JEARRARD'S HERBAL
Thats enough introduction - on with the plants!
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... out in the garden.
1st March 2026
Galanthus 'Augustus' .
It has been a murky week. The absence of winter has been noteworthy. At the end of autumn I was hoping that the cold weather would hold off for as long as possible.
By Christmas I was delighting that the cold hadn't arrived. March has started and still no cold weather, it is very cheering and, through
the murky atmosphere, it is also very peculiar. Beside the house, the last flowers on Dahlia tenuicaulis "faded" (a polite term for being ripped off by the wind)
just as the new growth for the season started.
The snowdrops have been equally confused. Some that are early have been very early, others have been late. Under the trees at the top of the garden I have been trying to establish
a snowdrop carpet. I started with a number of cultivars of Galanthus nivalis but they weren't really happy. 'Jacquenetta' has faded away, 'Moccas' is struggling
and there are fewer 'Clun' than I planted originally.
On the other hand G. plicatus has prospered. I planted a number of cultivars up there and as they form decent clumps they are being spread around.
Three years ago they appeared as a speckling of individual flowers, like a milky-way of snowdrops on the universal forest floor.
This year they are charming little clumps. Next year - well, there is always a 'next year' filled with promise if you grow snowdrops.
1st March 2026
Hedychium gardnerianum 'Annette' .
There is a time in the autumn when the roadside trees abandon celebration in favour of dormancy. The flickering colours inspired by summer sunshine drop from the
branches and the outlook becomes grey. I drive along the road and it is the grey colour of the twigs and lichens that dominates. Last year there were also
scarlet clouds of hawthorn berries enlivening the scene. Driving along the road this week they are still there and I don't remember seeing that before.
Perhaps there were just so many fruits that they have persisted. Perhaps there are so few birds that they haven't been eaten. Strange portents at 60mph.
Beside the house, Hedychium gardnerianum 'Annette' is in fruit. This is the first time I have had ripe fruits on H. gardnerianum
and it has left me puzzled. Perhaps the long warm autumn helped or the mild shelter of the wall. Perhaps 'Annette' is a free-fruiting form
or the freedom from frost has helped. I will raise some seedlings to celebrate the unexpected and next year I might try to make some hybrids
(previous attempts have been hampered by zero seed set).
1st March 2026
Narcissus cyclamineus .
I have a few Narcissus cyclamineus in the garden. My original plant grows in a tub and scatters hybrid seedlings around.
So far I haven't found anything very extraordinary among them but there is one this year that I will keep an eye on. When I find them, I lift them and put them in the hellebore border
where, like retired politicians, they can be interesting and unimportant.
Among the true N. cyclamineus I have selected a tiny seedling which is rather lovely and a large one, the tallest I have seen. Unfortunately the tall one has been eclipsed
by a seedling from a friends garden that reaches about 30cm. I planted it on the front boundary of the garden where the water from the hill drains down
and keeps things moist. Then, to encourage the species to spread into a glorious trickle of delight, I planted this little group
bought at a discount when the retailer had failed to shift them. If I keep planting plants, sowing seed and making encouraging noises, then I am sure that eventually
the garden will be bounded with gold.
1st March 2026
Erythronium japonicum
The weather has been warm, the garden has been gloomy. It has been difficult to predict how plants will develop. Erythronium japonicum has been in bud for a fortnight
and every couple of days I go up to see it, keen to catch the open flower before the slugs move in. It has remained a bud, hardly moving forward at all.
Finally at the end of the week it began to open. The plant has increased slightly since last year, I have three shoots now and three buds. At least I had three buds,
now I have two-and-a-half and the slugs have the remainder. The next few days may see the flower reflex fully or vanish completely.
In a tub nearby I have Erythronium umbilicatum. I want to disturb it and get a bulb to plant in the garden but I am frightened.
Perhaps it will resent the disturbance and die. I have prevaricated. Yesterday I went to the AGS Early Spring Show and bought another to plant in the garden.
It is the coward's way out but I was becoming stressed by the thought of splitting my plant. I have been putting it off for a couple of years
and £5 seemed like a very reasonable way to reduce stress. Little more than a cup of coffee and without the tiresome, steamy, huffing and puffing
of an espresso machine. Zsssswoooooccch I will hiss to myself triumphantly as I plant it.
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.
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