Hydrangeas As Cut Flowers

I am only beginning to take an active interest in flowers and have started slowly adding plants to my garden. The choice in my local garden centre is over-whelming, and can be expensive, so I am taking my time to build up my collection, thinking about plants for specific purposes.

One desire of mine is to grow flowers for cutting. Having received a beautiful Hydrangea macrophylla Soft Pink Salsa for my birthday, I started experimenting with cutting the tumbling blooms for my pretty beer glass-turned vase (pictured above).

A quick search online brought me to an excellent site on all things hydrangea where I read about the hot water method of prolonging the life of the cut flowers. It works incredibly well and I've gotten almost a week out of some blossoms. Here's what I do:

1. Fill your vase with water.

2. Make yourself a cup of tea and save a cup of boiling water. Leave both in the kitchen.

3. Bring a scissors and a jar of cold water to the garden.

4. Pick a good looking bloom and cut at an angle, leaving enough stem to suit your vase.

5. Put the bloom straight into the cup of cold water and return to the kitchen.

6. Pick any leaves off and sit the bloom into the cup of just boiled water for 30 seconds. The stem will turn brown and this is good. I have found that if I don't leave the bloom in the hot water long enough, the stem won't turn brown and the flower will be wilted the next day. The reason for the hot water is that is removes the thick sap from the stem that prevents the bloom from taking up water. It's a plant that likes a lot of water and the clue is in the name - hydra.

7. Remove from the hot water, pop into your vase and position for all to see.

8. Enjoy your cup of tea while looking at your flower arrangement. I've added a few stalks of lavender to mine.

There's No Such Thing As Bad Weather..

...only bad clothing. This is one of my favourite sayings because being realistic about the climate that you live in is a big step towards a more enjoyable life. Apart from extreme conditions, which thankfully are not a major worry in Ireland, getting out and about should not be hindered by the weather. 

I am very passionate about rain gear. Every one of us, adults and children, should own a proper rain suit and wellingtons. In fact we should all own two sets of each so that one can be kept at a second location (vehicle/work/school). We live in a damp climate - accept it, prepare for it and enjoy it. Keep a bag in the car with a mix of clothes for everyone - warm jacket, rain gear, hats and sun cream! September is exactly the kind of month where you can get any type of weather. We headed to Fota early one morning last week and I couldn't believe how cold it was. Thankfully there were a few jumpers in the car since last winter (never empty the car of clothes no matter now messy it gets!!!) so we were able to wrap up and walk on.


Always by the back door:





Biking in the rain:





Fishing in the rain (that's a painted ray of the beach in Borth, Wales - he went back alive):





Walking in the rain (as you can see I never leave home without my trusty yellow (orange?) rain coat):





Playground in the rain:





Gardening in the rain:





So suit up, boot up and get out!

Growing Broccoli as a Perennial Vegetable

This is purple sprouting broccoli (PSB), planted April last year, which finished in March of this year. I left it in the ground in the hope of saving my seed but when I noticed green growth re-appearing, I decided to try to get a second year's crop from the plant. I didn't give the broccoli any protection over winter, it being a hardy plant, so there really was no work involved in prolonging its life. Aphids are a possible problem, and some of my other brassicas fell victim to them, but this plant escaped which is why it is looking so healthy. At the moment, I am being vigilant about checking for eggs lain by the cabbage white butterfly, which will hatch into hungry caterpillars. These bright yellow eggs are easily spotted on the underside of the leaves, and easily squished! I have an in-depth post about identifying and preventing caterpillar attacks here.

After reading that brassicas are notorious for cross pollinating, and having had brussels sprouts and cauliflowers in the same area, I decided not to save the seed but feel even more excited about the prospect of getting more broccoli. If you have been following my posts, you'll have noticed that PSB was the highlight of my last veg crop and we were eating it for the first few months of the year. Each plant will give you three cuts and it is excellent for freezing. 

I have four new plants that I sowed in April of this year, and if they are all successful, I will have a nice bounty of broccoli again early next year.

Similarly, one of my last year's brussels sprouts plant has healthy re-growth so I am leaving that in the ground also in the hope of winning the double.

I'll update this post in a few months with some new photographs. Hopefully this is the first step in establishing some perennial vegetables in my garden.

*Update*

I'm updating this years too late and without photos but I had totally forgotten about this post until a commentator reminded me. I got a nice crop in year two. Smaller, firmer and more purple heads. I pulled out the plant after the second crop as it was looking haggard but I must try again and go for a third year.