Judith Queree's Garden

The garden is now closed until April 2022.

Our shop is remaining open till mid-December for customers to buy some of our unique and unusual gifts for home and garden, including a new range of jewellery from Mulberry Mongoose made in Zambia from confiscated snare wire.

Also some very local St Ouen crafts : quilts and cushions made by Pauline Syvret; cards and tea towels featuring artwork by John Syvret; ceramics made by Rosemary Blackmore.

Open Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday from 11am to 4pm.

Free entry, limited parking at the house for those with mobility issues, we suggest parking behind the Parish Hall and walking down, see map below.

More details on how to find us on our website https://www.judithqueree.com/

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Most of our salvias are still in flower, like this Salvia involucrata.
This herbaceous perennial is native to the Mexican states of Puebla, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz, and grows in shady places such as the edges of forests.
The name ‘involucrata’ refers to the prominent, large and colourful bracts. This one is certainly living up to its name.

This new clematis has just started blooming, Clematis 'Kokonoe' is a striking clematis with a distinctive flower shape and colour.
Kokonoe is Japanese for nine circles/layers that overlap, a reference to the nine fences that were built around the Palace of the Imperial Court.

Impatiens flanaganae is an endangered species from South Africa with gorgeous, orchid-shaped blooms which has flowered for the first time.
This is a fascinating tuberous species that makes a huge cluster of red tubers the size of potatoes. Impatiens flanaganae is deciduous, in spring it sends up succulent, reddish stems and large, dark green leaves It is a cool-climate plant that is found only in a tiny section of coastal forest in South Africa, where it is dwindling in numbers.
The species name, flanaganae refers to Mrs Florence Flanagan who discovered it in Port St Johns, Eastern Cape. She was married to Henry George Flanagan, a South African botanist, and often accompanied him on his expeditions.

As we start our last week open to the public, we are enjoying some late sunshine and the continued growth of certain plants.
This Salvia 'Costa Rican Blue', is more than twelve feet tall growing near and above the Althaea cannabina.
The salvia was apparently found at the Costa Rica Hotel in Panama but there remains some debate within salvia community as to its correct name, still a wonderful plant.
Althaea cannabina is so named because its leaves resemble those of h**p but it is a member of the mallow family. Althaea cannabina grows wild in central and southern Europe, from Portugal, north Africa and east to Turkey.

The Strobilanthes attenuata growing near the entrance to our garden is twice as tall as it was last year.
Like so many plants, it has benefited from the winter rain and the amount of rain that has fallen this year - the plant gets its name (attenuata) from the shape of the leaves which narrow to a point to allow rain to run off - that has certainly come in handy this year !

This morning the Tigridia pavonia bloomed for the first time this year. Each bloom lasts just one day.
The species is widespread across much of Mexico as well as Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras so they are probably happy in the current hot weather.

The flowers in the garden behind the greenhouse have enjoyed the recent warmer weather.
On the left hand side in the photos below are:
Penstemon digitalis 'Alice Hindley'
Lathyrus tuberosus is a small, climbing perennial plant, native to moist temperate parts of Europe and Western Asia.
Roscoea purpurea is a perennial herbaceous plant occurring in the Himalayas, particularly Nepal. Most members of the ginger family are tropical, but species of Roscoea grow in much colder mountainous regions.
On the right side of the path:
The tall plant at the back is Valeriana officinalis, a perennial flowering plant native to Europe and Asia, about 5 ft, it has sweetly scented pink or white flowers that attract many hoverfly species.
In the foreground, Nepeta faassenii x 'Junior Walker' and Stachys 'Summer Crush' both are cultivars of the Lamiaceae family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint or deadnettle or sage family.

The Adenophora in this small bed in front of the house benefitted from the wet winter, the extra moisture helping them to compete with the rose and clematis which is also planted there.
Adenophora is a genus of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae, the bellflowers. Most are native to eastern Asia, many are endemic to China and Siberia, with a few in Europe.
We are not sure which Adenophora this is, but it is still very beautiful.

This fantastic sculpture of foxgloves was made for us last year by the very talented artist blacksmith James Wilkinson Blacksmith - https://www.jameswilkinsonblacksmith.co.uk/ - and it fits is so well near our fence and native wild flowers : the orange flowers are Fox and cubs (Pilosella aurantiaca) and the yellow flowers are a type of Hawkweed.

Arisaema consanguineum is a tall growing, tuberous perennial bearing just one umbrella-shaped leaf. Below is a purple-brown hooded spathe with green and white stripes.
It is widespread in Asia, extending from Uttar Pradesh to Continental China and further south in Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In the wild, it grows in a wild variety of habitats.
In the garden it is growing amid the tree ferns.

