Food ' n Flowers

20 Jun '06 12:44 am

Here are some veggies that are coming along now as well as a couple of more bloomers.
I find some veggie blooms just as interesting and beautiful as cut flower blooms.

20 Jun '06 5:10 am

In this post of yours, Sjoerd, I admire the organization of your garden! Your flowers always look happy , cause you love them. And I have noticed so far , that you love the brilliant red in your garden, exactly like I do! Remember your enthusiasm for your really red poppy? And you have Lychnis Chalcedonica, and Mombretia/Crocosmia Lucifer ( I've seen her in your photos),in very brilliant red , too. Now. If you ever decide to adopt a Rose in this very colour, just tell me. Cause I can help you in any size you want : from miniature/patio, to a climber. And they are all Floribundas , healthy, and repeating. You'll fall in love with a brilliant red baby like this! Trust me!

20 Jun '06 5:12 am

In this post of yours, Sjoerd, I admire the organization of your garden! Your flowers always look happy , cause you love them. And I have noticed so far , that you love the brilliant red in your garden, exactly like I do! Remember your enthusiasm for your really red poppy? And you have Lychnis Chalcedonica, and Mombretia/Crocosmia Lucifer ( I've seen her in your photos),in very brilliant red , too. Now. If you ever decide to adopt a Rose in this very colour, just tell me. Cause I can help you in any size you want : from miniature/patio, to a climber. And they are all Floribundas , healthy, and repeating. You'll fall in love with a brilliant red baby like this! Trust me!

P.S. That's great!! During the whole year I'm in the Forum , this happens for the third time : a double post! I'm sorry ! I must have done something stupid, I think...

20 Jun '06 11:07 am

Heh heh...I do like it in my garden (you were spot-on there). I am, or at least try to be, careful not to have too much to throw the colour scheme out of balance.
I am quietly and half-heartedly thinking of one more rose for the flower garden. I have said that I would not get another one...so to violate my own promice to myself is difficult. I wasn't thinking of a red one though, I was thinking od a yellow climber that is extremely fragrant. Because I am not really committed to the idea, I'm not looking so hard for it. Having said that, should I come across just THE one, I have a feeling I would probably get it. Very Happy

. I'm awful, aren't I?
I shall keep your suggestion in the back of my mind...but I am sure that if I get another rose, it must be a yellowish one. My wife once said that she would like a Étoile de Hollande'. A dear friend has made it even more difficult by suggesting the Madame Butterfly, which is neither red nor yellow..hahahaha. I'm not sure it's fragrance is strong enough though.
Tch!...I really got going, didn't I?
Anyway, thanks for your kind words.

20 Jun '06 4:23 pm

I really like those flowers. Is that Double Camomile

one plant, or is it a few plants? I think it's a keeper and I want ont next year. We just love to have a good showing of a plant. Like you have there.

Mom, who will do things her way, plants one plant here, another one down the garden and so on. We wind up with sparse showings. One plant blooming by itself looks lonely. But that is her way and she has always done it this way, so we just so we just sigh and let her have fun.

Do you plant your flowers in groups of plants?

