It always pains me to cut back flowers. It feels morally wrong to me to cut them. Even if only to place them in water and put them in the kitchen, I feel that the need to be left alone in the garden where they can attract insects and feed nature in her way.
But sometimes you need to cut even the most beautiful flowers, because even in their beauty, they can become a problem.
I have many indigenous plants growing in my garden, and with all of the winter rains, they have grown to become a problem in the pathways. But more on this below.
Two weeks ago or so I went to town with the weeds in my raised bed experiment. This week, I made my first harvest! (See the photographs below.) I also planted some mustard seeds in the open spaces around the wild rocket. I will see if they will sprout in the coming weeks.
But on the right, the succulent experiment also worked out. I placed various succulent plants in the cracks of the raised bed, hoping that they would grow. Now, they are flowering! A clear indication that it worked.
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Growth is amazing and it is incredible to see the amount of wildflowers in my garden. I have posted a couple of posts this week in which I showed how the wildflowers of the Cape region are in full bloom. But because my garden is full of the same plants, my garden looks similar!
But growth can also deter progress. Or let me say, that growth that comes in the way of movement is a problem. My pathways are overgrown! This is always a problem after the winter rains.
Because of the amount of water coming down, I cannot always get to the garden. Sometimes, there is rain for weeks on end.
But now, the sun is coming out, and I need to cut open the pathways.
It feels like such a shame, because the Gazania or Cape Daisies are so beautiful, blooming and showing themselves in all of their beauty. But I needed to cut them back a bit.
Rather than see this as just negative, one can see it as a positive. I can make various cuttings from them, and turn them into new plants!
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It is not easy to see, but the three photographs above are all pathways, overgrown by mostly the Gazania plants. In the background, underneath all of the overgrowth, there are slabs that need to be open so that we can walk in the garden.
And after I cut them, separating the flowers from the cuttings, I was left with some work that I needed to do.
I use various plastic containers (not the best I know) which would have ended up in the landfill. I give these containers a second life of sorts.
I fill them with compost (see photograph below-left) and then I just place the cuttings in the containers.
But since growing tired of the container method, I have resorted to placing the cuttings straight in the garden as well! (See photograph below-right). This has worked wonders for me, especially in the rainy season. Before the rains, I make various cuttings and stick them straight into the garden. This only works for the hardiest of plants though.
The garden is full of lessons. Flowers are beautiful to look at, but sometimes even the most beautiful flowers need to be cut. In fact, it is the most beautiful ones that will be cut.
It is good to stand out from the crowd, but this will often let you be picked. Also, growth seems like the best thing, until it hinders one from walking. Cutting, even if inherently destructive, sometimes becomes necessary.
I hope that your garden is giving you the most beautiful flowers as well, or the most delicious produce.
Keep well, and happy gardening!
All of the musings are my own, albeit inspired by the beautiful flowers. The photographs are also my own, taken with my Nikon D300.