Seeds and Sowing | The Frustrated Gardener

Posts from the ‘Seeds and Sowing’ category

Who could have predicted that the Month of March would end as it did? Over the course of two weeks our daily routines changed in ways we never imagined possible and there is more of this to come for sure. We are living in a…

Garden Diary: March 2020

April 1, 2020

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Since last I wrote we’ve had to endure a succession of winter storms which have hampered efforts to get on the plot and get on with jobs. Last weekend we tried to remedy that. The onion sets were started off in a tray on 2nd…

We’ve Bean Busy

February 29, 2020

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We took on our new allotment exactly one month ago. As time marches on, we are happy in the knowledge that with each and every visit we make, it’s transforming into an exciting plot full of potential. Last Saturday, for the second week running, my…

Horse Power

February 8, 2020

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There’s not much that January is good for, apart from cosying-up by the fire, drinking the Christmas drinks cabinet dry and browsing seed catalogues. The minute New Year is over, hot off the press, brochures start to arrive at The Watch House by the sack-load.…

Seedy Thoughts

January 17, 2020

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Cymbalaria muralis: Ivy-leaved toadflax, ivywort, Kenilworth ivy, coliseum ivy, Oxford ivy, mother of thousands, mother of millions, thousand flower, pennywort, wandering sailor, Aaron’s beard, pedlar’s basket, rabbits, ruine-de-Rome (French), zimbelkraut (German), muurleeuwenbek (Dutch). “Cymbalaria ….. runneth and spreadeth on the ground and clymeth and hangeth…

Plant Profile: Ivy-leaved toadflax

April 14, 2019

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When a plant does well in my garden, I want to grow more of it. As a gardening strategy, this makes perfect sense. So often we struggle on, trying to grow things that are not best suited to our conditions. Then we ask ourselves…

Where Have All The Coleus Gone?

June 20, 2018

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Although I find growing from seed one of the most rewarding aspects of gardening, I have done so less and less in recent years. It’s partly down to space, and partly down to the requirement to be present during those critical days when tender…

Daily Flower Candy: Mirabilis longiflora ‘Angels’ Trumpets’

August 2, 2017

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The last time I wrote about Cobaea scandens was at Christmas and I make no apology for featuring it again so soon. Barring a few chilly days in February and March, this vigorous climber has not stopped flowering since the New Year. Having scrambled 15ft into…

Daily Flower Candy: Cobaea scandens

September 11, 2016

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Euphorbia mellifera: canary spurge, honey spurge To have taken so long to feature Euphorbia mellifera in my regular Flower Candy spot is an unforgivable oversight. Perhaps it’s because the flowers produced by this statuesque Canary Islands shrub are curious rather than pretty. They emit an intense, heady, honeyed scent,…

Daily Flower Candy: Euphorbia mellifera AGM*

March 25, 2016

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If you live in the Northern hemisphere, you may consider Cobaea scandens, otherwise known as cup and saucer vine, an odd choice of Christmas Flower Candy. But in our coastal garden, high up in the canopy of the bay tree, this rampant climber is still flowering…

Christmas Flower Candy: Cobaea scandens

December 20, 2015

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