All the green stuff

My delivery from Mountain Herb Estate arrived this morning. I was extremely skeptical about having plants couriered, but they all arrived in excellent condition. Yes, I took them out of their box immediately, and arranged them tastefully (!!!) on the front steps of my little library. Shall take them home tonight and to my mom's over the weekend. Some of them will have to be potted immediately, while others can stand a while until they are ready to be put into the ground.

This is what I bought. Clockwise, from the back left, they are:

Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia)

Black Mulberry (Morus nigra)

Aloe Vera (Aloe vera)

Elderberry (Sambucus nigra)

Chocolate Mint (Mentha x piperita)

St John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

Now, if anyone told me about 25 years ago that I shall not only know the binomial names (the Latin ones) of all the plants that I plant in my garden, but that I shall often refer to the plant by it's scientific name alone, I would have asked them the name and number of their dealer. (Obviously, they had access to potent stuff!)

I have since learnt that it is easier to refer to the botanical names, especially if there is a specific plant that I need. It also makes it easier to look up on the Internet, as the plant that I have is the exact plant that I shall find information about, without the ambiguity caused by common names.

Seed, Glorious Seed...

I have received my seed order from Livingseeds this morning! They sell heirloom seeds and seedlings from all over the world, as well as everything you need to grow them.

It was a big order, and I have included a variety of herb and vegetable packs, as well as packs of 30 mm Jiffy plugs. The plugs will help a lot in getting the tomatoes and peppers started before I transplant them into their final beds at my mom's place.

Yes, my mom graciously lent me a piece of her garden for what she calls my "Permaculture Experiment". I'll probably plant some tomatoes and kale and cucumbers in other parts of her garden as well. Serious guerrilla, me... ;-)

Which brings me to another bugbear...

Rustenburg was one of the host cities for the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup Final Tournament. At the time, the local council really went all out to beautify the town/city. Eight years later, the decay is shocking to behold, and no-one seems to want to take responsibility.

I have more vegetable seeds than I'll ever be able to use for myself. So... What yours charmingly'll be doing is to create seedlings and surreptitiously plant them all over town... Some catnip, perhaps... or maybe a pumpkin or two... or some tomatoes...

I'll think about it...

Ps. I am also ordering more fruit seed and trees from Mountain Herb Estate today, to plant in that garden patch. I'm not much of a green-fingered person - and the first to admit that - but the key to becoming one is by learning and doing and starting. Between you and me and the lamppost, I have a sneaky suspicion that it's more a matter of never really being interested in gardening before than it is one of an inability to keep plants alive.