JEARRARD'S HERBAL
Thats enough introduction - on with the plants!
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... out in the garden.
7th November 2010
Hedychium stenopetalum .
It hs been a hot week in the garden - at times temperatures have crept close to July levels and it has been good for the Hedychium, though there are only a few left to flower
and the taller stems are getting a bit floppy and falling to the ground. Cloudy humid weather means that flowers are opening and then turning mouldy almost immediately
so the display isn't exactly stunning but it's November, and it will soon be spring.
This is a very large growing species which ranges from northern India through the adjacent parts of China and down into northern Vietnam. I have a few collections of the species
but this is the one that flowers here most reliably. Seems to be hardy, though it gets a bit damaged in a pot. I'm sure it would be fine in the ground
but I doubt it would ever flower.
Pure white flowers balanced way above my head (I was standing on a bucket to take the flower). I can't detect any scent but I was balancing a bit precariously
at the time!
7th November 2010
Cymbidium kanran .
A pretty little species, not quite as colourful as the modern hybrids, and perhaps that is a good thing. It comes from southern China (warm) Taiwan (warm)
and southern Japan (warm) so it is initially something of a surprise that it tolerates west Cornwall (decidedly cooler). In this case, the plant grows at altitude
where it experiences much lower temperatures than the location might suggest. In common with most of the plants that have appeared in cultivation in the last decade or so, mine
probably originates in southern China, though there have also been some named Japanese forms available.
It spends the summer in a cold greenhouse so that the new growth ripens sufficiently to flower in the autumn, and it may or may not be kept frost free through the autumn,
rather depending on the state of repair of the conservatory - I took the door off in summer and somehow it hasn't gone back on yet.
I have tried it outside but it started to look miserable so it came in again.
7th November 2010
Nerine flexuosa 'Alba'.
One of my favourite Nerine - in modern terms it is treated as part of the variable N.undulata complex but I am going to retain the old name
for a little longer, the taxonomy of this part of the genus is still rather fluid. I like the tight heads of well shaped flowers. I think the long stems have significance for cutting
and I am convinced it has a future in the production of hardy hybrids. I would be even more convinced if I had managed to get any seed set on it.
Perhaps this year - I am trying a range of rather outlandish crosses and using it freely as a pollen parent, which may be more successful.
7th November 2010
Anemone coronaria 'Hollandia'.
Anemone coronaria is a splendid species from Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean. It has been a successful crop for cut flowers
and a range of larger flowered forms have been selected and named. In Cornwall it was once a very popular cut flower crop,
but it seems to be declining in recent years.
An offshoot of the cut flower industry is the cheap availability of a few forms from bulb merchants, garden centres and in this case
(lowers his head slightly in shame) supermarkets. I bought these last year and popped them in here and there among the pots like
a slightly mad squirrel burying nuts because I liked the idea of occasional scarlet flowers among the Hemerocallis.
It was a romantic whim.
I should have more of those.
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.
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