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 early. I think I have finally killed off ny Kerria-not on purpose-it's just been out competed.
ReplyDeleteMore colourful signs of Spring. I have this in my garden, it is a lovely shrub. I gave my Dad an offshoot, and he loves it too. x
ReplyDeleteJudith - that's quite a feat, it's usually the other way round!
ReplyDeleteLouise - glad you give stuff to your dad as well as the other way round. It's one of the real gardening pleasures isn't it?
A beautiful and cheerful shrub VP. My favourite photo of my niece and godchild is of her twirling under a kerria shrub with a garland of yellow flowers on her head. She is a cool 17 year old now and would not like to be reminded of the antics of her youth :)
ReplyDeleteAnna - ah but in a few years time it'll come round full circle and that'll be a photo she'll cherish!
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