Tuesday 4 February 2014

My favourite plant in the garden (this week)

A garden of marigolds…. orange, yellow and rust,
Bright, soft and rich, touched with golden dust.
Quiet and regal, sun kissed and fair,
Basil-citrus fragrance that mellows the moist air.
A thousand smiling marigolds, a thousand smiling suns,
Sweet nectar, ambrosia, for natures gentle ones.
- Extract from ‘Marigolds’, Nishu Mathur, India


Wandering around my garden this morning it struck me how perfectly happy my Marigolds seemed. And it reminded me of a quote I once read,

all a morning glory 
needs 
to be happy 
is the sun.
so go ahead, 
tilt your face up!

We’ve had absolutely beautiful rain over the past couple of weeks and my garden is smiling! Nobody shows gratitude like Marigolds do!

My kind-hearted gardener, Chrissie, once strew a couple of seeds somewhere in the garden and since then I’ve had them come up in the most unexpected places! If you grow a vegetable garden, plant Marigolds amongst the vegetables. Marigolds are easy to grow and they help keep away aphids. The relationship between plants and insects is known as ‘companion planting’ and it’s by far the safest, natural way to garden organically.

The Marigolds are all seeding now and some have already died off. It’s one way that I know that the season is slowly shifting and that autumn is on our doorstep. My garden will be devoid of their lovely colour until September when all their seeds will once again pop up in the most unexpected places to honour me with their presence.

These often over-looked beauties are native to North and South America, but some species have become naturalized around the world.












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