Herbs - inside or out?

W&N watercolour on Amedeo 200gsm watercolour paper 12″ × 8″


Herbs on a shelf on my patio

 

Herbs can be grown indoors and out so the choice of where to plant them is a personal choice. Many people prefer to grow their herbs in their kitchen where they can be easily accessed during cooking. I’m not much of a cook, but there’s nothing more inspirational than seeing some Sage or Parsley on your kitchen windowsill, it often sparks an idea of what to cook for me.

You can buy herbs as seedlings at any nursery or garden centre, or you can choose to start your plants from seeds.

If you are starting from seeds, just about any small container will do. If I’m going to be panting the herbs outside at a later stage, I normally start them off in egg shells filled with a bit of potting soil, put in my seeds and when they’re big enough, plant them outside shell and all.

I have quite a collection of various sizes of Terracotta pots, and the small ones are ideal for sowing some seeds for a kitchen window sill. This way you always have fresh herbs at hand and it also makes a nice display.

Some of my favourites are Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, Basil, Chives, Garlic and Mint.

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Cactus trichocereus

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

I'm absolutely in love with my two cacti! (C. trichocereus). The one at the back made a baby, which I transplanted into a pot and placed it next to its parent. I'm sure they whisper endearing comments to one another all day long!

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South African Grasses 1

Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the Earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of the Earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves. This we know - the Earth does not belong to man - man belongs to the Earth. This we know.
- Chief Seattle

My daily sketch...


South African Grasses
"Restio - Thamnochortus sp" - watercolour in Moleskine Watercolour Notebook

One of the Restios or Cape Reeds, Thamnochortus lucens, is very common in the Western Cape mountains. It grows well in dry, gravelly slopes and is often in small populations or locally dominant. The plants grow tufted on a short rhizome, often with tangled sterile clusters of culms at the base. Grows to 50 cm. There is quite a difference between the male and female plants - the sketch above is a male.

The beautiful Thamnochortus genus have 13 species and most of its members grow well in coastal areas at the beach. Some species are very large and are commonly used to thatch houses. T. insignis is commonly used for this purpose because of its very long culms. One species, T. nutans is the exception and is only found 600m above sea level. It is endemic to Table Mountain and the Constantia berg.


Female Thamnochortus lucens.


Restio stems

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Bonsai

"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a flying:
And this same flower that smiles today,
Tomorrow will be dying."

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!


My 1982 Natal Fig Bonsai (Ficus Natalensis) watercolour in Daler-Rowney 190gsm Sketchbook - Maree©

I acquired by Natal fig bonsai in 1985 when he was 3 years old and about 6" tall - through the years he's been transplanted into various bigger containers, but this year I'll just be freshening him up and adding some new soil and do some feeding.

Now summer is here! and it's time for spring-cleaning - the garden, the house (curtains - I've only got 3!), and everything else in sight, including my Bonsai.

The Japanese word "bonsai" is translated to "tree in a bowl" and is an art form symbolising many things. To some it is considered the link between heaven and earth, to others it symbolises the balance between man and nature. Attending to Bonsai creates peace and tranquility and is a great stress reducer.