My planter of Common poppies and Oxeye daisies. (Photo from personal collection)
My endeavours as a gardener are very much in their infancy. It was only a few years ago, when I got myself some wildflowers for the benefit of the bees, that my interest really turned from theory into practise. It was only a few years ago that I had the space to do so. And, as you might know if you have read any articles here before, my interest in cultivating plant life has developed very much via an interest in nature, wildlife, and ecology. I have no desire for a perfectly designed garden - indeed, I have some troubled feelings about shorn lawns and too much tidiness. So, we can expect two things here. Firstly, my learning, how to best care for the plants, is still something new to me. Secondly, I am not interested in cultivating the biggest plants, or the prettiest, but just that they flower, and that they are there for nature.
Ever since stormy winds hit the UK some days ago, my wildflowers have wilted in their pots, especially the Oxeye daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare), which grow tall, and have really had a bit of a growth spurt since Spring brought more sunshine to the garden. They were sown last year, and have spent the last 360 or so days making themselves at home in their container. So, when they wilted, I was quite concerned - with Spring here, I am eager to see flowers!
Being in pots, because of not being able to plant directly into the ground (it's a long story), I pondered whether or not they might be a little too crowded in there, and that that might be to their detriment. Then I considered that maybe they might not have enough space below the soil to have firmly rooted themselves, and that maybe the winds had unsettled them. But really, I had little idea. Like I said, I am still learning.
A silly little bumblebee that I found, frantically trying to escape from my bird bath, and rescued - an example of for whom these wildflowers are there! (Photo from personal collection)
With concern for my wildflowers, wishing and wanting them to survive long enough that I might see at least some flowers this year, and that, in turn, I would see butterflies and bees busy upon them, I took myself to the internet for some research. I have seen these little green lives revive before, when I thought that they might be doomed, and I still hoped there was something I could do to bring them back to life. There was obvious damage to some leaves, but mostly the plants were still green and buds were evident at the heads.
My searching threw up the suggestion of giving the pots a little bath, that is, taking the pots, plants and all, and putting them into a container of water. The idea being that the plants would be able to draw water up from the bottom of the soil, through the roots, via the drainage holes on the underside of the pots. For smaller plant pots, all you might need to achieve this is a bucket, but with the container in which my Oxeyes and Poppies (Papaver rhoeas) are planted being more trough shaped, I needed something larger and more accommodating.
Thankfully, I have a large plastic storage box just sitting empty, a storage box that I have been intending to turn into a miniature pond, but I haven't yet achieved that. Thankfully. And so, problem solved . . .
One of the poppies that did make an appearance last year. (Photo from personal collection)
I took the plastic storage box, the sort you can purchase from anywhere that sells general homeware, and filled it with water from the tap on the outside wall. From there, I took the trough-like planter in which my Oxeyes and Poppies live, and put it into the water, the planter floating a little. And I left them a while; for me, the hardest part, wanting to be involved, doing something, but knowing the best thing is just to give them time and space. And hope that they find their way.
When I came back a couple of hours later, the planter was sitting on the bottom of the storage box, and when I lifted the planter out of the water it was noticeably heavier - reassurance that water had been taken up. With the planter out of the water, I put it in some shade, not wanting too harsh a sunlight to beat down on these plants, to subdue them again, as they sat in recovery. I then popped my small terracotta pot (pictured above) into the water since the flowers there had also been wilting. Again, after a couple of hours, I returned and removed the pot from its bath, again with that mixture of concern and hope.
This morning, when I came out into the garden, there was a noticeable difference. The renewal hasn't been total, of course. Leaves that were wilted and damaged beyond repair haven't sprung back in to glorious life, but the stems are less limp, the leaves are less wilted, and there is a general perkiness to them that was missing the day before. There is a verdant strength evident in the way that they stand today that wasn't there yesterday.
One of the joys that I have found in gardening is the surprise of just how resilient green life can be, how life can seem gone, only for a small green bud or shoot to make an appearance in the soil. It is remarkable. But, of course, life wants to live, that's a simple but profound truth, and if you give it a chance, and a little care, it will survive. Yes, it might be a little battered and bruised, and some things might have to be cut away, so that vital energy can be redirected, but it can still survive. Maybe even thrive. And perhaps there's a lesson in that, again, simple but profound.
So, there it is - if you have some plants that have wilted in their pots, maybe they just need a relaxing bath!
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