Now summer is on the horizon, always interesting what folks have managed to coax from seed and get going!

Not too glamorous here in Herefordshire, but I am growing Pyrenean Lovage (only ever seen it at Chelsea Physic Gdn where I begged some seed) and having a go at Indigo, which so far is really a lovely blue-green leaved plant.

What obscurities has anyone else on the grow?

Jim

(PS - was at Malvern show on Sun. & bought some "Black Nasturtium seeds"... will let you know!)

Hi Jim

I'd never heard of Pyrenean Lovage (Ligusticum lucidum) before your post, I had to look up the latin name and uses, but I can't find any medicinal or edible uses for it, or a great deal of information about it, anybody who has any information please share. I can find info of Mountain Lovage (Ligusticum mutellina) and Scottish Lovage (Ligusticum scoticum) but not the Pyrenean one.

As for growing something unusual, I got as far as getting some indigo and vanilla grass seeds but never did plant them, bought a few other dye plant seeds as well, but have been concentrating on replenishing the borders and getting the veggie plots up and running. Too late to sow them this year, so I'll store them safely and do them next year. I did sow some gas plant (Dictamnus alba) on Sunday also known as burning bush and false dittany, I may have sowed it a little too late, will see what happens. I have got a tea tree plant safe in the greenhouse, but I don't want to risk taking it into the garden until the frosts have all gone.

Regular readers to the forum may remember my post about Moly?! back in December? For those that don't its one of those old plants that its hard to say what it actually was. John Parkinson had it down as being Moly latifolium and I tracked some down and its now ready to go out in the garden. I first have to decide where I want to put it. If all goes well I should be seeing flowers in June, then I'll know for certain if the plant I was given is indeed Yellow Moly aka Golden Garlic and Lily Leek. 

I've also added some Brooklime (Veronica beccabunga) and Galingale (Cyperus longus) to the pond where the meadowsweet used to be (it had been over run by couchgrass), I did managed to get to babies from the plant though and they're doing fine, so they'll go back as marginals.

Re the black nasturtiums, I'd be interested to hear what they turn out like, Jekka is launching a nasturtium called 'Tom Thumb Black Velvet' at Chelsea this year, I've seen a picture and it looks like a deep red to me, I find that happens a lot with black flowers, they turn out to be a deep red or purple and dissapointing. If anybody is going to Chelsea this year, please, please, please take some photos of the herb stands and send them to me to add to the site. I can't get there this year, but I will be watching it on the telly. I hope others share what they're growing thats new and unusual, its nice to nosey in other peoples gardens lol! For anyone that hasn't seen it and is curious, there's a list of herbs I grow in my garden on my blog Le Jardin De Herbaholic. It isn't complete as I keep sneaking new ones in O:)

Debs

Hi Jim

I have patchouli and cardomom growing indoors, which aren't very well at the moment. I'm also trying celtic valarian (valariana celtica) and sea holly for the first time this year. I'm hopeful my four acora calamus will thrive so I can start harvesting the roots in a couple of years as they're supposed to be an aid to meditative chewing!

I can also report that four out of my six goldenseal plants appear to be thriving in their pseudo-woodland habitat, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.



Sarah

On Moly, I am surprised no one has referred to Stannard's celebrated attempt to pin down the plant's classical identity "The Plant Called Moly" Osiris, Bruges 1962, republished by Ashgate Variorum 1999

Hi Jim

Have you had any success with the black nasturtium seeds at all and if so, just how 'black' are the flowers?

Debs

Debs wrote:
>>Hi Jim
Have you had any success with the black nasturtium seeds at all and if so, just how 'black' are the flowers?<<

Still not flowered yet! Inspect them almost every morning!

Suspect - with you - that they will be purple/deep red but -hey - was seduced at the Malvern Show by an old plantslady with promises of "deepest black flowers".

And so ever shall I be seduced, romantic mug that I am....

Thanks for the update, let me know what they turn out like, I was almost seduced to buy some offline, but when I read your post, I thought I'd wait and see what yours looked like lol!

Debs

They were Red.

Of course they were.

But next spring I will still buy black fuchsias. And a black sunflower...

Of course I will.

There is a contraversial part of me which begs the question - why the search for truly black flowers? Is their scarcity the answer or do they posess some amazing property none of us have noticed yet?

I wrote a story once about a fiddler who always wore black. His wife wore white and his children wore the different colours of the rainbow.When the father died and his eldest son took up his role he changed his blue clothes to black. The new fiddler asked his bride to be why he always wore black and she replied "You wear black because all colours come to you. As night comforts day, you bring peace to all things, for without light, no-one can see the true colours shining upon them all."

Far too profound for first thing in the morning - blame the insect which bit me this morning as I waited for the train. Luckily I found some plantain, so the pain is easing.

Sarah

Sarah wrote:
>>There is a contraversial part of me which begs the question - why the search for truly black flowers? <<

In my own case, am just a Joy Division fan who turned to gardening late in life!
Really!!

Yet to find a true black flower, but will continue the quest...

Joy Division eh Jim, I was more Adam and the Ants, because I'm a goody two shoes As to why I'd like a truly black flower, its more down to the fact that its one of the colours missing in the floral rainbow. You get quests for real blue tulips, and people wanting to have things like pink sunflowers etc. Part of me thinks that its going against nature, but then everytime breeders raise a new scented thyme, sage or mint aren't they doing the same? Those herbs didn't exist in nature until they were breed after all, so its really no different if you look at it that way. 

Another part of me would just like a true black flower to appeal to my dark side (that isn't a Star Wars reference by the way, although it could be ), it's also a curiosity, many companies keep saying they have a new black flower, when you check it out, its dark red or brown, or very dark burgundy, so I'd just like to see it actually happen instead of being a con.

Debs