Winter Solstice
Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 11:46AM "Deep at the bottom of the well no warmth has yet returned,
The rain which sighs and feels so cold has dampened withered roots.
What sort of man at such a time would come to visit the teacher?
As this is not a time for flowers, I find I've come alone."
- Su Shi, Visiting the Temple of Auspicious Fortune Alone on the Winter Solstice
It’s time to get those spring flowers started! In an effort to have more varieties of flowers available this spring, I’m trying several flowers I haven’t grown before. Yesterday I seeded a tray of Camelot Digitalis. Digitalis (Foxglove) produces tall (24-30”) flower spikes surrounded by horizontally held bell-shaped flowers with spotted throats.
Quite striking!
Digitalis has been used in herbal remedies as a cure for “dropsy” (a circulatory ailment) for centuries, and today glycosides derived from digitalis are used in many pharmaceutical heart medicines. However, ingesting any part or portion of the plant in its natural form is toxic.
Last season I grew Matthiola (Stock) for the first time and loved it. So this season, I am trying a couple of different varieties. For those of you who bought spring flowers from me, you might remember the stock for it’s fantastic spicy-sweet scent. Stock is a cool season, old-fashioned, english cottage garden flower. I’ve seeded a full tray with six different colors and can’t wait to see how they turn out!
In addition to seedlings, I’ve got some different varieties of bulb flowers planted for bloom this spring. Early on (March, April) expect to see anemones, followed by early dutch iris, ranunculus (buttercups), and freesia. I haven’t grown any of these before, so it’s an exciting adventure. All of these early flowers will be produced in our unheated high-tunnel, or hoop house, to protect them from killing frosts and inclement weather.