Plants — Paule's Notebooks

Paule's Notebooks

Plants

Perennials, houseplants, propagation, care and troubleshooting. Everything you need to grow, multiply and look after your plants — indoors and out.

Plants for every space, every ambition

A perennial that returns each spring, a lemon tree on the balcony, a philodendron in the living room — every plant has its own needs, its own rhythms, its own way of telling you whether it's thriving or struggling.

In this notebook, we cover all plants: garden plants, houseplants, plants to propagate, plants to nurse back to health. Practical methods, honest diagnoses, no unnecessary jargon.

Cuttings, division, layering — propagating your plants is both economical and deeply satisfying. We explain how to do it, when to do it, and why it sometimes goes wrong.

And when a plant causes concern — yellow leaves, dropping flowers, rotting roots — we look for the real cause before reaching for a remedy.

Right now

October — planting, cuttings and tucking in

This month's tasks

Planting trees and shrubs Dividing perennials Hardwood cuttings Bringing tender plants in Saving the last seeds Gathering leaves for mulch

All articles

The Plants notebook

Pellitory, the bottle herb
Plants

Pellitory: The Weed That Used to Wash Bottles

At the foot of old walls grows a weed once used to scrub out bottles. How it was done, why it works, and how to try it.

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A reconstructed Carolingian garden
Plants

The Capitulare de Villis: When Charlemagne Decided What Would Grow in the Gardens

94 plants, 16 fruit trees, 5 fibre and dye plants, and above all why Carolingian power cared about writing down what should grow.

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Freshly picked purslane
Plants

Purslane: Why This "Weed" Deserves a Place on the Plate

A potato salad with raw purslane, and what this plant really brings: omega-3, vitamins, and the precautions worth knowing.

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Unusual aromatic plants in a greenhouse
Plants

A Garden of Scents and Spices: Aromatic Plants, Differently

Patchouli, ginger, saffron, angelica, bee balm, lovage: growing plants you only know by their scent or their name on a packet.

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A raspberry plant damaged after heatwaves and hail
Plants

After a Rough Summer, What to Do for Your Raspberry Plant

White berries, holed leaves, shield bugs: telling heat, hail and insects apart, and knowing what actually helps.

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Edible wild plants gathered in the garden
Plants

6 Edible Wild Plants: What They Offer and How to Cook Them

Nettle, dandelion, rosehip, purslane, lamb's quarters, ground ivy: the real figures, the traditional recipes and the precautions worth knowing.

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A parched garden after weeks of heat
Plants

A Garden Scorched by Heat: What to Do Now

Before pulling anything out, sort what has died, what can still come back, and what needs rethinking for next year.

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Volunteer plants between vegetable rows
Plants

Are Weeds Really That Bad?

Purslane, clover, plantain, dandelion: what volunteer plants give a garden, what they cost, and how to decide case by case. With a free PDF guide.

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Edible garden weeds
Plants

6 Garden Weeds That Are More Useful Than They Look

Purslane, lamb's quarters, dandelion, plantain, white clover, wild sorrel: six garden weeds that are actually edible, and how to use them.

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Parsley plant in an old-fashioned garden
Plants

The Forgotten Superstitions of Our Gardens

Transplanting parsley, napping under a walnut tree, sowing beans during Holy Week: a tour of old garden superstitions.

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Pots of herbs
Plants

Herbs: Getting Ready for Winter

Basil, mint, chives, rosemary: which herbs to bring indoors before winter, which to leave outside, and how to keep a small backup of each.

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Tree cutting in a pot
Plants

Propagating Garden Trees from Cuttings: Which Ones Are Actually Worth It?

Olive, fig, willow, mulberry, citrus: which trees actually root easily from cuttings, and which ones are better off grafted. A hands-on report.

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Saffron flower
Plants

Growing Saffron at Home: My Corm Multiplied

One corm planted last year, four found this summer: how to grow Crocus sativus, from planting to harvesting the stigmas.

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Garden aromatic herbs
Plants

The Garden's Secret Apothecary: Parsley, Mint, Sage, Lemon Balm & Anise Hyssop

Digestion, sleep, a sore throat: what people once credited to five garden herbs, and what's worth remembering today.

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Fruit tree orchard
Plants

How to Propagate Fruit Trees for Free: Methods That Actually Work

Cuttings, layering, suckers or grafting: the right method for each fruit tree, without losing years in the process.

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Mint in a pot
Plants

Why Mint Needs Its Own Pot

Mint grows fast and produces abundantly, but its rhizomes take over everything. Why a pot is often the best way to grow it.

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Perennial herbs
Plants

Plant Them Once, Harvest for Years

Chives, thyme, mint, lavender, sorrel, lovage, rosemary: the perennial herbs to plant once and harvest for years without starting over.

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Kitchen herbs
Plants

Why Your Kitchen Herbs Keep Dying

Not enough light, too much water, pots too small: the real causes and simple solutions to keep your herbs alive longer.

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Herbs and spices
Plants

Herb or Spice: Do You Really Know the Difference?

A simple distinction based on which part of the plant is used, with examples from the garden and the kitchen.

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Herbs in flower
Plants

Why Your Herbs Bolt and Produce Less

It's not a growing problem — it's their natural cycle. How to extend your harvest.

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Base of a fruit tree with companion plants
Plants

What to Plant Under a Fruit Tree?

Flowers, herbs, ground cover, bulbs: creating a small living ecosystem around fruit trees.

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Lemon tree in bloom
Plants

Why Your Lemon Tree Flowers But Never Fruits

Flowers everywhere, an incredible scent — and not a single lemon. The real reasons and how to fix them.

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Garden
Garden→
Flowers
Flowers→
Recipes
Recipes→
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Preserves→

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© 2025 Paule's Notebooks Made with care and soil on my hands