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 ...
Brrrrrrrrr....
ReplyDeleteBeangenie - it is brrrrr! I think my snowed up watering can's rather cute though ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd I love how snow hushes everything and alters the light's quality. You know it's there before you pull back the curtains :)
A day to sit with a hot drink and a gardening book!
ReplyDeleteDream and plan!
Lea
Lea's Menagerie
Gorgeous...now it looks like my garden except we only have a few inches here now
ReplyDeletelovely photo xx
ReplyDeleteSsshh - I struggled to find my watering can which I needed to water the greenhouse!!
ReplyDeleteFound my watering can today. It is totally solid! Being plastic it will probably crack when it eventually thaws out.
ReplyDeleteLovely photo. Keep warm.
Hah! I have a similar photo of my wheelbarrow swathed in snow. I do love the way snow creates "cushions" on all surfaces.
ReplyDeleteLea - I have 2 on the go at the moment :)
ReplyDeleteDonna - we have more to come this week apparently.
Kbower - welcome and thanks :)
PG - I can lend you one ;)
Dobby - they're usually quite resilient, so fingers crossed for you x
Janet - 'cushions' is a very good term :)