At this time of year in wild gardens two plants are at their peak flowering period ,Lythrum salicaria , commonly called purple loose strife and Filipendula ulmaria which has been known as meadow sweet since the 16th century when it was laid down on floors of medieval castles to add fragrance and keep down infection and apparently was a particular favourite of Queen Elizabeth for her bedroom floor in Tudor times . Both plants love damp wet land and in the US loose strife is considered “ an aggressive invader ” but in ancient times it was widely used by herbalists for depression etc. and the clue is in it’s […]
Monthly Archives: July 2014
My Gardening Week 10th July 2014 ….. some Tender Love & Care !
Even at the height of summer with all the lush exhuberant growth in the garden there is always room for pots or containers particularly if sited in shade … not total shade but dappled . Never use plastic containers as apart from looking awful tatty they heat up too much in hot weather and dry out the plants . Nowadays all pots being sold are generally frost free , that is they take into account European weather conditions where winter frosts can freeze a pot solid for weeks and the days of cheap imported pots from the Far East , Vietnam etc. cracking into pieces are gone and you can […]