More July in the Garden

The sunflower seedlings have grown in the past four weeks and need re-potting in the next few days.

Pretty nasturtiums grown in a box. Something about the place/soil doesn't seem to agree with them -- too rich? Too hot for a while? Too sunny?

These are some of the first baby carrots I've pulled out of a box. Not exactly the kind of success we had been hoping for. The thinned out and replanted ones have grown well but with very crooked roots. The ones we left alone are puny. The nasturtium blossom will provide a lovely highlight to a bowl of lovely salad, most ingredients coming from our Community Garden (of course I'm leaving a donation in the box!).

These are the ingredients for my salad: all manner of green and red leaves, including at least three different kinds of cut-and-grow again lettuce, plus rocket, spinach and red chard, and the petals of marigold and a nasturtium blossom for colour, plus the most delicate sugar snap peas you can wish and hope for. Absolutely delicious!

And this is the salad just before it is served, glistening with extra virgin olive oil and seasoned with a dash of Balsamic vinegar and a sprinkling of sea salt -- the simplest dressing but so tasty!
Finally, the main vegetable in the main course this evening, a whopper of a kohlrabi (about 4 inches in diameter):

It will need trimming but most of the leaves should be lovely, provided you cut them into thin strips and toss them in hot oil for about ten minutes. Cook the thinly sliced "meat" of the kohlrabi for about fifteen minutes: when it's this big, the bottom half tends to get a bit stringy and needs a bit longer to cook. The flavour is slightly sweet, the vegetable has a crisp, clean bite and is very juicy. One of my favourites in the cabbage family.

July in the garden

Hiya again

After one of the dryest months of June on record, July has been generous in terms of rain, and hasn't stinted on wind, either. It's quite pleasant not to have to water the garden but the drop in temperature means that growth may slow down a bit. Also, we have to be vigilant to make sure ripe fruit and veg don't rot on the ground and on the stems.

Here are a few visual impressions taken earlier today when the sun was actually out and summer seemed to have returned to Oban.

A beautiful, bright pink dog rose (Rosa canina) with a fragrance fit for queens and princesses...

– this beauty grows in the Wilderness Area (see comment for correct name, i.e. Rosa rugosa).

Tiny pansies and bi-colour buttercups welcome visitors at the entrance (again, the correct name for the buttercups is poached egg plant, aka Limnanthes douglasii -- see commment).

The golden-orange Achillea millefolium, or Yarrow, is a traditional healing plant to stop bleeding and to treat wounds and various forms of inflammation. Read more at Suite101: Achillea millefolium: Yarrow’s Long Medicinal History is Steeped in Legend and Practice http://herbal-properties.suite101.com/article.cfm/achillea_millefolium#ixzz0tJAkJOjb

... as is Mullein or Verbascum: it is a biennial, which means the first year you will only see a rosette of velvety silvery leaves on the ground; the striking "candelabra" emerge only in the second year. Verbascum blossoms are good expectorants, which means they help to get rid of phlegm or sputum. According to http://www.herbalremediesinfo.com/verbascum.html, "The plant has many folk names, some call it Velvet Plant, Candle Leaf, Indian Tobacco, even Blanket Leaf." That website has loads more information for you -- well worth a visit.

Now, shall we coat this beauty in batter and fry to serve as a "fior di zucco" (Zucchini blossom) starter?

Or should we leave it to grow into a lovely green zucchino or into a big marrow?

Kale blossoms are beautiful.

On a slightly less positive note, the butterbur and dock along the burn have made a full comeback. At least dock leaves, rubbed onto the skin, alleviate insect bites and burns caused by stinging nettles.

This is (a slightly tricked-out) view of the Wilderness Part from the Top End.

The aspens and silver birch look stunning. They're also home and shelter to a multitude of songbirds.

One reason why we haven't opened the garden to the general public: lots of broken glass, one reminder that the grounds used to be a dump. Every rain washes up bits of plastic, broken glass, rusting iron... Picking the rubbish is an endless, and endlessly fascinating, task.

Let's go back to the beauties – in this case true or common marigolds (Calendula). A great plant to improve soil quality and feed nutrients back into the ground. The blossoms are edible and the petals lift any leafy salad onto quite a different plane -- just try it!

Red chard -- isnt't it beautiful? What's even better is that, if cut before it's huge, all of it can be eaten. My favourite way: cut just above the ground (be careful not to damage younger stems), rinse in cold water, cut into half-inch strips or rings using sharp scissors, toss in hot butter or olive oil for a few minutes, sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt. Serve hot or cold, with a few drops of good quality Balsamico vinegar, to accompany an omelet or a slice of braised chicken, or whatever else you enjoy cooking up.

Young leaves can be eaten raw and look great in any leafy salad. Again, make sure to use the flashy red stalks, not only visually attractive but also a great source of fibre.

Oh, the sugar snap peas are nearly ready! The kids love  LOVE    L O O O V E    them!

Potato blossoms -- these ones are extremely pretty, and so are potato leaves, don't you think?

A look across the vegetable beds in our Community Garden. Graham has been instrumental in planting potatoes, kale, onions, garlic, sugar snap peas, beans, chard (yellow, white, red), spinach, pumpkins, sunflowers, sweet peas, nasturtiums, and and and...
Before they went into the ground, seedlings were potted and re-potted to give them that extra boost and defense against pests such as slugs and snails. They weren't much of a problem during the dry spell but now the rain's back, it's a different matter.

In the Wilderness Part, there's a semicircular patch for herbs and other useful things. One of them is a beautiful silvery-leaved globe artichoke. A sunflower may also soon grace us with its golden flower. More sunflowers have been planted along the fence. 

Finally, the Top End: still awaiting funds for landscaping and "hardware": benches, walled-in raised beds -- the design is beautiful; here's hoping we can publish it here soon.