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
Wow, what a stunning picture. I can really feel the autumn sunshine. It looks like a really lovely place - I think I could spend a few happy hours wandering around there.
ReplyDeleteHi CJ - wow indeed :) I visited Holt Farm two weeks in a row. The first was in the rain and there was still plenty of interest even then. I met a couple from Devon who open their garden to the public and were frantically taking photos. They agreed that a garden with plenty of interest in the rain is a rarity and should be treasured.
DeleteGorgeous photo!
ReplyDeleteGreat photo VP on what looks like a glorious autumn day. Is the lake part of the property?
ReplyDeleteYes and no, Anna. The lake belongs to Bristol Water and it's Holt Farm (with all its happy Yeo Valley cows) itself rather than the garden which goes down to the lake. However, there are some events at the garden which include trout fishing on the lake and the garden team like to make use of the surrounding landscape as part of the garden.
DeleteIsn't that just lovely! I love how there's still so much to see at the moment - perennials having a last moment of glory before winter dieback and grasses slowly fading into their winter colours. Just glorious!
ReplyDeleteI'm really surprised at how green lots of the trees were last week Caro. I'm sure that's changing though...
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