Orthrosanthus multiflorus is a clump forming member of the Iris family native to Australia, Southern Africa and tropical America.
The starry blue flowers only last a single day, but they bloom so profusely the plant has been flowering for a few weeks and hopefully will continue for some weeks to come.
The genus name is derived from the Greek words orthros, meaning "morning", and anthos, meaning "flower" reflecting its habit of producing a new flower each day.

Right plant, right place is a good principle, but often plants just confound you !

Adiantum pedatum, the five-fingered maidenhair fern, is a hardy, deciduous fern native to the forests of eastern North America. It grows best in moist, fertile and humus-rich soil, in dappled to partial shade. Yet this self sown plant is in full sun near the greenhouse.

Adiantum comes from the Greek word adiantos meaning unwetted in reference to the water repellent foliage; and pedatum means cut like a bird's foot in reference to the fronds.

The Geranium pyrenacium seedling appears quite happy growing between these stones near the steps up to the house. Possibly returning to its roots, as it can be found in the southern Alps, the Pyrenees and the Caucasus.

Judith Queree's Garden updated their phone number.

Judith Queree's Garden updated their phone number.

We were delighted to welcome the National Trust for Jersey Tour and Tea.

It would not have been possible without the help of good friends John and Pauline - John helped get the tables and chairs out as well as the crockery; Pauline not only made all the cakes but also kept the kettles boiling for the tea ! Great team effort.

We commissioned a new house sign from our good friend and artist John Syvret.
We sell a selection of his artwork in the shop: on tea towels and cards.

Iris tectorum, also known as the Japanese roof iris, is a native of China, Korea and Burma.
It grows on forest margins, sunny banks, in meadows beside water and growing along roadsides and steep hillsides.
Iris tectorum is commonly called the 'roof iris' because it was grown in the thatch of Japanese houses. Allegedly, because of a decree by an emperor during a period of wartime when it became illegal to waste land growing flowers. The main reason for growing the plant was not for its flowers, but for a white powder that was made by grinding the roots (rhizomes) and was used to create the white faces of the Geisha girls.

Judith Queree's Garden updated their address.

Judith Queree's Garden updated their address.

Judith Queree's Garden updated their address.

Judith Queree's Garden updated their address.

The Rheum palmatum 'Atrosanguineum' is growing next to the Sycamore stump in the bog garden on the bank of the stream next to this Reed Mace sculpture which Nigel made for me from slate discs and steel. Later in the year it is difficult to get the whole plant into a photo.
The Rheum species is native to the regions of Western China, Northern Tibet and the Mongolian Plateau and the dried root was traditionally traded as a purgative remedy and for making poultices. It was one of the most commonly traded item along the Silk Road, which led to it growing along the route leading to common names such as 'Indian rhubarb', 'Turkey rhubarb' and 'Russian rhubarb'.

The garden is open to visitors each week, Tuesday to Friday.

Tours with Judith must be booked in advance: Tuesday at 2pm, Wednesday and Thursday at 11am.

Please call 482191 or email [email protected]

Please visit our website for details. http://www.judithqueree.com

Nigel has harvested a number of the larger branches from one of our hazel trees which we coppice, although we do leave the smaller stems for future years.
These are ideal for replacing the lattice on the fence in front of the cottage. It was high time to weave Rosa 'Hiawatha' through the new fence as the new shoots are already starting to emerge.

We have a number of clumps of snowdrops, Galanthus nivalis, around the garden which were already naturalised here when we bought the house. This group is growing through the dormant roots and buds of the Kirengeshoma.
The epithet nivalis means "of the snow", referring either to the snow-like flower or the plant's early flowering.

We spent five hours on Sunday taking down our old barn owl box and replacing it with a new one, of a different design as a few years ago one of the chicks fell out; luckily after a couple of hours at the Animal Shelter we were able to return it to the box.
We have not finished fixing the new box, which is why the ladders and straps are still in place, as we thought it best to give the owl some quiet time to get used to its new home.
We put some of the 'debris' from the old box in the new one to make it feel at home ! The rest, a bin full, went on the compost heap.
Another reason for the change is that the new box has a hatch for us to remove some debris every couple of years.

The first ten days of January have seen regular ground frosts which can create interesting photographic images but are a risk for some of the more tender plants we have; hence the fleece wrapped around the Dicksonia antarctica behind the greenhouse and Cyathea medullaris at the bottom of the bog garden, which could be a frost pocket in the worst scenario.
The immediate weather forecast now seems to be back to the more normal night time temperatures.

Happy New Year.

Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’ is a plant to lift your spirits in winter.
It produces clusters of pretty, intensely fragrant flowers which are raspberry pink on the outside and white within, with every flower in the balled clusters possessing a tiny yellow eye. The intensity of the scent grows as more and more flowers open.
Originally hailing from Nepal, it is extremely hardy so there is no need to worry about cold temperatures, although we very rarely get anything more than the light frost we had this morning.

Merry Christmas.

Clematis urophylla 'Winter Beauty' is a good Christmas flower, with white bell-shaped flowers which have been in bud for two or three weeks, and just started opening in the last few days.
This form originated in Japan and the clone from which all European plants derive was called 'Winter Beauty' by Wim Snoeijer and Jan van Zoest and was introduced in 2002.
This plant enjoys a sunny position on the front of the house.

Dahlia imperialis 'Alba Plena' has started flowering, while other plants around it, like the Stroblianthes attenuata, are turning yellow. It is now over three metres tall and there are lots of buds.
It is native to Mexico, Central America and Colombia. It is a plant of the uplands and mountains. The bamboo like stems are hollow and were used by the Aztecs to carry water.

These daffodils were already naturalised in the meadows when we moved in and they have always flowered before Christmas. We assume they were discarded bulbs from commercial daffodil crops many years ago.
Frances Le Sueur, in her book Flora of Jersey, noted that on two short walks in March 1979 she found thirty-six different varieties of previously cultivated daffodils in a small area north of St Ouen's Bay; that number would not have included these early flowering ones.
The wild daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarcissus or des g'zettes in Norman French) is a more delicate flower, confined to woods in inland valleys and some cliffs in Jersey, but does not occur in the other Channel Islands.

A rather unexpected discovery in the garden was this carrot !

Judith thought it might be an ornamental carrot, as she was clearing the garden in front of the house, such as Daucus carota, the wild carrot, which we do grow, but it turned out to be an edible one, which is Daucus carota subsp. sativus, so a very close relative, but not a plant to keep in the garden.

We have just received this update from FFI.

A massive, massive thank you. Just a couple of weeks ago we put out an appeal to raise the money to buy Boden Creek in Belize.
The situation was desperate, and the amount of funding needed to save this part of the rainforest was huge. We honestly thought we’d still be asking for your help well into the new year.
… But that’s not quite how things turned out.
Instead, after barely any time at all, we’ve raised the £200,000 we needed to push the purchase over the line. We’re going to be able to buy this area of rainforest.
The ramifications of that will be extraordinary in the most positive of ways. They will be felt for generations to come. Jaguars, tapirs, turtles, monkeys and countless other creatures are going to live. This area will be under the protection of local conservationists forever.
In the smallest amount of time, it’s gone from a potential disaster to an outright triumph.
That was all because of you - and thousands like you - who made a stand.
We can’t begin to thank you enough. We are simply overwhelmed by this response. Knowing that we can rescue Boden Creek from the very brink puts real hope in our hearts that we can still save our natural world.
And it gets even better
The icing on the cake is that any further support we receive will go towards the long-term protection of Boden Creek – 100% of the money will be invested in Boden Creek’s future, forever.

We bought this wooden carved head some years ago from a UK dealer who came to a Jersey craft fair. Throughout the summer it is more difficult to see because of the clematis and other flowers growing in front of it.

Another seasonal image. We have a holly hedge behind the tree ferns along the lane to our neighbour's meadow. We asked for both male and female trees when we ordered them twenty odd years ago, as holly is dioecious, you need male and female plants to get berries, which are borne on the female plants, although this year there are not many berries.
Ilex aquifolium, the European Holly, has long been associated with Christmas, and previously the Roman festival of Saturnalia. Its glossy green prickly leaves and bright red berries are represented in wreaths, garlands and cards and is a subject of music and folklore.
Horticulturally, the fruit are actually drupes, as they have stones. At this time of year they are very bitter due to the ilicin content and so are rarely eaten by birds and other animals until late winter, after frost has made them softer and more palatable. For people, in traditional medicine, holly is supposed to be a diuretic and a laxative - but is definitely not recommended !

This plant must know that Christmas is just a few weeks away - Helleborus niger 'Christmas Carol' - one of the many cultivars available of Helleborus niger.
The species, Helleborus niger, is found in wooded mountainous regions of Europe and it gained the nickname 'Christmas Rose' due to flowering around Christmas time when Christmas was held on January 6th according to the Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar, which we use today, means that Christmas is a little earlier and it is only cultivars like 'Christmas Rose' that are in actually in flower for the celebration of Christmas.
The cultivar was developed by Syngenta Flowers in Holland, a seed specialist which has 140 years of history back to a young man named Groot who started breeding plants.