A week or so ago, I wrote about the aftermath of a wind-storm we experienced that caused so much damage. Luckily, I did not experience that much damage when you compare it to others in the region. But that said, my basil and other herbs and plants did not look very happy. So, this week, I decided to cut it all off and see what will grow back. At least, I wanted to see if the basil would grow back. Unfortunately, I needed to get rid of the gooseberry plants completely because it was so badly damaged.
But nature is strange, in her taking away, she creates new life. As soon as the wind took down so many trees and plants, new life began popping up in its place. Where I lost some big bushes/shrubs, the new sunlight hitting the garden bed, new seedlings are already popping their heads through the ground. The same thing with my three flower pots in which I now grow my herbs and plants.
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The aftermath of my clearing is illustrated above. I did not discriminate, I just went in with my clippers and got rid of all the plants.
But something amazing happened, like always in nature. Even after only watering these pots for three days, the amaranth seedlings have started popping their heads through the ground. Due to the wind, almost all of the seed heads dropped their seeds in the flower boxes.
But I also sowed some other seeds, mainly rocket and wild rocket.
And again, only after three days of watering, almost every seed turned into a seedling!
The seeds were sowed on the 12th of April. When I watered the plants yesterday, I saw all of the seedlings pop their heads through the ground. This morning, I knew I just had to photograph them. Below, you can see the growth in just about 3-5 days. It always astonishes me that things can grow so fast. It also fills me with fear; their vulnerability to the elements is most prominent now.
But it also inspires me, it fills me with hope, it gives me new hope in that there is still more to come, perpetually reinventing itself. The garden, to me, is like a moving, growing, becoming, alive, art piece.
New seasons bring new plants. The winter is always signalled in autumn with the chickweed showing their beautiful leaves. When the extreme heat drops down, and the rains just begin to wet the ground, the chickweed makes their presence known (photograph below-left). It is amazing to see them return every year without my intervention. I really need to get their seeds this year, as I would love to forever have them on my dinner plate.
Some Swiss chard also decided to grow. But these are slow growers, as the area where I am currently growing them is not ideal. It has too much shade, but with all the odds stacked against them, they still grow (see the photograph below-right). They are bi-annual plants, meaning that they only go to seed in their second growing season. I harvested many seeds, that will last me a lifetime. But that means I needed to plant new ones long ago... Maybe these new ones will grow strong...
And then there are the wild rocket plants that have become a weed in my garden. It does not matter where I go, I will see random wild rocket plants pop their heads out from the ground, almost like dandelions! (See the photograph above-left.) I am not complaining in the slightest, because I cannot get enough of the wild rocket. I have eaten so much of it in the last 5 or so years. Since buying my first packet of wild rocket seeds, I have harvested and saved so many seeds I think I can start a business! It is amazing just how many seeds one plant can produce.
And finally, I have come around to make the spekboom chutney which I have mentioned so much. I made a small bit, just for another recipe that I will post soon. But the growth recently on most of my spekboom plants prompted me to harvest some of the leaves and make it into the chutney that I always talk about. When life gives you lemons... make chutney? I guess. I grew about 10-15 spekboom plants from one single cutting I made about 2-3 years ago (see above-left photograph). This project has been an ongoing one, one in which I want to grow so much spekboom that I can have an endless supply for my chutney and salad needs. Soon...
Alas, nature gives and she takes, it is a reciprocal relationship with violent tendencies. But in the rare moments where calmness overpowers chaos, you might find the beauty in the mundane plant that so many people have labelled weeds.
For now, happy gardening and keep well.
All of the writing in this post is my own. The photographs are also my own, taken with my Nikon D300 and iPhone.