"Weeds are flowers too.....once you get to know them" wrote the man famous for inventing the loveable Pooh Bear. The man was probably a gardener. Only a gardener will see as much value in a weed as others see in a flower or fruit tree. Some of the most potent healing plants in my first aid are classified by many as weeds. Dandelion, stinging nettle and milk thistle are among my favourites. We would do well to re-classify them Wildflowers!. After all, who decided that a lettuce or carrot was no longer a weed but food?! Then there's Aloe. In my herb loving mind Aloe is as much an incredible healer as a herb is. Aloe is nurtured in our gardens like roses are for the "Garden and Home" manicured landscapes. So much so that my Aloes are my "selfie" contribution, for @riverflows ;)
My chickens trashed my new bed of veggie seedlings that were showing their dainty green heads - I decided to shift focus for a while. Not to a roast chicken but to clean-up the more negelcted parts of the homestead. We were recently blessed with FIFTY mm of life giving rain. A miracle for our semi-desert farming area. Overnight the world has greened up. But the weeds (Wildflower and unwanted) have also exploded.
Thorn trees thrive in our garden. We had to climb in and prune quite severely. Even as I type my hands are aching from days worth of hard labour among the thorns and thistles. The worst is those that sneak up on you. While working in the gardens cleaning up one inevitably grabs a handful of young thorn trees coming up among the herbs. It is a nasty surprise. My hands feel like the back of a hedgehog!
The stinging nettle had to be brought back under control. As much as I love it for its healing properties, it still needs to know its place! A stroll through the garden paths and around the fruit trees is no fun when a young bush of stinging nettle sneaks up to bite you at every second step!
There were a couple thorn trees that have overcrowded valuable growing space - as I said they thrive in this area - they had to go! It was a huge job.
Just when I was questioning the value of those unloveable Wildflowers - or in this instance - Wild Trees! FarmerBuckaroo climbed in with a chainsaw.
Much to the disgust of Maggie-the-escape-artist, we discovered her stash of eggs. Hidden deep inside the thorn trees.
This Spring's #gardenjournal has been fraught with challenges. I have been severely challenged in my love of weeds. However we have also learned some exciting new lessons. Our neighbour brought a few bottles of plum cuttings from his trees, in exchange for some cuttings from our plum trees. His theory is that it is the easier form of cross-pollination. The bees were as fascinated by the swinging vases as we were!
Because of the return of the rain to the area we are finally reconnecting a lot of our gardens. This was half of the reason for the clean-up. We have designated neglected areas that are going to be reinstated as herb gardens - happy dance. Also ..... drum roll .... We have started planting trees!!!
I have been beyond excited to find that so many of my herbs have been dormant for years. In the gardens that we cleaned up huge patches of yarrow, wild rocket, echinacea, wild garlic and evening primrose is coming up. The old, blocked sprinklers are being replaced.
Where the irrigation pipes have baked in the sun for years, the sprinklers once again water my gardens. Maybe this month, if my naughty chickens promise to behave, I may plant them a new garden too. We discovered a new and local heirloom seed company. It is small but their seeds are wonderful! We have had high germination with them, unlike (sadly) the better known companies. Another homesteading friend gifted me with some peanuts for the gardens, which the BuckarooBabies are excited to plant. And then there are my special medjool dates I've been saving for a couple years. This is the year for planting!!!!
While we savour the sweet colours and scent of blossoming pomegranate, apricot, fig and peach trees I wonder what challenges other gardener's are having? How have you tamed your gardens? For this month's #gardenjournal how about your own post of your wintery homesteading challenges @alexanderfarm? And the life of a gardener in the city @craigcryptoking?
"What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have never been discovered" Ralph Waldo Emmerson.
This is all very exciting!!! So, the jars of blossoms act like mini trees for cross pollination? That's a groovy tip! I wonder - just a thought - what if you put some big aloe leaves in the holes where you plant the trees as a kind of slow release hugelculture water system? I know they do that with the nopal cactus in some parts of the world....
Lol. Funny story. My English husband, new to Australia, never knew what he might find in the back yard. Emptying out the bird bath in the native grass patch, he found a pile of - what are these!! are they snake eggs?!!!! - no, honey, they are ordinary eggs. Laughed for about three weeks. We now call eggs 'sneggs' - snake eggs. Oh my giddy aunt.
Glad to see lots of exciting things happening in your garden!
That is hilarious!
Thank you for the tip. I'm going to try it. If it works it would be feeding all sorts of minerals into the trees as well.
You make me long for more space, a different climate, a camera, and even thorns!!!
There's plenty of thorns to go around! How's the new garden? You settling in? Had any time with your hands in new soil?
This sounds like my garden, currently. It's a bit of a jungle in need of taming and I keep finding little surprises in my attempts to tame it, while feeding things to the rabbits.
I've featured you in this week's Garden Journal Weekly.
Thank you so much for the feature!
Jungle type gardens are probably a common challenge for gardeners
What a wonderful post! So many things. The look on Maggie-the-escape-artist's face as you discovered her eggs is just classic. Or I am reading too much in it 🤣 either way.
It is amazing how so-called weeds can be life-giving but when left untamed they can just take over and destroy. I have some weeds that cover the fallen gooseberries so the birds and squirrels do not know about my stash, but on the other side, the weeds are killing the weeds I want to grow haha. The amaranth is being overtaken by black medic and other weeds.
How is your experience with wild rocket? My normal salad rocket is nice because it dies every summer. But the wild rocket is perennial as I understand it and its seeds are busy spreading through my whole garden. When I started eating wild rocket I wished for a whole garden full of it, now my wish has come true the garden is overflowing with this "weed". Although I cook with it almost daily! It is still yummy.
Thank you @fermentedphil. You are definitely not reading into anything. You have interpreted that bird brain accurately. She was so disgusted with us that she has made her nest elsewhere. We had a good laugh at her face when she discovered us discovering her secret!
Wild rocket is fabulous! The "tamed" table version is far milder in taste. But as you say dies back. My wild rocket, I am happy to say, has almost taken over in some of my gardens. I love it because we also eat it daily. I've never cooked with it though. Doesn't it lose that bite when heated? What meals do you cook it in?
It is so cute that we could share in her disgusted face! I would have felt the same 😅
I haven't cooked with wild rocket yet. I mainly use them for salads, garnishing and pestos. They make awesome pesto! I made one last week with pasta. Insanely flavorful sauce. But normal salad rocket, they grow so big in my garden, almost twice the size of my hands sometimes. I cook them like I cook spinach. I use them to make a vegetarian/vegan lasagne. They change flavor due to the cooking, but the end product is so much more flavorful than spinach.
Thanks for sharing! I can imagine it would be a more intense flavour than spinach! I'm going to try it.
Wow it's so fascinating to see all the differences between our farms and gardens. The nest of eggs is my favourite part. That, we have in common. 😜
Wonderful post!!!
We have our own Maggie here too, she stashes her eggs inside a similar spot! Smart ladies!!!
The plum cutting, I will steal this, brilliant! Let me know if it works.
No stealing necessary! It was given for free....I give it to you for free....after all you are walking a long way you can do with some freebies
Hahahah I was like "walking a long way?" and then it hit "ooooooh" 😄