Sunday, 18 July 2021

Summer salads, herbs & micro herbs ...

 Hi all, 

Our hot weather has arrived after a rather wet & grey time - it is welcome & the garden has needed attention as everything has just shot up. 

While doing lots of other things, I have neglected my salad planters along the wall of the house - they still contained the remnants of the winter greens that had bolted or just gone leggy. 

I shared these very useful & versatile planters with you before 

This in 2017 when I decided they were a good idea & and the progress of the first planting 

One of the planters, the green on closest to the small water butt has nasturtiums that self seeded from last year. The flowers & leaves are used in salads (we use no chemicals at home at all)  so they are a welcome addition. The celery in that planter has bolted to seed but it looks pretty so will stay for now. 

I grow celery by just placing the cut crown in shallow water for a few days until it roots then moving it to the planter where we use the new leaves in salads. 

The other two black planters were cleaned out & salad leaves sown in one, the second will follow once these have about 2 weeks start on them. 

I love the freedom of picking some fresh salad leaves from the planters right by the kitchen door to use on sandwiches or in salads. 

I was gifted this pretty micro green set for my birthday & grew some soon afterwards but I think it was still a bit cold & they did not do too well. I did a second lot of 5 pots & these will go on the kitchen window sill for now where I can keep an eye on them before just popping them in the planters outside. 


Gardening in the heat is hard work so herbs picked for the water jug - chocolate mint, fennel, camomile & lemon grass brewed in hot water, cooled then added .... 

With few cut flowers in the garden, a  vase of herbs will do nicely as flowers ... 

 
The parasols are up, the sun is high in the sky, & shade is needed .... 

These hollyhocks were sown last year in lockdown from a packet of seeds I had collected from the mother in laws home when it was sold. The first sowing was not very successful so I thought I would try again last year in lockdown & used random flower pots we had & they took - the second year & better than before ... 


The patio table is moved to the side under the fats Japonica & next to the laurel bush for shade ...


Thank you for your time; each & every visit & comment is much appreciated, be safe all  ðŸ’–
Dee ~💕~