I’ve only ever seen goldfinches feeding on burdock seeds (Arctium) in the garden before. This morning I saw them both on nettle seed heads and then on these unharvested chicory heads. Another reason to grow and save seed of chicories, a wonderful vegetable that is easy to grow organically, comes in many great edimental varieties, beautiful flowers in the second year, both leafy green, root vegetable and coffee replacement varieties available, some being perennial as is the wild plant and can be forced in winter! See more in my book Around the world in 80 plants!
A packet of seed arrived from a friend in a botanical garden that I trade with occasionally today. Chaenomeles cathayensis! I think there’s enough seed here to turn my diversity garden into a monoculture! And with the seed, some fruit leather made of the fruit of the same species :) Very tasty!
Chaenomeles cathayensis seedChaenomeles cathayensis fruit leather
Waxwings (sidensvans) are sometimes known as Arctic Parrots due to their amazing colours. Just before I got up this morning a heard a thud on a window. I knew immediately what it was and guessed it was a waxwing (drunk on the fermenting berries?) that had flown into a window, part of a large flock of close to 200 birds. And no, I’m sorry but it was not just stunned, nor was it pining for the fjords. He or she’s passed on! This northern parrot is no more! It has ceased to be! It’s expired and gone to meet it’s maker! It’s a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! It’s metabolic processes are now history! It’s off the twig! It’s kicked the bucket, it’s shuffled off its mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin’ choir invisible!! THIS IS AN EX-ARCTIC PARROT!!
Here’s the result of the post-mortem photo shoot….wonderful creatures aren’t they: http://www.edimentals.com/pictures/index.php?/category/92
At this time of year, no direct sunlight hits my house and garden, but the sun is still above the horizon in some places where the hills don’t get in the way. So, there’s still a lot of reflected sunlight as in these pictures taken this week, the rainbow today 2nd December 2015!
A small flock of 9 goldfinches in my garden this morning, a winter visitor here (it’s unknown where they breed) and a species that would not be in my garden if it hadn’t been for my interest in edible plants. I started growing burdock / borre as a vegetable back in the 80s and this is the most important food for them in our area. The area between my house and Midtsandan, a few km east of here, is now the most important area this far north for this species with flocks of between 25 and 50 seen most winters!
It’s not every day one finds a letter from Prince Charles in the mailbox :) I met two of the gardeners at Highgrove after my talk at Croome earlier this month and decided to ask them if they could pass on a copy of my book to the Prince! This is because I mention him and Highgrove in my Around the World talks as having the most productive edible Forest Garden in the UK – through his national collection of large leaved Hostas! Below is the letter and the slide from my talk where I talk about the Forest Garden at Highgrove!
