This is the first year I have grown calendula. It’s quite pretty, don’t you think?
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Wendell Berry:
"We have lived our lives by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world. We have been wrong. We must change our lives so that it will be possible to live by the contrary assumption, that what is good for the world will be good for us. And that requires that we make the effort to know the world and learn what is good for it."
--from an essay in "The Long-Legged House""The word agriculture, after all, does not mean "agriscience," much less "agribusiness." It means "cultivation of land." And cultivation is at the root of the sense both of culture and of cult. The ideas of tillage and worship are thus joined in culture. And these words all come from an Indo-European root meaning both "to revolve" and "to dwell." To live, to survive on the earth, to care for the soil, and to worship, all are bound at the root to the idea of a cycle. It is only by understanding the cultural complexity and largeness of the concept of agriculture that we can see the threatening diminishments implied by the term "agribusiness."
"Odd as I am sure it will appear to some, I can think of no better form of personal involvement in the cure of the environment than that of gardening. A person who is growing a garden, if he is growing it organically, is improving a piece of the world. He is producing something to eat, which makes him somewhat independent of the grocery business, but he is also enlarging, for himself, the meaning of food and the pleasure of eating."
--both the above are from essays in "The Art of the Commonplace: Agrarian Essays"Is this so hard to believe?
"An atheist is just somebody who feels about Yahweh the way any decent Christian feels about Thor, or Ba'al, or The Golden Calf. As has been said before, we are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further," Richard Dawkins, 2002.
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Such cheery flowers. Calendula has self seeded through the vegetable garden
As an addition, this year I’m going to try the more pom-pom looking ones that come in yellows and reds.
I pick the flowers and steep them in oil (almond or olive) and then use it in a salve/lotion thing. Very smoothing for dry skin.
This is my first year with Calendula too. It’s so prolific, I love it!!
It is lovely and best of all….IT’S ORANGE!!!!! I might have to try them next year.
Gorgeous! Calendula’s one of my favorites.
I’m growing Calendula for the first time too. At first it looked like scrawny lettuce, but now it looks great!
What always amazes me is that big-time food growers like you have the time and inclination to grow flowers too. That is so nice.
Nada: it self-seeds? Woo-hoo! And thanks for the lotion tip. I love dual purpose plants.
Farm Mom: it sure started out slowly, though, didn’t it? I was a little discouraged at first.
M: I thought of you, frankly, when I selected this pic. There are lots of orange ones, and some yellows, too.
Cheryl: aren’t they cheery?
John: welcome to the new fan club!
CC: Okay, I mustn’t take advantage of your high regard of my planting skills, as I planted these mainly as pollinator magnets for the veg garden! Though I did put a few all around the perennial beds, too.
I love our calendula, and how they volunteer each year.
To CC ~ What would a garden be without edibles and visuals? Plus, you can top a salad with calendula petals. 😉
I am proud to say that I also have marigolds (growing in pots), because they’re pretty, and because I can. I don’t work very hard out in my garden, but a little extra time and water for the visuals pays off.
And now I know I can eat the petals! 🙂