a teaspoon of chilli powder into a bean stew.
'Alf Robbins' has a different demeanour. It isn't apologetically not-scarlet, it is simply white. No trumpets, no fanfare, just white.
I am waiting to see how it matures as a shrub. Perhaps it will be a cool delight, perhaps the tinge of brownery-green at the top of the flower will
leave it looking bedraggled. One of those questions that only time and experience will answer. While I am waiting, I am growing fond of it
in a very gentle way.
7th June 2026
Bletilla Axinite .
It's nice in the greenhouse. I haven't needed much of an excuse to hide away down there this week. Also, the garden is becoming overgrown and the mower won't start.
The greenhouse beckons.
It hasn't been a spectacular year for the Bletilla, they have been good but not outstanding. I think their little corner is becoming too shaded.
I have a plan to move them - worrying times.
Bletilla Axinite is flowering in the middle of the season. I am very lucky that my plant, which I bought as an unflowered seedling, is a good yellow/orange.
I have since acquired another that has not yet flowered with me, but which I know to be pink. It will be lovely and fit in well with my obsession,
but jaws are not going to drop in amazement.
To find particular groups of plants I grow, click on the genus name in the table above. Click on the "Index" box at the top of the page for the full list.
I have a lot of good intentions when it comes to updating this site, and I try to keep a note
about what is going on, if you are interested.
If you want to contact me, the address is incompetentjohnMONKEYjohnjearrard.co.uk
When typing the address in, please replace MONKEY with the more traditional @ symbol! I apologise for the tiresome performance involved, but I am getting too much
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Perhaps my MONKEY will fool them.