My neighbour walked by with his little daughter. She wanted to be lifted to look over the wall at my flowers. He told me she is suddenly infatuated with flowers. I picked a flower stem off a nearby primula and passed it over the wall to her. She was too young to understand scent and did not sniff it, as we directed her to do. I was immediately transported back to when I was 9 or so and saw a pheasant’s eye narcissus. As a mere sprot it was the first time I recognised the natural beauty in this world. I never really looked back. Don’t tell me I need to stop and smell the roses because I do that all the time. Growing flowers is perhaps one of my skills as a pensioner and I shall never tire of it.

Nasturtions

I planted about 30 nasturtium seeds in little pots and later planted them out in various parts of the garden. They grew a mass of green leaves, which we eat in salads, but there were no flowers. Then, as if someone had thrown a switch, masses of flowers erupted. The flowering stems are often 6′ long. It is quite comical to see bees disappear up the flower whilst their buzz still rings in your ears. Another flower seed I planted was cosmos and that also was slow to develop. I put about 30 of those plants out in the garden and their lovely ferny leaves multiplied. The plants reached 6′ in height so it was as well that I planted them at the back of beds. I had to tie in supports but still lost a number to strong winds.

Growing flowers

It is October and both nasturtium and cosmos flowers still abound. Looking out though our windows I see the bees drop out of the sky onto flower heads. That gives Ann and I such pleasure. They are mostly bumble bees so I am doing my bit for nature. Every day I am out dead-heading the cosmos to keep them flowering. No need to do that for the nasturtiums. Consequently, the gardening keeps me off my backside and fit and well. The aching joints I will ignore.