Ranunculus And Peonies Flowering
Hello friends,
Today I wanted to share with you some of the ranunculus and peony plants that flowered in the garden this November, bringing such wonderful colour into the garden after the daffodil and tulip flowers finished, but before the dahlias started flowering this summer.
First up are the ranunculus varieties that I grew from seed last autumn. I bought a bunch of imported seeds from Buds & Bloom, including the varieties French Amandine Purple Jean, Italian Rosa Chairo, Italian Rosa, Italian Pastello 1, Italian Pastello 2, and Italian Bianco Sfumato.
Ranunculus corms are almost impossible to import into New Zealand due to strict biosecurity laws, but seed stocks are much easier to get into the country, which is what Buds & Bloom did last summer this year. Ranunculus plants from seeds are pretty tricky to grow, but I managed to get some germinating in autumn, and then grew them up over the winter, before planting them into the ground very early this spring. It didn't take them very long to grow and begin flowering, and here are a few that I photographed.
The range of colours from the imported ranunculus varieties was just stunning, with lots of pastel marshmallow like colours, and the flowers themselves were just very soft and squishy, perfect for cutting and then putting into a vase to enjoy inside the home.
Flowering at the same time were all my unknown peony varieties. Most of them were already in the garden when we moved here in 2019, and a couple of others are peonies that I bought but then have moved a couple of times over the years, and now I can't remember any of their names...
I leave them to flower in the garden rather than bringing them inside our home because hubby and my allergies are too severe to tolerate them, and also we have two very bitey indoor cats (Missy and Rosie) who would love to eat them if the blooms were brought inside.
I also have three new peonies growing this year, Duchesse de Nemours, Dr Alexander Fleming, and Sarah Bernhardt, but it will be a few years before they will be flowering and putting on a show in the garden. I can't wait to see them bud and bloom in a couple of years time...
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
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Kahikatea Farm Soapwort Plant Order
Hello friends,
After failing once again to grow my own Soapwort plant from seed this year, it was time to source the plant from somewhere else.
I've been very keen for a while now to grow Soapwort so I can harvest the plant material to turn it into my own natural gentle soap solution for cleaning, and also for washing fabrics around the house. Soapwort solutions are used by museums and art galleries to clean works of art and fabrics, and a Soapwort washing solution has even been used to clean the Bayeux tapestry in the past.
After searching the internet, I found that Kahikatea Farm had Soapwort seedlings for sale, as well as some other natural dye plants on my wish list. Not wanting to waste empty space in the courier box, I put in an order for other natural dye plants including Woad, Dyer's Chamomile, White Yarrow, and Meadowsweet.
When the box arrived, and the plants were removed from their packaging safe and sound, it was time to label them with waterproof labels, and plant them out in the natural dye garden.
My Soapwort plant has lots of stems growing, so hopefully I can harvest some this growing season.
I bought a replacement Woad plant after losing the one I had growing in the garden, when I transplanted it into the new natural dyeing bed in winter this year.
I also invested in a Dyer's Chamomile plant, and I'm excited to harvest the flowers and then dye with them, so I can produce warm yellow natural dye tones this growing season.
I bought a white Yarrow plant for natural dyeing after watching Jente's YouTube Channel "Mijn Wolden". Jente is a spinner, natural dyer, and knitter from Belgium, and she is one of my favorite crafting YouTubers. If you want to have a good time watching a friendly neighbourhood chaos goblin and her fiber shenanigans (in her words), you need to follow Jente. In a recent episode on her vlog, Jente natural dyed yarn with Yarrow to produce yellow and dark green tones (using an iron bath).
And finally I bought a Meadowsweet seedling for the garden. Meadowsweet is a perennial herb that prefers to grow in damp conditions, and it has frothy clusters of cream-white flowers and a sweet scent. It has a number of natural medicinal uses, as it contains aspirin like compounds, but I really just like the plant in general, and wanted to add it to my garden.
With all these seedlings now planted into the garden, I look forward to seeing them grow, and harvest plant material from them over the summer.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
Want to discuss my post? Feel free to chat with me on Instagram or Mastodon or Bluesky, and now also Facebook.
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