Notwithstanding the frost outside, it is time to sow a group of flowers that appreciate light. I guess these are all seeds that land on the soil surface over winter and just wait for the heat and light of spring.
Here's my best attempt to mimic nature. Top level (The lower level represents my more brazen attempts to steal a march with things loke basil, cosmos and peppers.)
I never cease to be amazed by the early flowers. Amazed and filled with excitement and surprise that it is still January.
The witchhazel is in full bloom. I am glad I didn't try to move it in the winter.
Hellebore
I repotted this garden rescue last summer and it is now paying back by flowering for the first time in years. (Now I just need to find a spot where it will be happy planted out).
All this activity makes me realise that I am already at risk of falling behind in my preparations for the 2023 growing season.
January flowers are such a rare thing. Thank goodness for the witch hazel
Winter Flowering Cherry
and Winter Jasmine
The bulbs are sprouting green leaves but not even the snowdrop will manage to put in an appearance before January is out.
And on the subject of bulbs I have this week planted 3 rows of garlic at the allotment (to add to the autumn sown ones). Back indoors I have sown 32 broad beans into deep root trainers. These will go into the greenhouse once they emerge and on to the allotment in due course. Yes spring is just around the corner. Next week will be busy now that I have looked out my seeds for early sowing! (Leeks, onions, shallots, tomatoes and chilli, as well as lobelia .
Allotments are anomalous. Neither country nor town but a bit of both. Some of the most dramatic displays are accidental.
These flowers are probably scorzonera (Scorzonera hispanica) in its second year, although "World flora" thinks rough hawksbeard (Crepis bienis) is more likely.
They are also a halfwayhouse for plants that wouldn't fit into a small town garden but can be given room here. Lysmaachia punctata, Large loosestrife can be a bit of a bully in an ornamental border, but has found a place on the bank of the burn where it can outcompete the geraniums and nettles. Did it get here as a garden escapee or was it given a helping hand?
Now here was a nice surprise in the corner of a neighbour's plot. I couldn't resist taking a snap to identify it as Jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruticose) when I got home. You would need a lot of space to fit this into a garden planting plan. Maybe it was a garden reject or maybe it just appeared and was tolerated.
There's a lot more going on at allotment sites than the formal rows of vegetables, and the place is a lot richer for it. The pollinators are definitely in favour of a more laissez faire approach.
Yesterday I came across these two, the first wildflowers of the year.
Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna), also known as pilewort. William Wordsworth's favourite wildflower, he devoted three poems to it and even chose it to be depicted on his gravestone. (Sadly the stonemason's template was for the similarly named but unrelated Greater Celandine - Chelidonium majus. To this day the imposter persists.
The second new arrival is the flower of Coltsfoot. Tussilago farfara. In this case the flowering stalk emerges from unseen rhizomes before the leaves. It is the shape of the leaves that give it it's common name. The latin name comes from its reputation for easing coughs. Tussis = cough.
Both have a foothold on the grassy bank of the Union Canal that links Edinburgh to Falkirk.
It is raining today so I am looking back over the pictures I have taken in the wildflower meadow which was sown last autumn. It is ready for hay harvest now but before the chop here are some of the residents when they were in their flowering prime, No names - just enjoying the shapes and colours.
Corn Marigold
Kidney Vetch
And here is a picture of the meadow which has provided all the above:
Anyone familiar with my blog will be aware that I have progressed from the "If you can't eat it don't grow it" school. In recent times, most directly from my involvement in the school (where they have about 10 tubs in the playground) I have taken up flowers from seed with a renewed vigour. Lobelia, Marigolds, Cineraria have become trusted annuals. Getting more adventurous I have become more ambitious of late. Here's a couple of challenges I am revisiting.
Coleus seedlings
Strictly speaking these are leaves not flowers, but you know what I mean. Last year I tried to grow these and they failed completely. It was either the cold summer or the slugs or both. I am reassured by Endah's recent post illustrating that the natural home for these is the tropics. So I am keeping these in the greenhouse with high humidity.
Another import that is behaving strangely is Linaria Spanish Dancer. Two different sprouts appeared, one with pointy leaves the other rounded.
My first thought was that I had double sowed with two different flowers
But these were transplanted seedlings and even I am not as daft as to do that. Besides the result is consistent for a whole tray!
I will be keeping an eye on these as they progress. You learn something new every year.
This year I have deployed conventional light to stop my seedlings getting too leggy. It seems to be working for these annuals which currently have light but no extra heat. (The lights are located in our coal cellar). New this year is a new LED light setup. It is made up of small red and blue lights which explains the funny colour of these pics:
But it seems to work for tomatoes:
and peppers:
Outside in the (unheated) greenhouse transplanted lobelia ...
...and other hardier plants...
Leeks
...have rapidly been moved on after tricking them into germinating indoors!
Broad Beans
It is always a juggling act finding protected space once seedlings require transplanting into bigger containers. The greenhouse is the last resort and offers shelter from wind and rain/hail/snow but is no protection from the cold. I have a paraffin heater at the ready and will be keeping a watchful eye out for any sub zero predicted overnight temperature once the non hardy plants take up residence.
