I have just been thinking about the garden, again, and plants in general. My experience of growing Honeysuckle is not good, even when I have bought a house with a garden where it is already established I manage to upset it so that it is never glorious! I have now accepted that is a plant that I just cannot grow.
My parents have a friend who said the same about Forget-me-nots (Myosotis) but a very strange thing happened to her. She tried for years to grow this lovely little flower in her garden with no success. Sadly her husband later died of cancer and the following year she had Forget-me-nots all over her garden…
It is a lovely story and has stuck with me.
Have you had or know of similar experiences? What can’t you grow?
I think it would be absolutely delicious with creme fraiche! Thank you, Jacqueline. I will give it a try.
I am not very good at exact recipes, but this is generally what I do!
Sauté an onion in some olive oil with a teaspoon of cumin seeds. When softened add diced courgettes (as many as need using up!), salt and pepper and just cover with stock. I always use a chicken stock made from boiling the carcass with a carrot and an onion and straining off afterwards. Cook until courgette is tender (not over-boiled) then blend. The combination of the chicken stock and courgette makes a really creamy soup. I don’t use a potato as I don’t find it needs any extra thickening, but you could add one if wanted. For special occasions you could also add creme fraiche or something like that. It freezes really well, so I get to eat my courgettes almost all year around!
Jacqueline, what I would really love is your recipe for courgette soup 
No problem, I will keep you up to date with my progress! Am glad I’ve found someone else who agrees with me on the courgettes (family groan in horror when I tell them how many I’ve planted!). I too started some courgettes off just over a week ago - noticed this morning they are just about to explode into life Must get out and sow the leeks and the other squashes (butternut, pumpkin, patisson, melon etc) Nothing yet from the tomatoes or aubergines, but it feels good to be sowing again.
I will give that a try, Jacqueline. Thanks!
I so know where you are coming from Victoria!
http://web.me.com/tournesol_bp/The_French_Village_Diaries/Blog/Entries/2011/2/21_Leek_Envy.html
This year I am determined to crack them. I am going to sow some seeds myself and buy the bunches you get in the markets - see if it makes a difference! I have been told that before replanting the market ones you need to trim the roots and the tops. I also read that if you make a largish hole and plop the little leek in and then fill with water not soil it gives it plenty of room to fill out! Watch this space. Good luck if you try again.
Leeks. I tried last year and after a promising start they died off one by one. Not enough sun? Lousy soil? Under-watered?
Not sure but it was pretty pathetic.
I know I love Honeysuckle but I am soon to become an owner of an Hymalayan Honeysuckle, which I think is really interesting so let’s hope I have better luck!
Very sad that you can’t grow honeysuckle because it is one of my favorites. I stick cuttings in and it flourishes all over my garden. The scent is wonderful. I seem to have a problem keeping rhodedendrons alive even though other acid lovers do quite well in my garden. Really should get round to testing the soil at some point!
Oh wow. This really gives me gooseflesh… I find that forget me nots are really flowers that decide for themselves whether they will grow or not. The only forget me nots that I have ever grown have done just this. G.