You may recall that a couple of weeks ago I alluded to the fact that we were winter pruning. It’s a big job, that must be thoroughly completed each year. Not only do we prune, but we dig, divide, transplant and weed. Winter is the opportunity to begin once again with an almost blank canvas – well as near-to as we’re ever likely to have here again!
Along the way, there is often treasure to be found (well, depending on your point of view as to what the word ‘treasure’ may conjure!). It was only last year that we discovered that the spent flowers of Canna lilies (which look messy at first glance and hence are usually tossed into the compost in haste), are actually rather beautiful and…when split open, are bursting with tiny black seed.
Now I’m sure that many of you already think I’m quite dotty, but these are the kind of discoveries I adore! When the girls were little, (though beyond the years of popping such things into their mouths which would not be a good idea)…I would give them small tasks in the garden, like popping seed out of pods. These canna seeds are perfect for a bit of childhood fun and the resulting heap of seed makes for sensory delight (for adults and children alike), as they spill through fingers and make swishing sounds as you swirl, or a satisfactory ‘click’ as you drop them back into the pile.
I made a quirky recent discovery too, when doing some research: the seed is often referred to as ‘Indian Shot’. Apparently, according to the BBC via Wikipedia “the story goes that during the Indian Mutiny of the 19th century, soldiers used the seeds of Canna indica when they ran out of bullets”. Who would have thought??? But a word of warning….you do need rather a lot of seed pods for a good yield like the small bowl above!