JEARRARD'S HERBAL
29th October 2023
Camellia sinensis assamica
Another frantic week in the garden. There isn't much happening but it is all happening at once. On Monday I had two buds showing on Crocus speciosus.
By Wednesday I had fifteen. If there had been a suitable sunny day I would have taken a picture of them in flower but so far they have remained closed.
I have a feeling that they may simply fall over and finish before we have a suitably bright spell. It is not a species that prospers in this garden.
If they open then the display this year will be the best for at least a decade. I planted them ten days ago, every year will be downhill from here.
The camellias are performing better. I moved most of my autumn flowering camellias to a sunny position four or five years ago. They have spent the intervening years
establishing but this year they have finally started to flower with enthusiasm again. C. sinensis assamica has made a small, dense bush since it was planted from a 3"
pot as a novelty "Tea Plant". These are the first flowers. In a sunny position it is performing much better than C. sinensis sinensis, which has grown into a scrawny,
flowerless shrub about 4 feet tall in the shade of an alder. I should move it, even if there will be a long wait before it establishes.
29th October 2023
Galanthus 'Autumn Belle'
Autumn snowdrops have enjoyed the warm weather. In the greenhouse the forms of G. reginae-olgae are growing slowly, protected from the
damp chill of October nights. I'm sure that a bit more moisture or a more reliable feeding schedule would increase their vigour but I am reluctant to make
significant changes. I lack the necessary courage. I spent twenty years killing autumn snowdrops before I found a suitable regime for them, I am reluctant
to risk a return to those dark days.
In the snowdrop bed outside the first of the early G. elwesii forms are in flower. 'Santa Claus' arrived early and surprised me, 'Remember Remember'
is exactly on time. Early forms such as 'Barnes' are not showing yet but they appreciate the reliable moisture outside, and will be springing up soon.
G. 'Autumn Belle' is a hybrid between the two autumn groups, G. reginae-olgae x G. elwesii. It has a larger green mark on the inner segments than
its sister 'Autumn Beauty' and it doesn't seem to be as vigorous. I grow both in the greenhouse but I have a suspicion they would be happier outside.
Time, courage, snowdrops. Autumn is a complex season.
29th October 2023
Hedychium 'Tresco Hybrid'
Hedychium provide the same minute variations as snowdrops but they do it in late summer when there is plenty of variety in the garden, and they tend not to flower,
which can be seen as a drawback. However, they do attract a small amount of horticultural obsession.
In the 1990's, David Constantine recognised that the plant being circulated as "H. chrysoleucum" was no such thing. He thought that it was a hybrid between H. coronarium
and H. gardnerianum. Although there are no records of the cross being made, it seems a reasonable hypothesis. He named it 'Devon Cream' and finally
gave a viable name to a very good plant that is widely distributed in gardens. The hybrid varies slightly. I have three plants that were identified from Tresco,
perhaps it seeds there occasionally. 'Tresco no.1', 'Tresco no.2' and 'Tresco Hybrid' are not particularly distinct. I grow them side by side and there are a couple of
weeks difference in their peak flowering. The flower heads vary slightly in shape. Ten yards away I grow a plant of 'Devon Cream' that flowers a month earlier.
They are distinct clones, but only a snowdrop obsessive would care. I tell them apart by reading the labels.
29th October 2023
Nerine 'Ancilla'
A warm October has influenced the Nerine in the greenhouse. I think colours have been more intense this year but it is an unreliable observation.
I can only compare them in pictures and pictures do not always capture colour reliably. However it is my opinion that colours have been brighter this year
and the coruscation of the tepals has been more pronounced.
Heat has also hastened the display. During the week I went through the collection removing most of the spent flower stems. The N. sarniensis season
has drawn to a close. Fortunately I have a number of cultivars with N. undulata in their breeding that flower through November.
'Ancilla' is one of the first to open. It is a fairly small collection but I have grouped them all together. The newly restored aura of order
in the nerine house will have a small corner of colour chaos that persists until December.
It is a season of surprises. When walking around the garden I have noted the large size of the camellia buds. Perhaps they will open early.
A cold night could provide the trigger they need. Warm days may be enough to maintain their dormancy. It is difficult to guess at the
whims of the weather. Now is a good time to buy another roll of fleece.