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 ...
Holt Farm?
ReplyDeleteAnna - Yes :) I kept on forgetting to take a photo of it until my visit there yesterday!
ReplyDeleteWill definitely have to persuade himself to point camper van in that direction before long :)
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you do Anna and you'd like to meet up. NB it's open on Thursdays and the first Sunday afternoon of the month from now until September :)
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks for stopping by my blog! It was lovely to meet you at Holt Farm, hopefully our paths will cross in the not too distant future - I feel there's a lot I could learn from you and your adventures around the world :)
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