That blue flower: A spring spotter's guide
Spring is a prime time for blue flowers and my daily walks currently have several from the same plant family* lining the local footpaths. As I walked past the Donkey Field the other day, I overheard some children ask their parents** what the pictured blue flower was. It reminded me it's often mistaken for those other familial blues and this time was no different, as they said it was forget-me-not, instead of the green alkanet it actually is. As well as similar flowers, most of these plants are hairy in their nature, flower around the same time, and favour damp, shady places. Many of them are great for pollinators too, especially bees and this week's warm weather has certainly drawn them to these flowers. This makes it even more likely for these plants to be mistaken for each other and it's a great opportunity for me to put together a spotter's guide in case you find the same flowers on your outings. Staying with green alkanet, the key features which set it
That is a beautiful view - I love the way the light is falling. Is the second photograph of your place?
ReplyDeleteHi Kate,
ReplyDeleteI got to the allotment and though 'blow I'm shooting into the light', but got pleasantly surprised with the result. Yes, the second shot's my place - I'm doing fornightly postings - rotating round the 4 corners of the garden plus top and bottom views of the allotment. At some point I might also put them together into a picture diary of the whole year...
I like the idea of the picture diary ... oops, I almost wrote 'dairy'.
ReplyDeleteI've added your blog to my 'playing in the dirt' links.
Hi Kate - I have problems with that too - especially when typing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link - it's much appreciated :)