Grow your own gardens of herbs and flowers

Dreaming, about gardens and gardening is something all plant people indulge in from time to time. Gardens – just like dreams – are perpetually being honed towards a perfection we never actually achieve as seasons, focal points, colours, contrasts and plant growth or failure alter their natural dimensions from day to day — nature dances to its own tune, not to ours.

Our gardening dreams and creations need to be not just realistic but elastic if they are ever going to achieve anything close to fruition, for this to happen it is essential to take “her” by the hand and trust nature to lead the way.

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If there is one thing nature finds repugnant it is mono-culture straight lines — sowing and growing in equidistant straight rows, one plant variety per row or per block. It may make life easier for the gardener but only in the initial stages as, pretty soon, nature rebels at such negative restriction.

The plants themselves, depending on species, may automatically attempt to break out by leaning over this way and that, and a wind or shower of rain may aid them in this.

When this happens the well-intentioned gardener rushes out with sticks and string, and ties everything firmly back into its designated straightness completely ignoring the natural sprawl of things. Then, along come the “nasty gang” – pests and avoidable diseases home in on the sight, taste and even sounds that each particular block of plants emits. They feast their fill until nothing is left to dream on unless, that is, the dream is a toxic one based on chemical interventions.

This mix and match of vegetables, flowers and herbs – with never a straight row in sight – really is a potentially trouble free, naturally healthy, certainly happy garden to dream on — first imagine and then try!

Herbs: Borage, flat-leaved, curly and Italian parsley varieties, rocket/arugula, watercress, lovage, lemon balm, aniseed, dill, coriander, chives, garlic chives, tarragon, chamomile, chervil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, sage, calendulas, nasturtiums, apple mint, spearmint, peppermint, green mint and any other kind of mint you can find seeds for. Fast-growing varieties of rosemary and lavender can still be sown but please be quick about it or they won’t have a long enough growing season to produce much.

Flowers: Sweet peas and masses of them, Queen Anne’s lace, tagetes, larkspur, ageratum, poppies and more poppies, alyssum, candytuft, sweet sultan, sweet williams, Virginia stocks, stocks, cornflowers, mimulus, statice, clarkia, godetia, flax, wallflowers, antirrhinums, lobelia, violas, bellis, salvias and many more.

Bulbs: Bulbs and corms for the garden and pot cultivation are widely available right now and there is plenty of choice. Narcissus (nargis), daffodils, Dutch hyacinths, grape hyacinths, freesias, anemones, Dutch iris, sparaxis, allium species and glorious tulips too can be sown by the score.

Muscari, or Grape hyacinths to give them their common name, are simple to grow bulbous plants, which are delightful in plant pots, on rockeries and in woodland style gardens. The small bulbs – these are usually imported from Holland and should be available in gardening stores right now – enjoy humus rich, welldrained soil/compost and their spring flowering time is prolonged if they are located in partial shade. Plant bulbs two to three inches deep and three to four inches apart and water lightly just twice a week and not at all if it rains. Reaching average heights of four to six inches (this varies depending on the exact species), flower spires – comprising lots of tiny, elongated blooms – are generally in some lovely shades of blue or pearly white. For impact plant in clumps.

(Dawn/ANN)