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.
24th August 2025
Eucomis 'Cabernet Candles' .
It has been a quiet week after the gusts of last weekend. The Crinum have been trashed by the wind, the leaves are all hanging on one side, but the bananas have remained in good condition.
If there had been some rain to go with it then it would have been a good thing, even though it ripped a branch from my Broussonetia.
Unfortunately there was nothing, the garden is dry. A young hydrangea I planted in spring has finally wilted. I will give it a bucket of water this evening and hope for the best.
I have a pine tree border where I grow some spiky succulents. There is enough sunshine under the canopy to keep them happy and enough canopy to keep off the worst of the ravages of winter.
Can I still call it the pine tree border now there isn't a pine tree? It blew over in winter and is now just a stack of cut logs. The pine log border?
My collection of Eucomis were planted there. Some have prospered more than others, it's a bit too dry for them. Eucomis hybridise freely and are startlingly easy to raise from seed
so there are new cultivars introduced every year. I like them large and leafy but there are plants for all tastes. I have enjoyed 'Cabernet Candles' and it has grown well.
Some of the others have done less well and will be moved to the new herbaceous border where they will be allowed to potter along in anonymous mediocrity.
24th August 2025
Lapageria rosea .
Lapageria rosea achieves a similar mediocrity in this garden but does it by a spectacular trick. The flowers are spectacular and the growth is spectacularly awful.
I love Lapageria but it doesn't feel the same about me. It likes to be cossetted, it likes the greenhouse, it hates to be sat in a corner by itself.
I should probably just plant it somewhere in the garden and be done with it, but I like it. There is a moment when autumn is looking threatening
and suddenly Lapageria walks through the trees like an elf queen dispensing beauty and calm.
The elf queen isn't entirely happy. I try, there is a new compost on the agenda next time she is repotted, one more attempt to fulfil her fickle whims.
Despite my evident and long lasting deficiencies she still flowers for me as the autumn winds flatulate, and the flower is always spectacular.
There are gardens locally where the elf queen flowers in heavy garlands, dancing on the horticultural tables with a flagon of mead in her hand.
I'm not sure I could cope with that.
24th August 2025
Hedychium 'C. P. Raffill' .
The Hedychium in the garden have enlivened summer with the lush promise of their foliage. I always hope for flowers but I do it in the same way as
I hope for a chocolate mint at the end of a good meal. It's a nice idea and if it works it is lovely. It isn't the point. The Hedychium summer is exotic,
filled with rapturous green and seductive come-hither shadows. The Hedychium offer a soothing tide of rippling motion as the garden
bakes in the still sunshine.
Autumn sees a change. The stems stand tall, spiked with occasional flowers. At last some dew forms overnight and the early morning blooms drip with relief.
A handful of plants have flowered this week and 'C. P. Raffill' has done it with complete conviction. Others have faced the drought conditions with
questioning caution. If the sun continues to shine, 'C. P. Raffill' will be over in a fortnight at the very most and 'Tara' will take its place. She is a touch taller, darker and less compact
but just as startling.
24th August 2025
Colchicum x agrippinum .
I wandered around the garden yesterday after a few days away. I was interested in the things that had changed. Some things are coming, some going, many simply enduring the dry conditions.
My mind was really filled with lilac thoughts and recent reminiscences. At Hyde Hall I had seen the first Colchicum byzantinum whisper tremulously from the ground,
the bud almost open-mouthed in wonder. Too early for my own Colchicum. Will they be there, of course not. Will they be there, perhaps they won't flower this year anyway.
My Colchicum x agrippinum had grown for many years in a tub, thriving in the dry soil. Two years ago I split the bulbs and planted them out in a stony border.
Last year I had a flower or two but they were clearly unsettled. Have they settled or sulked since then? A decent crop of leaves in spring provided some reassurance.
As I turned the corner by the Agave house the end of the bed was filled with lilac flowers. A triumph of the season, I was right to split it and spread it around.
This might be the place to try a larger planting of Colchicum. Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.
Bring on those chocolate mints.
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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