Weeding the Web

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day: Carpenteria californica finally flowers!

It was Wisley's fault. We saw this glorious bush - glossy leaves, dazzling flowers the size of fried eggs - and thought, We could grow that. The warning was there, had we actually listened to the nurseryman who told us he didn't bother to grow them himself now, as he found them temperamental.

No, we had to have a Carpenteria californica.

Also known as the Bush or Tree Anemone - in the Hydrangeaceae family but the only plant in its genus - it likes full sun and a sheltered position, so it went into the sunniest, most sheltered spot in the garden.

And what did we get?  Two years of a miserable plant that barely grew, the leaves of which became dull, dark and mottled, just like this old one you can see in the picture. And not a flower in sight. Not one.

Meanwhile, on return trips to Wisley, where the Carpenteria had been in a warm corner against the walls of the house, we were dismayed to find it gone. Removed. Completely. 

Ours certainly couldn't stay where it was, but a last-minute reprieve on a death sentence moved it to a spare patch at the back of the garden, north-facing, moderately shaded. And what do we get? An explosion of bright green growth and flower buds all over.

It'll need a bit of pruning to get it back into shape, but it's sprouting from the bare wood at the bottom, so that's no problem.

And what made the difference? Well, as well as liking full sun and shelter, it also likes moist soil. It got watered in the other place, but it was generally hot and dry. Now it's nicely moist, if somewhat shaded and cooler.

Which all goes to prove that in a list of cultivation instructions, some parts are more important than others. The problem, as ever, is working out which one you can't ignore. Now we know. It looks as if the Carpenteria is here to stay.

 
To see what else is blooming in garden bloggers' gardens around the world, nip over to May Dreams Gardens.

 

Herbal heaven: lovage biscuits and mint tea

This time of year is just herbal heaven. Mint tea - the type where you steep the green leaves in the pot, not the type with black tea included - tastes at its best right now. We have oodles of Moroccan mint. It strays up and down a long border.

Yes, I know this isn't good gardening practice, but equally, all those instructions you read about growing mint in a pot just won't give you enough, if you like drinking the tea as much as I do. A large sprig a day soon creates a forest of stalks.

Now is the time to really enjoy it. Mint starts growing as early as February in this garden but, earlier in the season, the flavour is pleasant but a bit thin, as if the plant hasn't quite geared up to churning out the essential oils that create the taste.

Later in the year, when the leaves are altogether tougher and flowers are on the way, the flavour is coarser and darker. But right now, it sings - green, freshly minty, filling the mouth with summer.

But mint isn't the only herb to sing at the moment. The lovage is also surging forth and ever since I discovered the recipe for Lovage Cheese Biscuits on Gluts and Gluttony, these have become a regular feature of the biscuit tin.

In fact, I have instructions that, if ever I feel my hand straying towards the cheese biscuits in the supermarket, I should smack it firmly and rush home to make these instead.

I've modified the recipe a bit. Kathy (who writes the lovely Gluts and Gluttony) uses 5 oz of Parmesan, but I use a strong cheddar (which was what just happened to be available the first time I tried these).

I also wouldn't slice the biscuits any thicker than 3 mm. I haven't found that they snap, as Kathy says, but that may be because I've used cheddar instead. To slice this thinly, chill the block for at least a couple of hours.

I make mine just over 1 inch square. They make a perfect, crisp mouthful. So perfect that, when I took them along to a Sunday lunch party, I barely got to taste them myself.

But if you don't get through them all (unlikely), it doesn't matter as they stay crisp very well in a tin.

Tree Following: lilac tree still bursting at the seams

I don't think we can expect a particularly startling advance on last month's sprouts. They're bigger, and the one at the top on the sunniest side is the longest. However, all are continuing to grow and, unexpectedly (for me, anyway), new buds are still breaking through. What, I wonder will be the best way to deal with them all? I think a judicious bit of pruning will be called for eventually.

   

This is part of Lucy Corrander's Tree Following meme at Loose and Leafy. Visit to see how other trees are progressing around the world.