Self-seeding flowers are one of a gardener’s joys, especially if you have large areas to plant. Once these plants are established in your garden, you can scatter the seed heads elsewhere in your garden to spread the joy!
Of course, they may seed anywhere, but once you become familiar with the seedlings, you can pull them out if they appear somewhere you don’t want them to.
If you want to establish these plants from scratch, you are better waiting until spring to sow your seeds.
Eschscholzia californica
These wild orange or yellow poppies, otherwise known as California poppies, bring joy every time I see them. If you get them established in your garden, you’ll see them for summers to come.
Nigella damascena
This is a blue star-shaped flower, set within frothy green foliage, known as Love-in-a-mist. They self-seed very easily so if you see any in a friend or neighbours’ garden, grab a few of the dried seed heads and scatter them where you’d like them to grow.
Centaurea cyanus
The blue cornflower is a staple of a classic meadow flower, with long delicate ball-shaped flower heads. I also particularly love this ‘Black ball’ variety which is a very dark flower head. Bees and butterflies really love this flower so there’s another plus.
Northern Roots is one step closer
The Northern Roots project in Oldham is nearing sign off for the first phase. The 66 acre site aims to be the UK’s largest urban farm and eco-park. Pictured above is the design of the visitors centre, designed by JDDK Architects.
This is a visionary project and I can’t wait to see it come to fruition. It is hoped that building could begin later this year, if full planning permission is gained.
https://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/first-phase-of-oldhams-northern-roots-nears-sign-off/
What am I reading?
I’ve been reading this fascinating article about AI x Future Cities project by architect and designer Manas Bhatia.
The project imagines sustainable cities of the future, using algae and plants for shading and air purification.
Here’s the full article:
https://www.designboom.com/architecture/manas-bhatia-ai-generated-surreal-symbiotic-architecture-08-22-2022/
