LittleErnie's Blog

Dandelions and things
Jul 13, 2008 | 9:10 AM PST
Tag: July 2

Where to start? Well the weather is back on track, the lawn cut and pruning done. I don't use a powered mower, I put that away. Why you ask: well using an old fashioned push along MAKES me get good exercise and trims the grass to perfection. The still use them on grass bowling greens (no skittles). This brings us along to dandelions. These were introduced into the US by settlers because the leaves can be used in salad, the flowers make an excellent wine and the roots are used as a diuretic. If you visit rural Greece the leaves are still sold in the markets. Another plant that is good in salads is nasturtium with a peppery taste.

Now for a request; a few years ago I brought some cuttings of a plant back from Portugal. Two of the cuttings took. I now have this bush growing in the green house but I have never succeeded in striking a cutting since but last year it produced viable seed and I now have several seedlings growing. I discussed this plant with a professional gardener who had worked in the southern US where the plant also grows and he admitted that he never succeeded in getting any cuttings to grow. The plant is evergreen and in the spring it produces clusters of highly scented white blossom that turns cream with age. It is NOT the Mexican mock orange blossom. The leaf groups are similar but the leaves are large and more pointed. Can anyone suggest names for this shrub please? I can then follow up its botanical data. In the Med regions it is cut into hedges.

Happy Gardening E

Hot then wet and windy
Jul 9, 2008 | 8:00 AM PST

Since the last blog it has been hot and sunny in my patch for two weeks in spite of the weather forecast. My peppers are fruiting in the green house and the cactus are in brilliant flower. The perennial sweet-peas have finished blooming and have been tidied up. The soft fruits - raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries and redcurrants have done very well and we all have feasted on them in pies, fools and fresh with clotted cream or condensed milk. Naughty but nice. Now some of the ramb ling roses are finished it is time to cut back. My lavender has gone into super growth and in must be replace with a shorter stemmed variety. The weed wand (a gas cannister powered torch) has done good service, An organic way to keep weeds down. Our garden group had its last meeting until September. An amazing number of plants have been swopped. At the last meeting a member brought in a plant and said,"What's this?" holding up a bunch of Japanese Knot weed that is becoming a real menace. I had north american pig weed in my garden last year and the only explanation was that it must have bee in wild bird seed that we buy for the feeders. On time whilst visiting the US the guy next to me at customs was found to have an apple in his pocket. I thought that he was being sent to devils island how he was treated - he should have eaten the evidence when they went for the paperwork.

Then the sun was gone after two weeks of joy and today we are to be blessed with one months rain in a day according to the weather forecast. Weather it will or weather it wont just have to wait and sea,

Carry on gardening

E