Mulch, propagating and gifts from neighbours
My favorite gardening show Gardening Australia talked about growing plants solely for mulch. A waste of space I thought while watching it. I recently cut back my lemongrass for mulch, but still harvest it for cooking and tea. One plant that has not been used for much is the cardamom. I was so excited upon finding my first plant. Gosh I could grow my own cardamom seeds ... but no! It seems that the only cardamom I can grow here is called false cardamom. The leaves have a very strong smell, and I suppose you could use them in cooking, but mostly the plant gets overgrown and I eventually cut it back and use it as mulch! I set some aside to see if any of my neighbors want some. I have the idea (totally un-supported) that strong smelling leaves such as lemongrass and cardamom used as mulch will chase away bugs. I plant...