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Gardening Made Easy by Nick Bacon
Garden Folk Lore and
Words of Wisdom
Every gardener, however
inexperienced, has wisdom
to share. I have been lucky
enough to be the recipient of
a great deal and it is my love
of gardens and plants and my
fascination with old-fashioned
adages and advice that has
been the driving force in my
career as a gardener, spanning
countless years.
It is probably not surprising
that many well-worn sayings
and pieces of advice relate to
old fashioned flowers found
in the cottage garden, such
as roses, carnations, sweet
peas and also vegetables that
include potatoes, peas and
beans.
Let’s start by looking at
cottage garden flowers: the
lupin whose seeds have long
been used by the Navajo to
make a medicine that relieves
boils and was also a cure for
sterility - Navajo even believed
it to be effective in producing
baby girls.
Let’s explore that saying,
Hours fly, flowers die. This is
the start of a poetic sundial
motto found in a garden at
Yaddo which ended up being
an artist’s retreat in Saratoga
Springs, New York. In full it
reads; Hours fly
Flowers die
New days
New ways
Pass by
Love stays
I remind myself of the above
and it complements the whole
gardening season.
For all you love birds out there:
As a ladybird flies from your
hand, it will fly in the direction
of your true love. If you say the
rhyme;
Ladybird Ladybird
Fly away flee!
Tell me which way
My weddings to be.
Please let me know if this has
happened to you.
Now let’s look at vegetables:
it was always considered lucky
to find a single pea in a pod
and also to open a pod with
nine peas inside and even
more especially if it is the first
one you shell.
Words of wisdom while sowing
seeds for runner, broad and
French beans:
One for the mouse
One for the crow
One to rot
One to grow
I find this to be especially true
on my allotment.
In the vegetable garden the
arrival of migratory birds
coincided with planting
potatoes. In my home county
of Cheshire, it was thought
risky to plant out your
potatoes until you have seen
the yellow wagtails. Hence the
bird’s nickname of the potato
dropper. I tried to convince my
Dad who was a keen vegetable
grower, but he took no notice.
Low and behold I used to grow
the better spuds. I also tried to
convince him that the cuckoo
signalled potato planting time!
I could not convince him of
this rhyme I had learnt:
When you hear the Cuckoo
shout.
Tis time to plant your tatties out
You can make up your own
mind on who grew the best
tatties!
Is it going to rain?
Gardeners hoping for rain or
not have for many thousands
of years relied on signs of
nature to help predict it.
Old country signs of a wet
summer are rooks building
their nests low in trees and ash
trees in leaf before oak trees
hence the rhyme:
Oak before Ash, only a splash
Not a very reliable guide as the
ash tree almost always comes
second.
Finally, I know winter is
approaching but let’s smile
with a symbol of spring.
Spring to some gardeners,
including myself, is known
as lilac tide. Lilac is cited as
the quintessence of spring. A
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