It's now past mid-summer and i've been slack with my garden updates over christmas and new year. But the garden has provided a number of surprises and satisfactions this summer. I have been appreciating some of my herbs - taking time out to see the beauty of small things - like this azure blue borage flower.
Then contrasted with the brightest display from my calendulas. Which this year I used to make both a calendula cream and calendula soap with a tincture of the petals and dried petals. The medicinal benefits of calendula are renown, particularly for skin complaints. The flowers contain antiseptic, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties that promote healing. Aside from the above mentioned medicinal uses i've been throwing them liberally into our salads.
I extended my herb garden early in summer into an area of unused space at the end of the raised beds. Old wine barrels seem to fit the space well and i've put in an apothecary rose, horseradish, french tarragon (because you can never have too much tarragon - it's such a lovely herb) and sage.
I'm very excited about growing horseradish for the first time - I figure the wine barrel is deep enough for the roots and by all accounts it's quite invasive - so should prevent unwanted spreading!
I've never had much luck with sage - so hoping that the free-draining soil I used in the barrel assist.
The new rose at front of house (another Madame Alfred Carriere) has taken off and looks gorgeous - who says roses don't do well in the north - rubbish.
I re-discovered a lost treasure in my green wall - a small native orchid is holding on and flowering for the first time this year. It's delicate orange flowers are so perfect.
And finally after years of coaxing - my hydrangeas are finally looking healthy and have flowered profusely with a dense underplanting of sweet violet. A particularly poignant success as I have such nostalgic memories of hydrangea and I really wanted some in my garden. But more about that another time.
