by Meg Lynch, Editor
I have a couple perennials in my small front garden, but mostly I like to use this space to experiment with annuals. This year I designed my plan around sherbet flavors—lemon, orange, raspberry, watermelon. I ordered seeds of annuals that fit this color scheme.
But this year the garden just didn’t work out as I planned. (I mentioned that to my co-worker Jill yesterday and she said, “Well isn’t that what happens in gardening?” Good point!) It started out well. I won’t get into my excuses for why it all went downhill. They’re pretty typical—maybe you’ve used them too.
At this point, all I have is the pair of perennials (Helenium ‘Mardi Gras’ and Coreopsis ‘Limerock Dream’) and the Johnny-jump-ups that self-sowed.
But I also have nasturtiums! Indian cress nasturtiums, or Tropaeolum majus, the only part of my seed order to survive the summer (knock on wood). I think I sowed three seeds to a hole. I know I didn’t thin the seedlings when they sprouted, as I should have. But that seems a happy thing now, because the plants take up a good amount of space that would otherwise be empty. Their big leaves, which I love, hide a lot of bare ground. And they just started blooming over the weekend.
Some of the flowers are bright orange and some are golden orange, with nice markings in their throats. Nasturtiums are edible but I won’t be trying these because they grow right at the edge of the road. Tropaeolum majus is a climbing type of nasturtium, but I’ve been letting mine ramble instead of tying it up.
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