Jack Go To Bed At Noon
Last year this rather exotic looking flower appeared on mine and several other allotments for the first time. Having been stumped (again) by Mr Allotment Warden as to its identity, I rushed home to find out what it was. It's salsify, aka the marvellous Jack Go To Bed At Noon - named as such because its flowers always close by midday. Here you can see both open and closed flowers - making it seem even more exotic and alien than in the first picture. I think this must be the cultivated version because the flower in my Francis Rose Wild Flower Key looks exactly the same in form, but is bright yellow in colour and called meadow salsify . Its other common name is Goatsbeard, which must be a nod to the fantastic dandelion-like clock which forms the seed head. With 'parachutes' like those shown above, who knows how far our plotted plants came from. I rather like the photographic dissection of the seedhead found in this link . Salsify is edible: its lateral shoots and fl...
Hi VP. That's a nice wreath. These things mean so much more when you make them yourself. You posted some good links - I've visited the-tree before and love the folklore stories. You're right to embrace Christmas. Gardeners are closer to the seasons and I think it's natural for us to want to mark the changes.
ReplyDeleteHi Simon,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words. Glad you liked the links, I do try and find good ones to use!
Hope you like the one I left on your excellent site re allotment coppicing. Good luck in the Shed of the Week Competition btw - I'll be posting a piece on mine here at some point...