The rains have been extremely heavy over the last few weeks which has been stressful for the plants. Some of them weathered the storms fairly well. A few of the roses developed yellow leaves and what looked like the beginnings of black spot, but removing those leaves early on seems to have solved the problem. Others, like a couple of the dianthus plants and a few of the thyme plants developed root rot and succumbed very quickly-one minute they were there and the next they were….gone to plant heaven. I will have to look at further improving soil drainage in my containers to try and mitigate the effects of these heavy rains which are quite extraordinary to witness.
In happier news, an oregano cutting that I rediscovered (it was hiding under a mint plant) seems to have been thriving. Compared to the oregano plants that have been exposed directly to the sun (and the heavy rain), this one is exhibiting profilic growth with larger leaves that are a much deeper green compared to their more sun-exposed counterparts. Perhaps it was the shady conditions, and shelter from the heavy rains, that enabled it to thrive.
Over the last few days I’ve been making some infused oils using herbs from the garden. This one is lemongrass in coconut oil.
After placing the jar in the sun for a couple of hours the oil had turned a light yellow/green. I’m going to leave it for a few days and see if it’s ready to strain.
The lemongrass has a lovely earthy/citrus scent with a very subtle hint of floral sweetness. The coconut oil has quite a strong fragrance so it will be interesting to see if it will still be possible to smell the scent of the lemongrass in the final oil.
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