herbs and wildflowers..

I would like to see a section for herbs and wildflowers...some of the wildflowers are getting rare and they are really lovely and its a shame for them to be forgotton..

 

Agree, lovely idea - just feel guilty that I am not into that - yet!

 

There are some particularly lovely "wildflowers" (or weeds to many) - fumitories, or fumaria - I'm off to a workshop in Edinburgh in August about recognising them, and mapping where in the entire UK they are growing. Apparently nobody who has mapped them in England has done it right!! So, all of you in England, how about going to that workshop and standing up for England!! :D :D :D

 

nixon..they are not weeds. the colours of the flowers are lovely..true colours not man made...its a shame they are all dissapearing..I only get the common ones where i live so i grow the ones that are less common...I just buy mixed packets from suffolk herbs and its allways a lovely surprise as you dont know what is going to emerge..and its good as their is allways seed from them to feed the birds ..and they attract butterflys and the garden is like a sanctuary in the town...

 

I am planning to do a section of wildflowers in my garden during my refurb this summer. It iwll be a patch of about 10ft x 15ft.. Any tips for planting and subsequent care, WF?

 

Depends what kind of wildflower area you are thinking of - and be aware that they change as the strongest ones develop. A good book I found was the National Trust book of Wild Flower Gardening.

I planted a wild flower bed - and a lot of pleasure watching it change. Didn't do as was recommended - just scattered seed of field poppy, corn marigold, cornflower, foxglove, oxe eye daisies, red campion, corn cockle, - over a prepared bed - adding pot grown mint (in container) marjoram, thyme and rosemary. The first year it was the yellow and red of the corn marigold and poppy, the second year white and pink with the foxgloves and red campion and ox eye daisies made a splash. However by year four, the ox eye daisies had started to take over - a habit of theirs, and the dog rose I had interplanted with hawthorne, and wichhazel as a hedge also had to be addressed.

It is now evolving with my encouragement into a small woodland garden - the birds love it. I must admit its the part of the garden I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of its evolution - but not perhaps the best way to grow a wild flower garden :D .

My advise to you - browse the photographs of wild flower gardens, and then decide the type you want. John Chambers was the mail order supplier I used for most of my wild flower seeds. If you like I could post some piccies of mine over time.

 

Wildflower - I didn't say they were weeds!! re-read my post!! I like most of them, or I wouldn't be going on that course!!

 

dave in his garden..hi you could grow some of the larger wildflowers ..the mullein..dyers woad is great ..and angelica is magnificent when in flower..and buy some packets of mixed wild flower and herb seeds from norfolk herbs..they have lots of varietys in theirs ..much better than the ones you can buy in supermarkets...I like grasses as well...also i like to grow things that are usefull...such as...comfrey...mint...rosemary..marigold...st johns wort..valerian and milk thistle..as i then harvest them to make things...I also like loosestrife and bergamots..but i usually start those off in the greenhouse..echinacea is a lovely plant to have in the border..i also like the ones that do look like weeds the mustards etc.....NIXON..i was joking with you i have lots of weeds chickweed in particular drives me mad..i keep removing it and i can see loads of it again now but its freezing so it will have to wait for another week...its the scourge of my garden...i also have feverfew growing in every nook and cranny but thats usefull if anyone gets a headache so it can stay...dont plant wild chamomile if you are a tidy gardener as i have that growing everywhere also...but i dry that and its nice to drink...

 

Lovely smell, feverfew - but a real pain at times!

 

Hi wildflower, please tell me how to make a camomile tea that's anything other than vile to drink- tastes like rotting hay... I usually add lime and honey but this makes it tolerable, not nice- if you've any hints I'd be greatful as it works well! :(
Agree about feverfew.

 

liz...I dont put anything in my chamomile tea i like it when i pick them fresh and make it straight away.. all though i do dry some for winter use..perhaps you just dont like the taste..or if you have raspberry or blackcurrant bushes you could try adding a few leaves from them chopped up of course and see if it tastes better then...beware of too much raspberry its laxative..

 

Have to agree with liz on the rotting hay! :D
But I suppose (after reading wildflower's post) like everything else, the supermarket version is naff.

Wildflower, my only truly useful plant is an aloe vera, and found it very good for skin problems, cuts and abrasions etc., and wouldn't be without it. Suppose you wouldn't consider it a wildplant, as it's not native?

So please tell us about your useful plants, the first 3, fair enough, marigold - are you just using it as a pest repellant, or an ointment? (I understand a surgeon used it very successfully in the American civil war for treating wounds)

But the rest, what do you do with those and what are they used for?
Excuse me, but I am dying to know!

 

well i make comfrey and rosemary foot ointment ..its cured peoples foot ailments so its been popular..last year i made some st john wort oil and mixed it with rosemary into a cream it cured my friends eczema..sometimes i make mint and comfrey ointment it depends on whatever i take into my head..i made some marigold and chamomile ointment which is good for sunburn or minor rashes..chickweed is good for arthritis...i also made some nettle and cinnamon ointment which someone said was good for their knees..i picked my hops and made hop and lavender pillows to slide in the pillowcase..thats supposed to make you sleep...i grow milk thistle and grind the seeds and make my own milk thistle tea thats good for the liver or if you have eaten a lot of rich food...lemon balm is restfull dried and stored in jars as a tea...i make wine with my elderberrys..and i blackberry pick for wine also..i make comfrey plant food..."that smells really FRESH".the majority of herb tea you buy in the supermarket is mass produced in poly tunnels on the continent..its all artificially grown and never sees the sun or the earth..its not as good as growing and picking your own ..i love dandelion tea it is also good for the liver and water retention....as long as you pick from clean places not by the road or factorys it will be fine..I shall be picking and making things all summer..."when summer arrives""..i never decide what i am going to do as i am not organised i just do things on the spur of the moment...i buy beeswax to bind the ointments..

 

wildflower, don't stop now for goodness sake!!!
I was just getting started!
Particularly interested in the chickweed; does it require much space to grow and how do you prepare it at harvesting?

I think you have opened a whole new can of worms here! What do others think?

 

chickweed is awfull its spreading everywhere ..i spent three hours last year just weeding it as if it flowers it spreads all over...well i must have missed some as its back keeping the chives company..as thats all thats blooming in this cold weather..if you grew some hyssop you could make a tea with that as its good for coughs and respiratory complaints..hyssop is also attractive in the garden..if you grow chives the leaves are mildly antiseptic you just chop and sprinkle on food..if you buy a lemon verbena plant you can get them from barwinnock herbs for about �£2 well the leaves on that are really scented and make a lovely drink..these herbal teas taste better fresh but you have to dry some for the winter..what sort of plants are you thinking about? medicinal? or just scented plants?if you are thinking of having usefull plants make sure you get some rosemary..its antibacterial..antifungal..and it helps poor circulation if rubbed into joints..last summer i made some mullein ciggarettes they were brilliant i stunk the house out as they smelled a bit fresh..but i shall dry extra this year and have my own tobbacco supply..tell me what you are thinking of and i will see if i can help...i am very interested in herbs that were used in the olden days i dyed one of my husbands shirts last summer it came out a lovely shade of pink..he wasnt amused..i have an elderberry tree in my garden and that is really usefull as you can make medicine with the berrys that keep flu away..