Kitchen Window Garden
Inspired by the Spring Equinox, I decided to plant a windowsill garden in my kitchen to really feel like spring is on it’s way. I have been saving yogurt containers, and potted them up to sow lettuce and spinach, using the lids as bases to catch dripping through the holes I poked in their bottoms. In a one gallon container, I sowed a 1/4 package of ‘Cherry Belle’ radishes.
Within 4 days of planting, I have all kinds of things sprouting, even one lonely spinach seedling, which I wasn’t expecting germination from for a least another 2 weeks. In about 27 days, I will have fresh lettuce and radishes, and spinach in about 45 days. Soon I will be starting my tomatoes and squash and direct sowing my carrots and other goodies in my patio garden.
Bees Love Echinops, And Other Love Stories
Happy Valentine’s Day Calgary! In the spirit, I thought I’d share a little love story between bees and the perennial you love to hate, Globe Thistle.
Also known as Echinops, this ugly duckling of blue-blooming perennials really does look like its namesake until the flowers begin to form in early summer. Its fierce thorny leaves crouch in the garden as they slowly grow to great size in a mound of fuzzy grey-green fury. By late August though, a gorgeous array of blue ball-shaped flowers adorn tough upright stalks, giving any sunny spot a burst of color through September. Despite their wicked appearance, the flowers themselves are quite soft and full of pollen and nectar, leaving the bees and butterflies and hummingbirds fighting over them in a swoon.
Self seeding and vigorous in a variety of soil conditions, Echinops is not for the faint-hearted gardener as it can take over its immediate surroundings in a short period of time. However, the payoff is a swarm of happy activity and color in late summer when most other blooms fade.
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