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.

Lynnside Community Garden stall at Oban Charities Day

Hiya again
Our garden had a fab stall at this year's Charities Day:

Viv in her superb sunflower headdress and with our informative photo boards.

Two ladies making sure the sunflower seeds go into the wee compostable growing pots.

Smiles all around as more and more children and adults take part in the sunflower competition, and fewer and fewer sunflower plants remain on the stall.
Feedback, please!

Involving children

Hiya again
A couple of children from the immediate neighbourhood have been helping to plant pumpkins.  

Above: getting ready. Below: sorted – well done!

Here's hoping the small plugs will grow and produce impressive results later in the year.

2010 – International Year of Biodiversity – A list of trees, flowers and plants in our Community Garden

Hello again
In the International Year of Biodiversity, it is our pleasure to share with you a list of tree, flower and bird species that have been identified in our Community Garden.
The list of English names has been supplied by our rural regeneration specialist, Graham Scott; your blogger has done her best to add Latin names and provide links to websites so you can see what we're talking about.
Your blogger is no specialist -- any feedback and corrections will be most warmly received. Simply use the comment box at the end of this post.
Catch you later... -- enjoy this magical spring.

Trees

Common Alder (Alnus glutinosa)

Grey Alder (Alnus incana)

Aspen (Populus tremula)

Downy Birch (Betula pubescens)

Oak (Quercus robur)

Sycamore Maple (Acer pseudoplatanus)
Silver Birch (Betula pendula)

Wildflowers

Common Honeysuckle or Woodbine (Lonicera periclymenum)

Dog Rose (Rosa canina)

Yellow Iris (Iris pseudacorus)

Neophytes
A few remnants of Great Willowherb (Epilobium hirsutum), Rosebay Willowherb
aka Canadian Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) and Himalayan Balsam aka Kiss-me-on-the-mountain aka Policeman's Helmet (Impatiens glandulifera) have survived last year's manual eradication.
Butterbur (Petasites hybridus) presents an ongoing problem and is being manually eradicated because herbicides don't really do the job.

Birds

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) 

Dipper (Cinclus cinclus)

Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba)

Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)

Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

Swift (Apus apus)

Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur)

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) -- last Monday, a mother Mallard had ten ducklings in the burn!

Rook (Corvus frugilegus)

Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix)

Jackdaw (Corvus monedula)

Blackbird (Turdus merula)

Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)

Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus)

Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)

Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)

Robin (Erithacus rubercula)

Great Tit (Parus major)

Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)

Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus)
Treeereeper (Certhia familiaris)

Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)

Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)

The veggies are growing in our Organic Garden

An update from our gardener, Graham Scott:

"Purple broccolli showing new heads, also kale; tatties starting to show, onions and garlic doing well; Jerusalem artichokes showing.

Sourced logs from Glencruitten for [shiitake] mushrooms.

http://www.suttons.co.uk/Shop/Vegetable+Plants/List/?utm_

Mini greenhouse set up soon for tomatoes, pumpkins, melons.

Plant out soon: nasturtiums, sweet peas, re-pot sunflowers.

Herb garden doing well: Mecanopsis (himalayan blue poppy) about to bloom as is Astilbe; rhubarb de-flowered to promote growth.

Planted sweet corn, put in supports for peas.

Taken up planting containers in No.8 Miller Rd. patio, helped by neighbouring child; sown carrots in troughs; will soon plant half tub with beans and nasturtiums. Vertical plastic pipes along wire fence will be planted with strawberries.

As the ongoing environmental (food imports) situation unfolds, the need for locally grown food is again underlined.

Dear All

A wee update courtesy of your "gardener", Graham Scott, as we enter the second year of planting and growing in the organic vegetable part -- the recreation part is under consideration, with work ongoing behind the scenes (quantity surveyor's costing being obtained as I type these lines).

Graham writes:
"... continuing to feed soil [with] seaweed, charcoal, horse and chicken manure, rockdust, liquid bokashi as well as dalek and commercial peat-based composts.

Peas and beans sown and starting to show.
Sugar snap peas were a favourite with the local kids last year.
Tatties: pink, fir apples and Epicure – strictly earlies this year. Plant spares in ton bags.
Onions and garlic went in before the snow.
Jerusalem and globe artichokes went in last month.
Buying in grafted, 'turbo' tomatoes, pumpkins (to get kids to plant), melons – all from Suttons

Sown: nasturtium, sweet peas, sunflowers, limminaria, pansy, several wild flower mixes;
French beans, Chantenay carrots, courgettes, basil, cut-and-grow salad mix.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/digin/
Planting plugged kohlrabi, spinach, brussels sprouts – from Cakebread's

Alkanet or dyers' bugloss (Alkanna tinctoria), from the borage family.
Photo taken on 3 May 2010, next door to the Community Garden,
where a couple of big plants also grow.

Herb garden has rhubarb, Alkanet or dyers' bugloss (Alkanna tinctoria), comfrey, burnet saxifrage, mecanopsis, yellow mullein, various mints, thyme, chives.

First flower of Mecanopsis Sheldonii, a true blue "poppy" from the Himalayas;
photo taken on 6th May 2010 in our garden.

Digging up butterbur; still removing shade-inducing branches from trees; lots of tidying up to do round site before growth kicks in (plastic, glass etc.).

Top end 'amenity' (recreation) area:
I have suggested apple, pear and damson plantings, and creating an 'edible wall' – see www.agroforestry.co.uk/ [– this will need to be discussed at a later date].

Between fence and burn – in part to discourage access – planting gooseberries, blackcurrent, worcestershireberries, rosa rugosa, rosa canina, honeysuckle.