It pays to have friendly acquaintances in high places. For gardeners, those people can be plant lovers working at local garden centres. Canny gardeners get to know them.
Lily is one of those helpful and inspiring contacts. On my most recent visit to her place of work she looked up, saw me, and announced with enthusiasm, 鈥淭he microclover is in!鈥� I鈥檇 inquired about microclover in the spring. She remembered.
Microclover is a small-leaved, low-growing form of white Dutch clover that produces fewer flowers than regular white Dutch clover does. I had found packages of a middle type, sold simply as low-growing white Dutch clover, early in the summer. That seed was inexpensive.
Microclover is costly. I paid $30 for a 227-gram (eight-ounce) package. The seeds are prilled (coated) to help ensure easy, even distribution. Microclover is most commonly mixed with grass seed for lawn seeding or over-seeding, but because my aim is to seed microclover mainly in areas where the grass thrives only minimally, I鈥檒l be over-seeding with the microclover alone.
The pricey seed calls for efficiencies in its use. I鈥檒l mix it first with some sort of carrier that will both enhance even distribution and help to nurture seedling growth and soil health.
As soon as temperatures begin to cool and the rains begin, I plan to rake the lawn well, cut it short, and pre-mix the microclover seeds with bagged coconut fibre and either fish compost or planting mix before scattering the blend, lightly raking it in, and watering gently.
September is an ideal month for seeding and over-seeding lawns.
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Growing kindness. Grower-vendors at farmers鈥� markets can be more than generous with information about their seed sources, preferred varieties and planting times. Every Saturday morning I听scan the produce at my local market, and stop for brief chats with the growers I鈥檝e come to know. I often have questions, and sometimes they have a question for me to answer or research.
I鈥檝e noticed in the past few years that several of the growers have become increasingly impressed with seeds from Johnny鈥檚 Selected Seeds (JSS). One grower routinely displays the catalogue鈥檚 gorgeous 鈥淪alanova鈥� lettuces (rosette, oakleaf, crispleaf) in both red and green. I鈥檝e found the Salanova Home Garden Mix easy to grow, beautiful in the garden, and colourful in salads.
I never miss stopping by Elsa鈥檚 stall, which features gluten-free baking and seasonal vegetables and fruit. She also sells large, stunning bouquets of flowers that I always examine closely and often ask about variety names. I鈥檝e been enchanted by a dark red sunflower called Red Hedge (JSS).
I also noticed orange and yellow daisy type flowers that looked almost like sunflowers. They were extraordinarily showy calendulas, also from JSS. The week after I inquired about them, as I began choosing purchases at Elsa鈥檚 stall, she said: 鈥淚 have something for you.鈥� She presented me with seeds she鈥檇 saved from the calendula varieties I鈥檇 admired.
鈥楶rincess Mix鈥� bears large flowers in both yellow and orange, each double flower with a听broad, cushioned centre. 鈥楢lpha鈥� bears clear, bright orange flowers. I鈥檓 looking forward to growing both.
I did try a new (to me) calendula this year 鈥� Zeolights, from West Coast Seeds. It鈥檚 a fully double beauty in pinky-orange. The plants鈥� short, 30-centimetre height makes this calendula ideal for edging. Another favourite calendula of recent years is Victoria Sunset, from Veseys Seeds. This is a lovely cut flower with large, burnt-orange double blooms on听45-听to 60-centimetre stems.
I like how calendulas perpetuate themselves in gardens, bringing a long season of care-free, cheery blooms. And the petals are edible. They are lovely scattered on salads.
This is a centuries-old flower. The 16th century herbalist John Gerard reported that grocers in Holland kept barrels of the dried petals on hand for many uses. In his time, no broth, soup or stew was considered well made without the dried petals. Hence calendula鈥檚 common name: pot marigold.
A friend and I recently visited Elsa鈥檚 farm and marvelled at the orchards, berry fields, vegetable plots, and rows of flowers for cutting. Her workload is crushing, as it is for many of our local growers. That one would take time to听gather seed as a gift for a customer is impressive.
