Garden media can be a curious thing. We writers tend to have a fixation with forever doling out “jobs for the week”, as if gardening were not really about the joy of creating living artworks or engaging intimately with the natural world, but a never-ending list of outdoor housekeeping chores. Would food writers give you a list of “must dos” each week? “Defrost the freezer”, “Go grocery shopping”, “Reorganise the spice rack”?
No, the joy of food is not just the process itself, but largely the end result. The enjoyment of the flavour, the social gathering, the sharing of your table. To me, never more so than at this beautiful time of year in the middle of the summer holidays, the most crucial thing to do in the garden is to make sure you enjoy it to its very fullest.
With that in mind, here are my three “must do” tasks to relish with the kids (or big kids) during the sunny days of August.
Make flower perfume
Cram a big jam jar with as many lavender flowers as you can fit in. Add the zest of an orange or lemon, a cinnamon stick and a tablespoon of cloves and top the whole thing up with cheap vodka until all the flowers are covered by at least 1cm. (Of course, this bit will require adult supervision). Pop the lid on. Keep the mix in a cool dark place for two weeks, then strain out all the flower heads. Pour the resulting liquid into a spray bottle. Other plants that work well are herbs such as thyme, lemon balm, rosemary and scented geraniums, and flowers such as scented roses and chamomile. Not only will you be dead-heading your borders, you’ve potentially extended the flowering season.
Dodge the sprinkler
Invest in an inexpensive sprinkler head that fits on to the end of a hose and pop it on the brown, scorched patches of your lawn on a hot day. Whack it on full blast, get the kids in their swimmers and you have sorted hours of entertainment (and done the watering) in one fell swoop.
Collect seeds
Some flowers might be starting to fade, but that means the beginning of the fun, seed-saving season. Everything from love-in-a-mist to calendulas and opium poppies have large, easy-to-handle seed pods – great for tiny fingers – whose seed can be popped in a small, brown envelope and stored for sowing next spring. It’s a super-cheap way to get new plants and making the labels lets little ones stretch their creative muscles. Colourful seed packs also make great presents or greetings cards. Just stick the envelope to the front of a folded piece of card, then get the kids to pen a message on the inside to give their mates the gift of a little bit of your garden.
Email James at james.wong@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @Botanygeek
