JEARRARD'S HERBAL
Thats enough introduction - on with the plants!
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... out in the garden.
17th May 2026
Paeonia 'Julia Rose' .
The frenzied tide of spring is receding leaving a floral detritus on the strand line. The last magnolias are hanging on to the twigs like Friday-night fish (battered).
The sunshine has been strong enough to illuminate the wonder of the garden and also burn the foliage of Quercus rubra 'Aurea' which was breathtakingly beautiful
last week and crispy brown now.
In the sunshine and wind of the herbaceous border there are peonies looking vulnerable. The have reached the stage where the fat buds perch on ridiculously long stems
and challenge the wind to topple them. As with all things peony, it exemplifies the bravado of the genus. If it pleases, the wind will knock them flat.
The intersectional peonies are another matter. They bloom on compact woody stems. The wind will ruffle their petals but leave them undamaged.
'Julia Rose' is the first to flower here. The flowers open a soft watermelon pink, fade to cream and then fall in a matter of days. The season is brief but extraordinary.
17th May 2026
Roscoea cautleyoides .
Scattered among the peonies in the herbaceous border are a lot of Roscoea. It isn't a traditional pairing but it has worked very well.
Both genera are dormant through the winter, come up and flower at the end of spring, and have completed their growth cycle by the time the weeds
become aggressive. In theory there are Hosta and Rodgersia to cover the ground through the summer but that part of the equation is taking longer
to prove itself.
I planted all of the Roscoea cautleyoides forms out in a mixture. I needed to get them out of the greenhouse. This one could have been a named cultivar at some point, or
it could have been one of my seedlings, the information is lost. Unusually for me, I am quite calm about that. There are innumerable names for yellow flowered cultivars of
Roscoea cautleyoides and I have never been able to see enough difference to distinguish them satisfactorily. I enjoy the simplicity of their anonymity
far more than I enjoyed the frantic and meaningless noise of their various names.
17th May 2026
Bletilla striata .
I am watching the weather with the cynical eye of an unbeliever. The forecast makes suggestions and then the weather delivers something else.
I have a few last plants to get into the ground before the heat of summer makes planting impossible. I was doing well, everything that needed to be was in the ground
but then I visited Trehane's and bought some last-minute Camellia. They must go in, I'm sure it isn't summer yet. Quite certain in fact.
In the greenhouse the passing of spring has been marked by the flowering of the first Bletilla. They look like spring orchids, but some of them will remain in flower
until September which would be a significant extension to the idea of spring. The greenhouse they are growing in is slowly being overshadowed by a sycamore tree.
At some point I will have to remove some lower branches and let the light in again but it is one of those jobs that is easy to leave for another day. In the meantime
the Bletilla are growing well but flowering has been reduced.
17th May 2026
Rhododendron 'Halopeanum' .
It has been a quiet week in the garden. A fortnight ago there were new things bursting into flower around every corner but this week the outlook is more sedate.
I forgot to look for the first day-lily. I have seen Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus in bloom in other gardens but I didn't notice it as I passed yesterday.
I was determined to get to see Crinodendron hookerianum decorating the hedge with its scarlet lanterns.
The grandest display of the week comes from Rhododendron 'Halopeanum' which has hit a magnificent peak. The plant was in the garden when I bought the house,
there is no telling how long it had been there. It has taken me many years to come up with an identification that I am happy with. For a couple of years I have been perfectly content
but last week I saw the champion tree at Wisley. It is almost exactly the same but a fraction of a shade paler. It has disconcerted me and I am rummaging around trying to reconcile the observation.
Perhaps I will have to accept that, like the Roscoea, the slight variation is not important.
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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about what is going on, if you are interested.
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