Blog : From the look of the other blogs we all need more flowers

Blogs > bondjam33 > The pursuit of happiness

844 posts
7/15/2020 6:54 pm

From the look of the other blogs we all need more flowers

Dull weather for a week -- but flowers provide a bright spot to cheer things up.

The first is a very old cottage garden herb called Borage -- but I reckon it deserves its place in the flower border -- and you can eat every part of it except the roots.

bondjam33 70M

840 posts
7/15/2020 7:06 pm

For some reason the borage appears twice -- but it is worth two looks lol.

#2 Day lily and visiting fly

#3 All the primulas are putting on a second show after dying back in spring

#4 My favourite trailing fuchsia -- flowering its heart out.

#5 Unusual Primula Vialii -- we have 20 of these in flower and all are putting up 4 or more flowers.

#6 Dwarf 'antirrhinum 'Tom Thumb'

# 7 One spot plant - Hollyhock - standing 7 feet tall and looking ready to flower on 7 separate flower stalks. The shasta daisies in front are almost 3 feet tall themselves.

#8 Miniature dianthus 'Pink Kisses'. We brought two tiny plants (growing in 2 inch pots) home from Austria two years ago -- so far we have split them into at least 20 new plants. We have 9 in flower in troughs and planters and have given away at least that many again.

#9 I think I have finally run out of new hanging baskets or places to hang them. Waiting for the latest to fill out and for the white alyssum to cover the bottom of the basket.

#10 Shasta daisies planted in an old, rusted through wheelbarrow we have had for over 30 years. They have grown much taller than expected but they are pretty showy.

myseek1 80F

1376 posts
7/15/2020 7:47 pm

Each kind of your flowers deserves a WOW. I love the daisies in the wheelbarrow. You are right, we need more flower blogs. I took some pictures of the NC Red Myrtle Tree .that is blooming now around the house. Maybe I show them tomorrow.

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, what you do are in harmony - M. Gandhi

bondjam33 replies on 7/17/2020 2:25 am:
Hi Seek -- thanks for the lovely comment.
Go for it -- if we flood the blogs with flowers it will drown out the political posts.

Maudie1 74F

8151 posts
7/15/2020 10:39 pm

I love that shade of blue, so vibrant. Beautiful collection of flowers for sure. It must be a wonderful place to sit and enjoy on a nice hot summers day.

You have a lot of my favourite plants there Bondjam. Thanks for sharing them with us.

bondjam33 replies on 7/17/2020 2:22 am:
Thanks for your comment Maudie. Everyone likes the borage -- I may have restarted a fashion lol.

We have decks front and back to sit out with Kaffee und Kuchen in the afternoon or to have breakfast in the morning.

The back deck is south facing and gets very warm in the afternoon so the front deck is set in our little bit of woodland for shade.

evergreen1949 74F

81 posts
7/16/2020 2:47 am

I like the views over your fence with all those beautiful and colourful flowers.

With Borage - Borretsch in German - you brought back some memories. My Mum had it in her garden and she used it as a tasty addition to cucumber salad. Visiting the garden center next time I will look for it. Thank you for posting.

bondjam33 replies on 7/17/2020 2:19 am:
Thank you for responding. The view includes part of my neighbour's garden which is a very traditional English 'back garden' --lawn and borders.

Borage ( wir wissen auch borretsch)is not hardy, an annual -- but it will readily seed itself- MUCH too readily if you do not pull out the thousands of seedlings that pop up everywhere.
The plant grows about as big as a potato plant, up to 2-3 feet high and similar spread. Bees and butterflies love it -- we plant it close to fruit plants to improve fertilisation.
The leaves can be put into salads or made into tea, the flowers are usually used for decoration in salads or frozen in ice cubes then floated in a drink.

Borage leaves can be used in place of spinach in many recipes -- but they do have a taste of cucumber about them.

lilium6 74F

4498 posts
7/16/2020 3:11 am

Flowers certainly gladden the heart - thank you. I love the vibrant blue flowers - my wedding dress (non traditional) was the same shade; I loved the colour so much. Also the dusky pink lilies, the white daisies with their yellow centres - all the flowers really - velvety petunias, fuschia, carnations, statice, snapdragons, geranium to name a few.

Rocketship 80F

18568 posts
7/16/2020 8:59 am

YES!!!!!! MORE FLOWERS AND FUN, INTERESTING BLOGS, PLEASE!!!

bondjam33 replies on 7/17/2020 2:13 am:
I intend to do a weekly (or twice weekly) flower post -- just to leaven the mix.

lilium6 74F

4498 posts
7/16/2020 10:42 pm

While out today, I walked into a shop selling seedlings as a sideline. On asking if she had borage, to my delight she said 'yes'. Hopefully borage will soon grace my garden :- )

bondjam33 replies on 7/17/2020 2:11 am:
It is not hardy, an annual -- but it will readily seed itself- MUCH too readily if you do not pull out the thousands of seedlings that pop up everywhere.
The plant grows about as big as a potato plant, up to 2-3 feet high and similar spread. Bees and butterflies love it -- we plant it close to fruit plants to improve fertilisation.
The leaves can be put into salads or made into tea, the flowers are usually used for decoration in salads or frozen in ice cubes then floated in a drink.

Borage leaves can be used in place of spinach in many recipes -- but they do have a taste of cucumber about them.