Off The Edge Gardening

Gone Fishing *

My week has not gone the way I would have liked it to. Nothing serious in the scheme of things. Quite meagre really. It involves my car doing a fine impersonation of a kangaroo and no one being able to find a fault. You will be pleased to hear that the AA man who said I was changing gear incorrectly is doing very nicely on the Pushing Your Luck Ward of the Cheeky Blighter Infirmary. Luckily my real mechanic has found a problem and is now fixing it. It does mean that I am without transport. Just off to catch a bus, should be fun!

*This is a horticultural joke as the above photo is of Dierama pulcherrimum, commonly known as Angel’s Fishing Rod. Hilarious!

Giant

We have grown a giant strawberry at the farm, pictured with a watermelon for scale. This really is a watermelon. That really is a strawberry. Think of all that jam!

Pentas

It is called pentas and it is red. That is all I know about this little plant. Except that it reminds me of old man’s ears. And I like it. Could just be me though. The ear thing not the like bit. I would imagine that a lot of people would love those carmine, starry, fur-filled flowers.

Blazing

It would be hard not to mention the weather today. Advertised as the hottest day of the year and so it was. Wonderful for going to the beach running into the sea when it all gets a little too much, or perhaps a meander through the woods where the sun is filtered to gentle by the hungry trees, or maybe sitting outside a chic bar sipping Pimms whilst watching the world go by. Dreadful if you have to go to work. If your job is inside then the cruelty seems immense. If you are employed outside then it is a sap draining, head frazzling, limb scorching nightmare. No matter, back to grey tomorrow. Thank goodness for that.

Early

I was early, so I went for a stroll.

If you can’t take the heat

The heater in my car is jammed on. I have had it fixed but it has broken again. This makes any journey over 5 miles long challenging, especially throughout the summer months. The experience of driving from South Wales to North Devon today was interesting. It was like being in a Native American sweat lodge without the benefit of a spiritual experience. All we had were butter mints and a luke warm bottle of water and I’m not sure they count as sacred fare. Three of my passengers however were quite thrilled at this tropical trip: Mexican firecracker Dahlia “Mystic Spirit”, Asian beauty Hibiscus syriacus and the Mediterranean siren Teucrium fruticans. At least somebody was happy!

Common as Muck

Purple Toadflax, Linaria purpurea, self-seeder extraordinaire, purple menace, scourge of gardens, elegant foil, beautiful perennial. Take your pick!

Stillness

I cannot be certain but I think that the craziness of spring and early summer may be subsiding. Today there was time to consider and enjoy instead of ticking off an arm long list of chores. It was perfect working weather and I was surrounded by chilled out people, the ideal combination for pain free achievement. I was reintroduced to the joy of getting to the end of the day without the dissatisfaction of jobs not done or the disappointment of necessary short cuts. There was a stillness. There may have been a quiet moment.

It is said that nature always fills a vacuum. Today my head was full of plans and scheming for next year. Big and better and brighter!

Words for Lunch

Last week myself and Max’s Dad were talking about alstroemeria. We were standing in front of a pathetic specimen poking its weedy head through the wisteria skirts. Although I can’t remember the conversation in full it went something like this:

Me: Don’t really get alstroemeria, I’ve never really warmed to them.

Him: Nor me.

Me: I can see they have exotic blooms, are reliable performers and if they were good enough for the Incas they should be good enough for me. It is a complete mystery why they have zero appeal.

Him: And me.

Me: Shall we dig them up?

Him: Maybe.

This week I arrived and MD had been shopping. Amongst his haul was this Alstroemeria “Indian Summer”. For lunch I ate my words.

Confused

A rather bizarre day; part equatorial monsoon, part temperate autumn chill, with just a smidgen of summertime shine. My waterproofs didn’t know if they were coming or going. Goodness knows what the plants were thinking?