All the Dirt on Gardening

This beautiful native plant, Agastache foeniculum is often grown as an edible though originally we bought the seeds so pollinators would have more to eat in our garden and mosey over to the fruit and vegetables. Agastache foeniculum flowering This one is hardy in zones 4 to 9 and can grow to 4 feet tall. Ours are in part shade so they max out at about 3 feet tall. Covered with bumble bees, this wonderfully scented member of the mint family is a delight to brush by and weed around as it release its yummy licorice scent into the air. Plant the seeds outside in the ground or in flats this fall and they will reward you for years to come as they self-seed a little every year but never so much that you regret planting them. Plants for a Future describes its edible qualities " Leaves and flowers - raw or cooked. They are used as a flavouring in raw or cooked dishes. Excellent raw, they have a sweet aniseed flavour and are one of our favourite flavourings in salads. They make ...

This is a wonderful day. Too cold and rainy to be outside much and just right for lining up the seeds that need cold stratification to bloom next year. Seeds to plant starting this month include most tree seeds , Annual Phlox, Poppy, Virginia Bluebells, Hellebore, Roses, Monkshood, etc. You can buy a generous amount of seed, mix it with vermiculite-sand and scatter it. Or, to reduce the amount of seed lost to birds and flood, you can plant the seeds in pots and flats and transplant them in the early spring. Seeds that need the constant cold and wet of winter will do better outside. Alchemy-Works has a thorough column on the topic. In addition to perennial shrubs, trees and flowers, many native plants need 60-days of moist cold. Prairie Moon Nursery has these plants listed separately in their online store. Click here to see their list . Then, of course there is the master list at Tom Clothier's site . Not to be missed for serious seed starters. And, for the same crowd, the Thompson...