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
Lovely photo, Ivy berries? or perhaps a fatsia?
ReplyDeleteGaz Alternative Eden
Hi Gaz - thanks - they are similar aren't they? It's ivy :)
ReplyDeleteYes very similar, quite a few of the various relatives are also very similar too
DeleteThe plant looks quite cosy in a chilly sort of way :-)
ReplyDeleteEG - I think snow's meant to be quite a good insulator if memory serves me correctly. I'm hoping it's the case for my salads!
ReplyDeleteOh your ivy is toying with you peeking out like that.
ReplyDeleteI think snow is a good insultator its the damp in winter thats the problem so if we have lots of rain and low temperatures you are more likely to loose your salads
Now you see me, now you don't - snow adds a most exciting dimension to plants - looks like a creature that you might come across in 'Dr Who' :)
ReplyDeletePG - it certainly is ;) The salads are mostly under cloches and cold frames so they should be OK.
ReplyDeleteAnna - it certainly does. I'm also most taken with the snow 'hats' my Echinops seed heads are sporting at the moment :)
That's the peek all my plants are giving me these days.
ReplyDeleteCommonweeder - we're in the thaw now, so mine are coming out of hiding ;)
ReplyDeletePeekaboo to you - must catch up spoon. Hope all is well
ReplyDeleteTBS - it's exciting times - catching up sounds good :)
ReplyDelete