Bloom where you are planted

Taking thyme to plant herbs is time well spent


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Sage is an attractive useful herb


Hi R
I loved your blog re the end of summer  -  changing of the seasons is a truly glorious time. We are coming out of our relatively mild winter compared to yours but we actually do it tough since we ignore the short sharp cold months and heat inadequately. I adore the warm soft sun during these magical days before the heat. Today was a glorious day which had to be spent pottering in the garden. 

My garden is quite Tuscan with rosemary now growing well and flowering; thyme as a ground cover, sage growing wild and lavender of course. Most flowers seem to be of lavender hue and this year I have let the violets grow wild, creating a significant ground cover. 

 Potted geraniums and pergonias flower constantly, gardenias struggle for some reason even though neighbours plants produce beautiful blooms. Reminds me of a saying that a friend and I had – “Bloom where you are planted,” we would quote then break into song on the way to The Rowers, where they had a band every Sunday evening. A well deserved break from the relentlessness of single parenting, dancing and socialising until the wee small hours of 9pm when we turned into pumpkins.

There is a growing community awareness here re the value of growing your own herbs and vegetables, with community gardens springing up on nature strips. In Italy, it is a very serious business to have a strip of land in a community garden and the family lives off the yield. Not quite sure if we have the same commitment yet, since when walking the neighbourhood, a few attempts seem to have ended with what looks like abandonment as weeds take over. One wonders whether the enthusiasm died or whether a few were expected to do the work of many – hopefully with spring in the air they will be revisited.
Clara of green fingers

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