Dream on!

Today the first seed catalogue of 2010 popped into our mailbox. It was lovely to browse through it with a nice cup of tea while outside the UK is still blanketed in snow. It set me off daydreaming about plants I'd like to grow this gardening season. Here are some of them.

(photograph courtesy of Unwin Seeds)

This is Sweet Pea 'Oxford Blue'. Last Summer we grew Sweet Peas, as we do most years, but there were no blue ones amongst them. They were all varying shades of pink. Hopefully this year I'll be able to enjoy the exquisite scent. My sense of smell was just returning at the end of last year after losing it because of a chest infection. Sweet Peas are remarkable flowers. For the cost of a packet of seeds they're easy to germinate and will produce fantastic flowers all Summer long. They look beautiful in the garden, are good cut flowers and most of them are scented. You can't get much better value than that!

(photograph courtesy of The Telegraph Newspaper)

I've been talking for a few years now about making a 'green roof' so maybe this is the year to go ahead. A green roof consists of sedums, small succulent plants that are able to grow in inhospitable conditions...... like on a roof! :O) There are all sorts of reasons why people want to grow this feature...... retaining heat, sound insulation, a habitat for wildlife and simply because it looks pretty and makes a good talking point. We have two old sheds at the bottom of the garden which would benefit from a sedum garden and, after having read this article, there are many other exciting and novelty ideas to consider.

(photo courtesy of Marketworks.com)

I've always enjoyed dried figs but tasted fresh ones for the first time last Summer when our local fruit & veg man got some in..... he's getting very adventurous, bless his little cotton socks! I loved the fresh ones and was very surprised to learn that they can be grown in the UK, in a sunny spot. So I'm going to get a couple of plants to grow on our patio which gets the full blast of the Sun throughout the Summer.

(photograph courtesy of Thompson & Morgan Seeds)

This is Runner Bean 'Painted Lady'. Last Summer we grew 'Scarlet Emperer'. They did well and produced a heavy harvest of beans right up until the first frosts. We've grown painted lady in the past and I'd like to grow them again because their two-tone flowers of orange and white are so pretty. I'd also like to try Runner Bean 'White Lady' whose flowers are......... erm, white.

(what.....edited? as if!)

Now this is one flower I would LOVE to be the first to grow. Unfortunately my knowledge of plant breeding is minimal, but if I could come up with a yellow fuchsia then there would be no need to buy my weekly lottery ticket ever again! Ah well, like I said...... I was only daydreaming. :)