Organic Allotment

Lovely Lily

Last summer I was given a lily for my pond in an attempt to get rid of the algae that was taking over. I diligently planted it as the books recommended and it promptly disappeared, never to be seen again - or so I thought...Come spring little pads started to appear and the first flower is now here in all its glory.Lilies keep the algae at bay because their leaves are great shade letting the water stay cool slowing down algae growth which worse in warm water.

I inherited the pond when I moved onto my plot and was really in the dark about looking after it so it's been a steep learning curve but I must be doing something right because the newts are back again this year and there are dragonflies all over the place. My boyfriend is a bit more knowledgeble coming from a one pond family (original home of the lily) but, apart from keeping it healthy and ticking over we haven't even thought about the possibilities of more watery planting. Maybe that can be the next challenge...

Parsnip Flowers

At the end of winter I had a couple of parsnips left and, as I was sick of eating them by that point, decided to leave them to flower. Like carrots, parsnips are biennials which flower in the second year after sowing. They're also great companion plants because hover flies, with their aphid eating larvae, love them.

The plants are about 5 foot tall and are very similar to wild parsnips which you can find growing all over the country. The flowers aren't at all showy to look at but the plant as a whole is quite striking. It'll soon be surround by winter squash plants so will be great to add some level and visual interest to that bed before the pumpkins and squash start growing and steal the show.

By the way...

...The poppies are here! They aren't looking quite as good as last year because the weather's been a bit dull and rainy and the plant looks distinctly windswept but they're still pretty stunning. They're always the first really sign of summer for me.

Chive Talking

  This picture is the of beautiful Black Isle Blush Chives which was developed by the Poyntzfield Herb Nursery and won an RHS award of merit in 1995. Far too nice to eat - in fact I think it's so nice that I'm growing it as a border flower in my garden as well. As with most perennials , if I keep dead heading it I should have flowers all summer long.