I’m by no means an expert gardener, quite the opposite but I’m learning. I live in rented accommodation so while I have outside space, I’m keeping my garden portable!
I started buying plants and pots to put them in when I was off work last year. I started with the herbs thyme and rosemary, two of my favourites that I use in cooking. I’ll be honest, the first thyme plant I bought died. No idea why, but it did. Thankfully the second thyme plant is still going strong. My rosemary is growing well and I think it’ll need a bigger pot this year.
My next purchase was lavender. This was a very deliberate choice as lavender can reduce anxiety. I first tried sowing lavender seeds and trying to germinate them. The odds were against me succeeding, according to what I read online but I tried anyway. I didn’t succeed. By this time, there were loads of lavender plants to buy. I love the contrast of the gorgeous purple flowers and the blue glazed terra-cotta pot that I bought to put it in. It smells divine too when it is in flower. Another big plus is that the bees love it!
After the lavender, I bought hypericum hidcote – St John’s Wort. This reminds me of my childhood. I love the scented leaves and the lovely bright yellow flowers. There’s loads of them in my local area. I initially tried taking cuttings from my neighbour’s plant but they didn’t take. Finding somewhere to buy one was a real challenge. None of the garden centres locally had it, in the end, I bought a plant online.(Its one that doesn’t typically do well in pots but so far, so good.)
My later additions were dianthus (cottage pink variety) which have the most gorgeous scent and were another big hit with the bees and a variety of violas that are bright and cheerful, even now in January; I have vibrant orange flowers, purples, blues, yellow and gorgeous cream and indigo flowers. Below them, I’ve planted daffodils. I need to wait till March to see them bloom but it’s exciting waiting.
My plan for this year is to try growing mint, it does well in pots as it tends to spread and takeover a space. I also want to grow coriander on my kitchen windowsill. Its one of my favourite herbs. So fingers crossed, before too long, I’ll be able to grow my own from seed.
I also want to add more bee friendly plants. So far on my wish list are; Cornflowers, forget me nots and for 2021, I’ll plant both snowdrop and bluebells. I’d love to plant honeysuckle too but it’s another one that isn’t suited to being in a pot so I’ll have to wait for that one.
