Chris's Weblog – City Chickens

My diary from 2006

Daily Archive: January 24, 2017

Chris's Weblog - City Chickens > 2017 > January > 24

Doronicum Little Leo

January 24, 2017 Garden , ,

This is another of the seedlings overwintered and just becoming ready to pot on. Five survivors have been put together in a ten inch pot.

Heart shaped foliage makes an attractive backdrop to the yellow flowers of this hardy perennial daisy. As the name suggests, Doronicum caucasicum ‘Little Leo’ is neat and compact compared to some of its taller relations making it perfect for the front of shaded borders. Leopard’s Bane, as it is commonly known, makes a pleasing cut flower and proves to be a magnet for pollinating insects in the garden. Height 12″.

doronicum-flower

Apparently this is the plant used to produce Arnica which from my limited medical knowledge is used to treat bruising.

Internal and external preparations made from the flowering heads of arnica have been used medicinally for hundreds of years so says Wiki.

Verbascum Southern Charm – Celsia

January 24, 2017 Garden, Spring , , ,

This hardy perennial, Verbascum,  was amongst the tiny seedlings, bought from T&M last year, that have been overwintering on the window ledge. All four seedlings look healthy with a good root system and I have transferred them into a 7″ pot. They will stay in the office until the last frost has passed. I believe that these flowers grow quite tall. I have never grown them before but on reading up about them I am looking forward to seeing them in the garden and hope that as they self seed that I will enjoy them for many years.

Verbascum Hybrida common name Mullein is a gorgeous flower in lovely shades of apricot, lilac, buttermilk and sugar pink.. It will grow to four foot. It is a short lived annual that self seeds well.