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 ...
Seeing that arch in the first photo has got thinking that I might get one for the yellow climbing rose I'd like on the plot.
ReplyDeleteHi Flighty - I use mine for growing sweet peas. Don't make the same mistake as I did though - this was a very cheap arch from Wilkinson's. They rot very quickly...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the warning! Maybe I'll get my woodworking son to build something for me.
ReplyDeletecool shots
ReplyDeleteHi Dragonstar - glad to be of help! I like the idea of your son's bespoke work though. I'm hoping to persuade NAH to do something similar to replace the broken arches on the plot, in particular the 1 I used for my vines!
ReplyDeleteHi KMF - thanks for the compliment! I'm posting these every couple of weeks or so, so that I have a 'time lapse' garden and plot. I think it'll also help me plan some changes as I'll be able to see what's not working and when.