Anyone know which spice this is?
Possibly catnip/catmint/nepeta.
A bit of a random guess, I did an on line search, checking as I have two varieties in the garden, neither yet in flower. I knew that some are ground cover, others may grow over half a metre tall. I didn’t realise there are 250 varieties!
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I think catswhiskers is correct, it looks like catnip (Nepeta cataria) to me.
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Double checked and I think you are right. I visited a small herbs garden today and it was there. Reading about it, it appears to attract certain insects which can be used for biological control.
To my surprise, it appears to be my own garden too …
If a cat finds it you’ll be able to tell. Some like to get stoned on it.
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Well the Tree Peony blossoms “disassembled” very quickly as I knew they would, but the Hosta underneath the peony is filling in nicely. It won’t be long before it starts to display its floral spires. I do enjoy the contrast of leaf shapes and colours of the Peony, Hosta and Iris in any case. This would be even better if the Koi would stop tearing the Water Lilies apart!
In the meantime I’ll have to ‘make do’ with the rather splendid (IMHO) display provided by the cluster of aquatic Iris in the waterfall.
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I’ve a planter next to one of my windows facing south, dry soil. Nothing survives bar some weeds. This year I’ll try Rosemary since it seems to love dry / sunny spots according to the books. I’m using my own compost which really feels right:
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Spotted this Orange-tip butterfly in our garden this afternoon feeding on the clover. We have had lovely Blue butterflies also.
Phil
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Arrived back home after a week away to find the wildflowers on the Green starting to emerge. The tulips are a distant memory but now we have alliums, Californian poppies, coreopsis, hesperis, foxgloves, verbascums etc. Paths are mown through so folk can take a closer look.
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We also mow the edges to convey the impression that our biodiversity efforts are deliberate rather than neglect.
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Our council’s contractors mowed not one but two wildflower meadows by mistake
There are words to describe such incompetence but I think Richard might object
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The cherry pie is on hold for another year!
I’m beginning to doubt my bush cherry plants but at least they hide the oil tank.
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It’s a jungle out there this morning. Can’t beat Californian poppies in amongst the chaos. Pleased to see our ash tree is thriving - leaves appeared late this year.
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Spent three hours pulling and digging out invasive grass from among the wildflowers on the Green this afternoon. Eventually collapsed into my chair in my backyard, looking out at the tree ferns and acers (and tomato plant).
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Alongside the 10,000 tulip bulbs I planted on the Green last October, I also planted 1,000 alliums of different varieties. The plan was/is to get a succession of flowering plants while allowing the wildflowers to grow undisturbed in amongst the scruffy grass.
It’s been mixed fortunes. In some places the alliums have thrived but in other areas they seem to be outcompeted by the grass, especially in the sunniest areas. Ideally you’d see the heads above the grass not within it. Some of the grass is 5ft high in places.
So, in order to make some in-roads into the problem, I’ve started to dig out patches of the coarse grass and re-seed with some wildflower lawn mix. It’s a lot of effort using just a spade.
A bit late to sow, but with this hot weather and plenty of watering I’m hoping we’ll get something by late summer. The rest of the grass will have a good mow when the alliums are over, with patches dug out as and when.
PS the strangely situated plant tub sits on a Virgin Media access cover.
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This Hippeastrum (commonly known as Amaryllis) was given to my mother Christmas 2016. I got it to flower again Spring 2018 but then neglected it by not watering it, thinking it would just dry ready for bringing to life again the following year. Now glorious with some babies.
Some hanging baskets and Pelargoniums from cuttings taken to stop the old parents getting too leggy. Also Geum from dividing the parent after learning in April that they die otherwise.
There is a wonderful sweet scent in the Alitex Glasshouse.
Phil
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Cutting is the easy bit as I’m sure you know. I have more than 100 metres of hedges that I have had to keep in order for the past 25 years. In my experience an elongate plastic sheet to catch the cuttings and a very large wheel barrow are indispensable aids for this task. I am waiting for someone to invent a hedge trimmer with a practical and manageable way of collecting the cuttings built in!
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