Anyone
paying close attention to this blog may remember that I’ve already written
about wallflowers a few times this year, starting from winter when their long-awaited
buds emerged at the same time as the hellebores. Their velvety red petals
complemented the tulips and then the poppies through spring, and in summer their
orangey, yellow hues competed with the marigolds.
I even experimented with them, inserting them in a wall to check if they had been named correctly, which failed unfortunately. However, I was more successful when I tested their robustness by using them to plug holes that the fox had dug out in a dry bed. I didn’t have to water them, but as the months progressed, I was less inclined to even if they had needed it.
I can’t remember exactly the point when I maxed out on wallflowers. I used to think that I would never throw a healthy plant away as every flower is precious and there are always bare patches in the garden that need filling, but eventually the big sprawling mess had to go. The final straw was when they threatened to sow seeds over the patio cracks to spawn another yearful.
Thinking that I had aborted the next generation, I took time to smell the roses and other non-wallflowers. Then the other day I was inspecting my propogation pot where I had sprinkled magnolia, delphinium and romano pepper seeds with the hope that at least one plant would germinate out of the three, when I recognised wallflower seedlings which seemed to have hibernated since the year before. More annoyingly, each leaf was in perfect condition whereas the leaves of my single remaining broccoli seedling were covered in tiny holes.
I knew that wallflowers and broccoli were both in the brassica family. This summer I learned that nasturtiums are in that family too after identifying caterpillars which were shredding my flower basket display.
I didn’t mind the sacrifice in exchange for being delighted by the sight of cabbage white butterflies feeding on wildflowers and fluttering about in pairs.
The thought did cross my mind to suggest to the caterpillars that my wallflower seedlings could be a potential food source. I was toying with the idea when I found a stray seedling which had grown into the wall of my house, by my seat on the back doorstep, and noticed for the first time that its flowers were like little butterflies in flight ...
Today I'm linking up to the Grow Write Guild : This Plant is Driving me Nuts!
http://www.yougrowgirl.com/2013/07/22/grow-write-guild-10-this-plant-is-driving-me-nuts/
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