The Ups & Downs

The new office is almost finished. Painting has been expertly carried out and all at once the sheds have taken on a new feeling. Sadly the colour, although 'cotswoldian', of which we have been assured, seems more to resemble the green of pistachio ice-cream in Italy rather than the lush moss colour we were aiming for.

I have been pricking out plants again, odd when you consider we have a nursery! However with great excitement I can report for those who got in touch and asked & for those who did not, that we do have a very limited number of Phytolacca insularis available this year along with even fewer phytolacca chilensis. It initially struck me as strange that the rarer to cultivation P. insularis should be more prolific in germination, I am please however as P. chilensis is native to chile and adds to my current fetish for pokeweed. The other good news is that we have a good number of papa cimarrona, Phytolacca bogotensis available this year. Again its native to S. America and completely hardy and the flowers on this species are pale rose in colour. On the down side we have no Phytolacca acinosa, maybe next year.

The other nice surprise was finding that we have a good number of Origanum syriacum which is a relatively uncultivated Lebanese marjoram. It has densely pubescent, highly aromatic leaves and clusters of white flowers. In Lebanon it has been used in traditional cookery for years and is essential in the making of Manaeesh. However that aside, I think it makes for a very decorative border plant and would look good in grey combinations or white gardens along with being a great foil plant for more 'unconventional' combinations.

If you can take your eyes off the pistachio office, I hope you notice a rather nice Plantago in the top picture.