It’s Calendula Season in the garden - actually it’s always calendula season, as they flower year round, but I find them especially pretty and cheering at this time of year, as the days get shorter and colder, and the nights get longer… and also colder…! It is a joy to walk out in the early morning sunshine and see the bright yellows and oranges of the calendula plant, growing and spreading its way around the garden.  

Calendulas are incredibly quick and easy to grow, so they are suitable for a beginner gardener. They are great for filling up small spaces really quickly, and they are an essential foundation in any bee-friendly garden. 

According to Wikipedia (en.m.Wikipedia.org), 

Calendula officinalis, the pot marigold, common marigold, ruddles, Mary's gold or Scotch marigold is a flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae.

It’s a perennial, which means that it keeps growing in the garden year after year. It spreads very quickly and it will grow up and down surfaces, as well as in horizontal garden beds. I am growing a new garden at the moment, on various principles - planting by the moon, companion planting, huglekultur, and planting for the bees. There several lots of bee hives close to my wee patch, and  my garden is already full of bees pretty much every day, every at this time of year. I started this garden in February, and it has been amazing to see how the calendula patches have grown and spread.

They come in a variety of colours, shapes and sizes, and are often taken for marigolds. They are sometimes called ‘pot marigolds’ and they are in the daisy family along with marigolds. However, marigolds have shorter petals and thinner leaves, whilst calendula flowers have longer petals with wider, rounder leaves (www.birds and blooms.com). They also have different health and medicinal properties from marigolds, so it is important to check which plant you are using. (http://unrulygardening.com)

These are growing in a hay bale, in a sunny spot with not much wind, and also a pallet garden in a  sunny spot, again sheltered from much wind. I planted them at the beginning of February, as seedlings. I grew the seeds from previous calendula plants that I had grown. Generally it is good to start the seeds at the beginning of spring. I start them off inside, to keep the baby plants safe from slugs and snails. When the frosts have passed, and the plants are big enough to fend for themselves, I plant them out in the garden. You can plant calendulas most of the year, excluding cold frosty seasons. 

When the flowers have bloomed, they will start to droop and lose their petals.This is the time to de-head them, dry them  out and save the seeds, for your next calendula patch. You will find that, the more you de-head the drooping flowers, the more it will stimulate the growth of more flower heads, which will lead to more seeds, which leads to… well, you get my drift! 

Spread them out on a piece of paper, or in a paper bag. Keep them in a dry place, not too warm, and regularly check on them and turn them over, to keep air flow even and prevent mould occurring. When fully dry, store in a labelled glass jar in a dark cupboard until ready to plant.

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