Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Safflower and Milkweed

Why do you want to grow those things again?

Because they're DIFFERENT!

But they look like weeds, the thorns on the leaves pinch, and then the flowers dry up and ...

I said they're different.  Besides, we've got the seeds.  Why not grow weird plants?

I have basil growing in my garden so I can make pizza.  Green onion in pots make so much that even I can't eat it all.  My Rosemary has grown into a carpet of green.  I have banana plants in a pot that are taller than I am by a solid two feet that I need to break into separate pots for gifts. I can't give away my spare coleus or mango trees.  There are peanuts growing all over the place...

Yes, PEANUTS!  As in Jimmy Carter's pride!

And the conversation petered off at the end.  People let their artichokes grow all the time and they end up with a big purple poof that looks like the yellow safflower blossoms.

Beauty is where you find it.  No, I mean YOU find it.  I may not agree, so don't let that hold you back.  Be creative.  Grow what you like, especially if you like it on a pizza.

Gardening here is simple, drop a seed, it grows.  It may grow out of control.  Up North, that hardy Asparagus Fern you grow in your bathroom.  Down here, it is a noxious and invasive weed.  I can't understand why someone wants all those thorns growing inside their house anyway.

But they like it.  *sigh*

So I'll grow a few more oil seeds in my garden.  The flower bloomed, and stayed intact. I put the dried flower in a plastic bag, rolled it between my hands, and got more seeds.

You might ask where I get safflower seeds?  We ordered something electronic online.  It showed up saying that it was shipped from Bahrain of all places. 

Bahrain?  Don't they usually sell products in barrels?  Crude Oil?  Safflower oil too I guess.  There has to be a reason why you live where you do for centuries, so enjoy.

I put some seeds in the front garden and watched.  Landscapers came by and raked them up.  I put more seeds down and will "box" them off with old roof tiles.  They are good at figuring that all out.

I hope.

As for the Milkweed, well it was in the pot first.  It made it to the seed pod because the Monarchs never discovered it.  I carpet bombed the neighborhood with milkweed seeds where ever they were left to grow from the last time I did that.  The butterflies will enjoy that,  they're back already eating the daylights out of what is in my yard.

Now, if I can only figure out how to squeeze inside my hedge so I can plant that variegated hibiscus to fill in some bare spots, I may be getting my flowers back!

1 comment:

  1. A few days ago while sitting outside doing my favorite thing,looking across the yard where there are some milkweed growing, I noticed a groundhog making his way to one of the plants. I thought he was just trying hide from me. But he stood up ,snagged a leaf and commenced to eat the leaves off it. He packed in several of them before he got nervous and left. I did not know of anything that would eat a milkweed plant....New to me

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