Weeds

How to tell the difference between a weed and a plant

That’s easy – the weeds are the ones that need a pickaxe and crowbar to get out of the ground and the treasured plants are the ones that leap out of the soil as you approach and then refuse to be re-planted!    Another way to tell the difference is to see what gets nibbled by rabbits – they seem to leave the weeds alone.

A busy day in the garden pulling out nettles taller than me along with bindweed, sticky weed and couch grass.  However with arms covered in nettle stings it’s good to have a look around the garden and find that in fact there are still some really nice plants growing that are looking fabulous at the moment.  Favourite at the moment is Papaver Patty’s Plum, a lovely dusky shade of purple.  I’m trying to ignore one oriental poppy bought as Patty’s Plum which has turned out to be a very bright shade of orangey/red.   I keep meaning to dig it up but haven’t yet had the heart to do so,  maybe just cutting the flowers off would help.   Cistus x corbariensis is a lovely shrub, absolutely huge and covered in the most perfect white flowers with yellow centres.   The flowers open each morning as the sun comes out and the bush literally hums with the sound of our honey bees foraging.  The first flush of alliums have now finished flowering but the decorative heads will complement everything around them for the rest of the season but there are still plenty more to come and those currently in flower are spectacular.