Christopher

20 Jun '06 8:32 pm

Hello Christopher,
The answer to your first question about the Camomile: All the flowers you see there come from one plant. I find this an unusual plant, myself. I have never seen it in flower identification books; however, fellow tuinders have told me at a glance that it a double camomile was without hesitation...others just look and say," hmmm, a double camomile...neat!", obviously having never heard of it. Like all macro fotos, you can't get a feel for the plant's nature..that is to say, folilage, hieght and flower didtribution. The smell of disturbed leaves is the same. So, these are the flowers on the one plant. I only have one plant.
As to your second question that appears a simple one to answer at first glance, but I can assure you that nothing could be further from the truth. Heh heh. Here go Christopher, please don't be annoyed: I usually do not plant plants in groups per se; that is to say, not large groups. In any given perk, or plot there are usually not more than 2 plants of the same type. My reason for this is that I personally enjoy seeing different flowers together and one type replaces the other as the plants bloom at different times. Know what I mean. Here the idea being to have something blooming in each perk throughout the season. Sort of like shift work at a factory. Another reason is that bees visit the same sort's of flowers usually. That is to say,,, if they fly into your garden a pbee will head for say, cammomile and you will see it making the rounds to all the Camomile flowers in the patch and not taking notice of the zinnias, monks cap, Lychnis, Night primrose and daisies that bight be blooming in the same perk right alongside the Camomile---others bees will come and do THOSE, also sticking to the particular plant that they are harvestiong nectar from. So that's the reason that I plant at least two on any given sort in each perk.: I WANT SEEDS! hahahaha.
If you see only one plant of one sort of flower in any of my perks one had died, there wasn't but one plant of that soer available to buy at a garden center or the single plant was a "blow-in".
This second factor, the "blow-in" is something that happens in a "natural" way, that is to say, Mother Nature is at work. I try and let the plant become an adult and produce flowers even though it wasn't planned. This gives a more "natural" feel to my garden, I feel. I don't let any ole flower live though, for if I can identify it and it's not one that I like...it's OFF WITH IT'S HEAD! I pull it out.
the third aspect is that I most certainally do plant perks full of flowers of the same sort (in certain instances), for instance, if I want a stand of tulips or a patch of say, zinnias or crocosmias...then I make an exception. I tend to do this if I want to notice the particular flower or I want them to make a statement in their location. What I mean here is that forinstance if you look through one of the arches you can see a stand of fire-red crocosmias in the patch just on the other side. They are planted perpendicular to the path that goes under the arch....or a patch of zinnias near a "huge mound of day lillies to off-set the overwhelming amount of green. In these sorts of patches I tend to weed-out strays because the purpose is different, see what I mean. The exception would be in a patch of tulips for instance. Tulips have a short life so in between them I might sew annual plants that will come into bloom after the tulips die off.
So to sum up: I plant my flowers in large groups of the same kind exclusively, I plant them mixed one or two of any one kind and I allow natural "blow-ins".
My wife says that what I do is chaotic heh heh.
What I am trying to achieve generally is a "Cottage Garden" but with my own twist. I don't like conforming, so to be satisfied, I have to use my seemingly inconsistant method. Oh well...it works for me.
This last statement bringing me to the crux... the bottom line of all gardening anywhere in the world.. You have first and formostly please yourself. How one does his garden is a VERY personal thing, and as soon as you begin listening to and following another's instructions you loose immediately the "personal touch" to your own garden. You can listen to advice (and there are plenty of very good and knowledgeable sources out there) but the final decisions have to be your own. You have to live with your handy work, in the end, so do it YOUR way.
Whew! I'll bet you're glad THAT's over. You thought I'd NEVER stop didn't you? Ha ha ha. You probably thought, "Oh lord, what have I gone and done now? He'll never be quiet again." Chuckle.
I hope that you can make some sense of it all, I could have just answered your question but I thought I had to add the reasons too. Amyway, that's how I plant and why.
Regards....

20 Jun '06 10:28 pm

Thanks, Sjoerd, for that interesting answer. Not too long at all, in my opinion. Sometimes it takes words to get thoughts across, and I thank you for your time and candor in answering my questions.

Interesting point you make about the way a garden is planted as being a personal thing. Seem we have a bit of friction here as we want the flower beds one way and mom wants to do it her way. My poor Deb is miserable when she gets close to the flower beds. She (and I) had such plans and we planted seeds to fill our dream. Now she is appalled with what is going on. The only respite she gets is from the planters she has made up. So This is one of the reasons I have been going out of my way to accommodate her with as many different planters as I can think of.

Mom , on the other hand is quite an old lady, up in her 80's some place, and it wont be many more planting seasons for her, so we are determined to let her have her way even though it is a sore spot, we soldier on. It's quite funny really and there are times when we have a good laugh about things. Rolling Eyes

Christopher

21 Jun '06 4:09 am

of your flowers and veggies! Love reading and pondering over your thoughts too - ideas and reasoning. Haha!..had to read slowly twice to digest, though! And you're witty too, making me laugh Laughing

as you make fun of yourself:

21 Jun '06 2:41 pm

Deb's Mom is a legend! Hello, greetings, to Deb's Mom. Pop over any time, and you can try some New Zealand garden work!
Does Deb's Mom know that her face is fast becoming globally famous? Yippee!

21 Jun '06 3:35 pm

(Yes ,Hello ,Deb`s Mum,now world famous on this site )
I do enjoy looking at your garden ,Sjoerd ,and it is so interesting when I see flowers that I also have . One of my favourites is your chamomile - double ,as yours .It is also known as 'feverfew' -a herb (botanical name 'Chrysanthemum parthenium ').The rather pungent leaves are very effective when made into a tea ,or simply on sandwiches ,for migraine sufferers .I think it probably self-seeds ,but I also grow cuttings from when it sprouts all the way up the stem ,after flowering .
White flowers are so pretty to have amongst the colours in a cottage garden .I also have your perenial cornflower ,but it is a battle to protect them from snails.
Dixie.

Food ' n Flowers

Food ' n Flowers

Beauties to eat!

Beauties to eat!

Some fine looking plants!

Planting and Camomile

Food for thought, indeed!

Lovely pictures......

Hello to Deb's Mom

chamomile