Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Calendula

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Calendula officinallis

Another plant from my grandmother’s garden.

This year the unsophisticated Pot Marigold fills a corner of my garden. Perfect for a cottage garden (if you don’t mind an overabundance of yellow) they will flower all summer.

I usually pull a majority of plants in spring. I don’t know if it was laziness or lack of a better idea for the area, but this year I left most of the plants there. I seem to have way too many yellow blooms.

This old plant, grown in European gardens since the 12th. Century, was once nurtured for its medicinal properties. The leaves were used as an antiseptic on open wounds.

The prolific self-seeder often becomes leggy in the summer heat. I’ll pull them out if they start to look too weedy. I’ll deadhead as much as I can but I know I’ll have a generous supply of plants next year.
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(Note: See Penn State Master Gardeners Blog June 27 post for important information on late blight on tomatoes and potatoes in Pennsylvania.)
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2 comments:

Scattered Gardener said...

My dad used to grow calendula in a bed with blue cornflowers, they always looked gorgeous together. I try to do this every year but either one or the other doesn't take! So I've had a nice clump of Cal as well this year - perhaps they enjoy different conditions in my urban patch to my dad's seaside one...

Marie said...

SG.
Calendula and cornflower combination sounds great. I want to add something to the yellow of the calendula. I've tried zinnia and snow-on-the mountain. I wonder if I could grow cornflower? Thanks for the idea.