Cutting the Cover Crop
Yesterday, I finally got around to cutting down the cover crop in the potager. Now I need to figure out what I want to do in these spaces. I was thinking of growing fall crops, but I’m thinking I don’t have the time to manage more crops right now. I may add compost and another cover crop. I was quite amazed that this crop did so well. It was sown on only 2 inches of compost that I put down on top of a layer of cardboard. The cardboard is completely composted thanks to the roots breaking it up during the season.
I love trying different cover crops, so I may finally get around to trying phacelia or another one I haven’t tried yet. I will also lay down more cardboard beyond this and expend the garden by another few feet on all side. Slowly but surely this garden is reaching a size that is more in scale with the garden overall.
You don’t have to have a large garden or special equipment to use cover crops in your garden. I used pruning sherds to cut this down, I have also used a scythe in the past. As long as you cut it when it’s in bloom you typically don’t have trouble with plants coming back or anything becoming a problem.
Do you use cover crops in your garden? Do you have a favorite?
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Hello Hollyhocks
Last year I started seeds for a few different types of hollyhocks. Since they are a biennial, they didn’t bloom last year. These kinds of plants definitely take patience. It’s well worth the wait, they are stunning.
When I was little, my favorite flowers were hollyhocks. There was a garden on a road we traveled frequently and they always planted hollyhocks against their simple cinderblock garage. They were stunning every year. I loved their height and simplicity, such a classic cottage garden flower. When I first started to garden they were one of the first seeds I sowed. I’ve been growing them for about 15 years now.
In my Ohio garden I had double hollyhocks, I haven’t planted any of those yet. The flowers on the double hollyhocks are definitely more pronounced since they are so ruffled. The flowers on the single hollyhocks seem to by shy and like to hide beneath the big heard shaped leaves. I love both the single and the double flowers, though if I had to choose just one I’d probably choose the singles.
One of the lovely things about the double hollyhocks is the buds they produce. They are simple amazing to watch as they slowly open up revealing the ruffles of color beneath the green buds.
I planted three different kinds in shades of black, pink and purple. The funny thing that I started these in a flat and the chickens overturned it. As a result, I have hollyhocks blooming in what was the edging in front of the rock wall that holds back the foundation garden by the front door. Who said all the tall flowers have to be in the back of the border? They actually look quite nice here. As you can see I have surrounded them with cardboard and mulch because they area they are in will become a perennial border. I think they will fit right in with a few other plants at their feet. Behind them I’m thinking of planting a climbing rose to scramble up the porch wall and an ‘Annabelle’ Hydrangea to add big blooms of white.
‘The Watchman’ is one of my favorite colors when it comes to hollyhocks, it’s a deep purple that looks black. This year they are really dark black, the ones I had back in Ohio were more purple. I’ve grown them for many year and yet each summer I’m stunned by their velvety black blossoms. You really can’t walk by the plant without stopping to admire it’s blooms.
Growing hollyhocks from seed is so easy, here’s my post on the easy way to start them. It does require patient since you have to wait two years before being rewarded with beautiful flowers. Unfortunately not many people seem to grow them any more, perhaps it’s because leaf miners and Japanese beetles love their leaves. Even in their tattered eaten state they are just as beautiful. I highly recommend adding a few to your garden, you definitely won’t regret it.
Do you have any flowers you remember noticing when you were a kid? Do you grow them in your garden?
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So Long Lettuce
It’s been warm here in Maine, in the 80’s most days. I like the warmth, so do the peppers and tomatoes, the lettuce however does not. When it gets hot the lettuce bolts into tall spires that are quite stunning. I always leave a few to set seed for next year, fresh lettuce seed sprouts so quickly and it’s so easy to save your own see.
This year I grew a variety called ‘Ruby Gem’ that was AMAZING. By far my favorite lettuce ever. This variety is also packed with antioxidants because it’s a very deep red.
For now we will say goodbye to spring salads and we welcome zucchini, peas, beans, and other warm weather vegetables in their place. It’s also time to plant more lettuce for fall and winter crops. For me lettuce is one of my favorite things to grow, I love fresh salads and will eat as many as I can in spring, summer, fall and winter. I don’t buy lettuce at the store though, so it’s always bittersweet when the lettuce fades until the next harvest.
Do you have any vegetables that are nearing their end in the garden? What will you miss the most?
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Have a Seat
Last week new chairs arrived for the garden, they’re perfect. I’ve been wanting to get a few adirondack chairs for a while and was searching for a local source. Then our friend who owns a cedar mill posted that Rob from Maine Adirondack Chairs was picking up cedar. I checked out his website and ordered two chairs and a potting table. His chairs are lovely and they are priced very well. Most likely a few more will be added to the garden in the future.
Rob delivered the chairs & table last week and I couldn’t be more pleased. They are wonderful chairs and will provide us with a comfortable place to sit. I love that the cedar is milled in town by a friend and they are built only 20 minutes away. I could only get more local if I milled the wood and made them myself – which isn’t going to happen.
Do you have any seats in the garden?
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A Parade of Flowers
In the little potager behind the house I have vegetables and flowers mixed together. Some of the flowers are simply decorative, others are edible plants that have been allowed to flower in order to save seed. This time of year it’s really starting to fill out and look nice, there’s color everywhere you look.
The peony poppies are out in full force adding a pop of color in a sea of yellow mustard flowers and white coriander blooms. These self sow liberally, in the spring I simply pull up all the seedlings I don’t want and leave a few for beautiful blooms.
The ‘Bowle’s Black’ violets are lining one small section of the main walkway, their velvety black flowers are simply stunning!
The tarragon is also throwing up it’s purple spires and the bees are loving it. I’m thinking of moving these to a different location, they’re a little large for the space they occupy. The shape of a tarragon plant is perfect, it’s a little like a cone shaped boxwood. Perhaps a hedge of tarragon somewhere would be nice.
The calendula also seeds freely and I leave in some areas as a cover crop to keep weeds from growing. The flowers are harvested and dried to feed to the chickens in the winter. One of these years I hope to make my own calendula salve, perhaps this fall I will make the time.
Field peas are growing in the newer section of the garden, they were planted with a cover crop mix to smother weeds and improve the soil. Now that they’re blooming it’s time to cut them down to create a mulch. Even in a small garden cover crops can be used.
Right outside the main pathway to the potager the nine bark blooms are fading from blossom to seed. I find the seed balls almost more beautiful than the flowers. I like this dark leaved shrub, it will be moved to the back of the potager so it gets more sun.
The tall spires of foxglove are nearing their end, only a few remain after the hurricane blew through. This one was the last one to bloom. You really can’t beat the tall flowers of this lovely plant.
The carrots are also starting to bloom. These lovelies overwintered in the garden and I’m letting them set seed to collect for next year’s crop. They should make for a good winter hardy crop and keep us eating delicious carrots throughout the winter.
The result of having flowers mixed with vegetables is a riot, literally a riot of color and texture. Here you can see a broccoli plant in the foreground with red mustard flowering in yellow, behind it you can see the peony poppies that seed happily throughout the potager.
What’s blooming in your garden this week?
