Pots and Seeds and Things

So guess what I've got on my window ledge.

Correct. 

So pleased with these and can't wait to use them.

It's been a good garden related week so far. 

Last night was the gardening club with a fantastic turnout for the talk given by

http://www.thecottageherbery.co.uk/

Kim and Rob talked about their gardening achievements of the past 38 years and showed wonderful images of their home and nursery. 

I love the concept of cottage gardening, mixing flowers, herbs and aromatics together.

It was some time after I first started gardening that I realised that what I was doing in my own garden came under this heading.

There is nothing better, or more satisfying, than seeing fantastic plants you've planted, giving of their best and being able to breathe in their scent. 

For me, it's a total fix.

Last night's plants for sale were all organically and ethically produced and absolutely beautiful. Sadly I had to pass on them as I still have no outside space, which should be remedied next month. 

I did however weaken and buy some seeds for sowing later this year.

One packet was the wild blue chicory (Cichorium intybus)  

This reminds me of France, near where we lived. Can you imagine a field full of these glowing in the bright sunshine? Just stunning. 

My other purchases were:- 

An unusual Nasturtium called "Indian Ruby"

exclusive to this nursery.

Image taken from www.thecottageherbery.co.uk

This I shall have in hanging baskets where it will look great. No doubt some of the flower heads will find their way into my salads. The colour is terrific and I think so much better than the normal orange hued ones.

Together with Lathyrus odorata 'Cuprani' otherwise known as the Italian Wild Sweet Pea.

This I chose because I adore sweet peas. I particularly love these dense deep purple tones contrasting with the lighter mauve. A classic and essential in any cottage garden. 

Such a positive presence and a real show stopper in scent terms.

Another of my favourite cottage garden plants is Alcea Rosea.

The ones on offer last night were Charters Double hollyhocks so a packet of those went in the basket too.

It always annoyed me that, in France especially, these would grow outside gardens, in rubble, in gravel against walls and without any apparent care.

And what annoyed me even more was that they would be rust free. In my garden, that was always problematic - but I'm afraid in spite of all that they remain on my "must have" list. I can forgive them most things!

Maybe a bit of an eclectic collection but they'll all look stunning and smell great.

Our new home has no garden but a small courtyard. Currently this is completely paved apart from a narrow strip of sorry looking soil - all of which will clearly have to change.

So this summer I shall be limited to Nasturtiums in hanging baskets - and maybe the others grown on in pots. 

If I can surround myself with flowers and scents, I shall be very happy.

The makeover will have to wait.

Seeds: the organic or heirloom and heritage debate

I love looking at seed catalogues (have I mentioned that?) but how do you choose between organic, hybrid, heirloom or heritage: especially if you want to try new introductions?

Unless you have strong ideas on this and are firmly in one camp or the other, I would suggest that the majority of gardeners simply want seeds that do what it says on the label, taste good in the case of veggies or salads, have a degree of resistance to nasties and are robust enough to cope with regional climates.

Organic seed for anything edible would always be my first choice. This would also include flowers for culinary purposes; essentially anything which I will be ingesting either via my cooking, in summer salads or in ice cubes (like blue borage flowers which I love and which look fantastic). I do not exactly garden organically but dislike using any herbicides or pesticides anywhere - preferring instead old fashioned and traditional methods. So ok, I occasionally lose some of the produce to snails, slugs or birds etc, but I think that's fair, as long as they leave enough for us.

If I had room I would also include heritage or heirloom varieties: these are survivors. For more than 30 years, coming in and out of fashion, these seeds will always come true to the parent plant (they are open pollinated) and all are old favourites. They are reliable in production and have historical resonances and references - and are as much part of our culture as York Minster or the Tower of London.  If that's not enough justification to grow them, there's the added advantage that you can use the seed saved from one harvest to sow the following year. No more seed buying! That should appeal to us Yorkshire folk.

Sometimes, an F1 hybrid selection is the only option if you have a special yen for new varieties, where selective breeding has married the best traits of parent plants to produce a plant with unique characteristics. Fancy white aubergines, purple carrots, green cauliflowers? I admit to being a bit of a purist in this respect, inasmuch as I like my carrots to look carrot coloured, my aubergines to have that lovely purple hue and caulies to be white. How boring is that? 

My husband is a chilli addict so we have to grow those, together with my own weakness, Charentais melon, which have either more varietal options or produce better from F1 seeds. 

When we lived in the Gers an old guy down the road very kindly gave me 6 melon seeds, dried from his previous year's fruit, which I planted. As we were still working in the house they got a bit neglected, with no watering other than heavy dews, but I have never tasted anything as delicious as the fruit they produced. Still drooling about that!

So, hoping for great things eventually - which is why I'm still looking at seed catalogues.

Oh, and must buy an estate agents camera. Why does every photo they manage to take make any space look huge - when more often than not it's tiny?

Has anyone watched the BBC programmes The Great British Garden Revival?

Whilst not agreeing that British Gardens need reviving per se, as more people, especially children, are becoming involved and learning to appreciate green spaces and plants, it's a moot time at the start of the gardening calendar to raise the profile of gardens.
Now is planning time, be it a re-design of your garden space or choosing and ordering roses, trees, shrubs, bulbs or seeds. 
Always an exciting time for me, though I tend to get carried away by the lovely photos and descriptions of the seed catalogues. One good thing about too many seeds is the option to share or swop with like minded addicts - either at the seed stage or any overproduction of seedlings. A garden club, friends and neighbours are perfect outlets, and the hope is of course that you will benefit from their over enthusiasm too.
This year however is a little different for me as I am currently garden-less, living in a flat with no outside space at all. Not even a Juliet balcony on which to perch a pot. So, I am perusing seed catalogues as usual but dreaming about what plants I shall grow once normality has returned to my world and I have a garden - or courtyard - or pots. 
If space is available I would love to create a kitchen garden, or maybe a cottage garden, or perhaps a hybrid of the two. Essentially anywhere I can grow edibles and ornamentals in a beautifully designed and crafted space.
Which is probably what the Great British Garden revival is all about: making whatever available outdoor space you have exactly how you want it. Pack it with loads of gorgeous plants to encourage wildlife, for the perfume, for the aesthetic value - or just to eat. 
Can't wait!