Container gardening, Flowers (annual and perennial)

Bachelor Button Flower

Bachelor Button flower in the garden, I have been growing these ever since I was a little boy. Mother bought a Gurney seed packet for kids and this was one of the seeds in it.

Bachelor button flower

The bachelor button flower grows around two feet tall with silvery foliage producing flowers of pink, white, blue, almost black, and all the hues in between. The plant-like cooler weather making them a short-lived annual, however, planted among other longer blooming annuals makes for a long-lasting show during the summer.

Darker form of the bachelor button plant

The name comes from Victorian men wearing these flowers in their lapels. The other name “cornflower” comes from the wild form of bachelor button growing in between the rows of corn plants and other grain. The settlers brought them over to America and were used for dried arrangements and adding spice to their foods. The flowers produce a clove-like flavor or make into a tea.

These plants were grown indoors and planted outside early withstanding temperatures in the mid-’20s.

Herbs

Dill the Herb

Everyone knows what dill the herb is, however, A blue foliage plant called ‘Dukat’ has more leaves than the regular plant and is used more for ornamental uses slower to seed. The leaves have a strong flavor and high oil content. It is related to the parsley family.

Blue-green variety of dill

It originated in eastern Europe and Russia, came over to America with the settlers for culinary uses. Today we use dill seeds for pickles. The leaves of this herb can be used, dried, or preferably be frozen in water to keep the oils in the leaf. Many dishes from India to the mid-East to Russia use its leaves.

In our country, dill leaf can be used to flavor fish and potato salad.

The only pest is the ‘dill worm’ which will hatch into a black swallowtail butterfly, so many persons leave the caterpillars to eat and become butterflies.

Swallowtail butterfly caterpillar
Swallowtail butterfly
Home Improvement

Wooden Indoor Shutters

Wooden indoors shutters may be better than traditional curtains.

Barn door shutters vs traditional curtains.
Barn door shutters

Shutters give more privacy than the traditional curtains and hold the cold or heat out. They last a long time and add that homey feel to any room. To clean them, just wipe down with a damp cloth versus throwing curtains and sheers in a washing machine. Also, they do not sag and wrinkle.

 The disadvantage is they cost more than curtains but are offset by not having to continually buy new ones.

Indoor shutters can be painted or stained.