OF MY ECOLOGICAL GARDENING AND JUST GARDENING.

Primula Candelabra- A Thriving Gift

The friend who gave me this Primula has not had the same show with hers as this one gave last year, in its second year with me. It sprouted three vigorously flowering candelabra and attempted a fourth.  Another bunch of leaves just like this one has appeared this year.  It would be lovely if it becomes a successful relative and companion.  I have recently planted other types of Primulas in the same patch. I would love to see a natural spread of Primulas. I want them to be a part of the perennial natural garden corner I am trying to create with a variety of seasonal flowerings plants.

Some ecological (eco) flower seed packs I have purchased in the past, have provided what I would call weeds, a constant in gardening, which, I for one, would like to reduce upon. I know some plants generally described as weeds are to others, 'interesting'.  One good thing that came out of an eco [with weeds] seed packet,  was lots of lovely growth of flat parsley which, for me, would be a kitchen herb not  a flower. The parsley peered out of the ground and stopped still over winter. The parsley has put some energy into growing in the last month or so, giving me an opportunity to use a little in my culinary preparations already, together with just a smidgin of garlic chives, (it hasn't 'bushed up' yet, so I daren't take too much) and few young peppermint leaves.

Moral of tale: read eco seed packet carefully if you do not want to re-seed your garden plot with weeds.

 

Chard An Elegant Vegetable Leaf  - Grown In 2011

Last year, I also planted really old Cornflower seeds from the remainder of a packet I had in a drawer; to my surprise they eventually produced a lovely little show, though, not for long as with late flowering, late Autumn, which can be very chilly here, and  in the words of Eliza Doolittle, (My Fair Lady) Autumn is, "as what did 'em in"!

My Borage plant, a gift -a  dreadfully ugly thing when fully grown - produced fabulous bright blue, little star shaped flowers, which were lovely in salads. They can be crystallised for food decoration and eaten that way, if anyone fancies doing it. 

The Plants Just Before They Got Hugely Out Of Hand. Young Borage At Centre. 2013

The two Lovage plants I bought are not much prettier than the Borage, I mentioned.  Their abundant leaf growth is a dominant feature and the leaves are what you use for flavouring home-made soup. Someone described the smell as certain well-advertised internationally known vegetable stock cube ingredient. I bow to their superior Knorr-ledge.  I can't vouch if it's the actual taste.  I can say Lovage leaves work okay to give a soup that extra ooomph.

WASHING,GARDENING AND BIRDS

The threat of more rain requires me to take urgent action to get washing done and out on the line to dry while Mother Nature is being welcoming.  

I sometimes put out peanuts for the birds, even though this is the more fecund time of year when the birds can forage and find food for themselves.  They are regularly fed in Winter and Spring.  I have a firm belief that this consideration stopped the birds from depositing their calling cards on my washing  during the nesting and fledgling times during the Spring of 2010.  Every year, I have had to remove bird dropping from my drying laundry, but, not this year.

As I hung up the peanut holders for our feathered visitors, I noticed that there was more than a healthy crop of thistles against the fence, which were quite tall and ready to burst into bloom.  They were happily creating and recreating themselves around bunches of weeds and nettles.  Some quick but limited thought was given to dealing with these weed miscreants.  They are not welcome. 

Right,   this post stops here, the next wash load is ready to put out to dry.