I’m not going to talk about the weather save to say after sweltering heat we had some rain and today is very humid. The rain clouds, as they pass overhead, clearly shrug and think “Nah, we’ll give Emsworth a miss”.
Today my Six on Saturday is featuring the produce of an old butterfly seed mat I found at the bottom of my garden box. I’ve never used seed mats before and it was past its ‘use by’ date, but nothing ventured and nothing wasted in a garden! I found a small patch of ground just inside the driveway to our apartment block and laid my mat according to the instructions.
1. Butterfly Mat
I stuck the empty box on a post next to the border so that the residents would know what was going to be growing there, and I hadn’t just dug up a small patch of soil for the sake of it. The seeds took a long time to germinate and I almost thought it was a no go but slowly plants started to appear. The mat was not that large so I didn’t expect all the varieties listed to appear but there has been a good selection in a patch that measures 60cms x 120cms. There is a large Cosmos, along with about 5 other small plants, yet to flower so not that easy to identify. Others in flower are cornflowers and marigolds, none are very large and having grown them in past years I know they could reach grow quite tall but as we are in the middle of August, I doubt they will achieve their full height this year.
2. Amaranthus
This is a prime example of not growing into a tall plant. I grew Amaranthus from seed in my Worthing garden and it reached 5ft if not taller with wonderful red plume like flowers, a very striking plant. If it doesn’t flower I won’t see it next year, but that’s life in the garden for you. I know it was grown as a grain (Amaranth) in the States and also used as a dye for food colouring, which they have now banned.
3. Ammi Majus
Ammi can grow to about 100cms, sadly this one is only about 70cms. I have just realised the varieties listed on the seed box are given their common names, this one is called ‘Bishop’s Flower’.
4. Candytuft
I love this little flower and is a great one to start children off when introducing them into growing garden flowers. It is growing under the Ammi so there is a cloud of white in the border. Hopefully it will establish itself and keep appearing year on year.
5. Fennel (I think!) Dill
UPDATE: since writing this My Tiny Welsh Garden suggested it could be Dill. She was quite right and had I even thought to sniff it first I would have known. Trouble is Dill is so pungent I cant stop the smell now!
This looks very like a fennel flower but is growing on long thin stems next to the Ammi and looks like a yellow Ammi. However, when I used PlantSnap, not always to be relied on, it does say this is a Fennel, if you know better please say so. As with the other flowers that are supposed to be tall it is only about 70cms.
6. Echium vulgare
This is the piece de resistance! Part of the borage family, this Echium and absolute picture of violet blue and pink. The bees love it too. Although it’s called a Butterfly Mat, I haven’t seen any fluttering around, however, it is giving a pretty eye-catching area which is attracting admiring eyes from passers by, as well as residents here.
Six on Saturday is a weekly meme hosted byThe Propagator . Lots of people contribute to it so please hop over to his blog and take a look at what is growing in his garden and other gardens around the country and even abroad.
