Veg Plotting

If there's one flower which shouts 'Spring is here!', then daffodils must be it, and with perfect timing Daffodils  also did the same last week when it hit the bookshop shelves. I was lucky to receive a copy to review and tempt you... and temptation is easy when comes in huge dollops of gorgeousness as Daffodils does. This is thanks to Georgianna Lane's exquisite and bountiful photography accompanied by Naomi Slade's cheerful, evocative and informative writing. A book that's both useful and looks ravishing is one of the hardest feats to pull off and here we have one that looks effortless in this achievement thanks to the hard work by author, photographer and publisher alike. It's a book that deserves to be left out permanently, for both frequent referral for key information as well as reading purely to lift one's mood. The book has three main sections: the first gives us a short tour of the history and botany of daffodils - aka Narcissus to give them t...

Regular readers know how much I love the cowslips at the entrance to our estate. They usually bloom around now and I'm delighted they've increased in numbers consistently over the years. Here you can see the original roadside bank from which they've spread into the meadow below, and now they've also leapt across the road to the opposite verge. An estate setting like this is more unusual as they're more of a wildflower meadow favourite. I think we're seeing the results of some seed spreading which took place over 20 years ago when the road builders established this mini-meadow and wetland to cope with runoff from the A350 nearby.  Last week I learned the sight I love is becoming increasingly rare owing to habitat loss and the remaining populations may not be as healthy as they could be. As a result, Plantlife is asking for anyone who knows of a local patch of cowslips to conduct a short survey . I've just discovered cowslip plants have two different types; o...

  Since 2012 the BSBI (the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland) has conducted its New Year Plant Hunt . Wildflower lovers from all over the UK walk round their local patch over the first few days for a few hours at the start of January and record what they see fully in bloom. Overall (and surprisingly), over 500-600 different species may be found depending on the survey year, with around 40 not uncommon on an individual walk. The top 5 finds last year were the dandelion and daisy, plus groundsel, annual meadow-grass, and common chickweed. The counts each year may vary, but the collection of survey information over a number of years helps identify any trends. The project aims to find out how our wildflowers are responding to changes in autumn and winter weather patterns, and over the few years it's been going, changes have been seen already.The use of volunteers as 'citizen scientists', means a much wider area can be covered and in greater numbers than our scientists...

I've tended to pass poinsettias by in the run up to Christmas, but this tasteful display in a local florist's window during my recent wander around town made me pause and think again. They're quite an unusual plant, so here's a little more about them... They originally hail from Mexico, where they were valued by the Aztecs, who used them to decorate their temples and also thought they represented a new life for warriors who'd perished in battle. Another Aztec legend says the plants red bracts represents the blood of a goddess who died of a broken heart. This inspired the plant's French name, Etoile d’amour  aka Star of Love.  Poinsettias became more widely known following a botanical expedition to Mexico in 1803. It was named as a new species, Euphorbia pulcherrima by Johann Friedrick Klotzsch in 1834. The name poinsettia comes from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first US official to Mexico, who was an avid botanist and brought it back to the United States in the ...

It's been almost impossible to go out for a walk lately and not get bonked on the head by a falling acorn or beech nut. The paths through the woods are strewn with the trees' bounty, far too much for the squirrels to hide away as is their usual wont. I'm sure they're as busy as they usually are; they just can't keep up with what's available. I was reminded recently of the term mast year , which describes exactly what we're experiencing this autumn. My reasoning on why this is happening is: We had a mild, wet winter so the trees had a good drink and had plenty of opportunity to prime themselves ready for spring without snow, frost and ice getting in the way Blossom came early, and for once it wasn't blown away by a winter storm or loosened by a frost It was a warm spring so the bees and other pollinators maximised their activities in the sunshine They were so efficient that even the later spring and early summer drought wasn't sufficient to bring frui...

2020 is proving to be a spectacular year for wildflowers, not just in terms of their abundance, but also for new ones popping up. A few weeks ago I spotted this newbie peeping out of the shade in our front side garden. A closer look and I'd instantly consigned it to a member of the deadnettle family owing to its nettle-like, hairy leaves without the familiar tingling sensation when touched. There my identification would have stayed; thank goodness for blogging and Wildflower Wednesday to encourage me to investigate further! A quick glance at Plantlife's information on the red dead-nettle and I could see straight away my initial ID was wrong owing to the rounder leaves and rather pink flowers. It doesn't have the distinctive markings of my garden's plant.  I turned to my trusty Francis Rose and found the answer within a couple of minutes in the form of exhibit A on the page. The leaves and distinctive flowers mark it out as hedge woundwort ( Stachys sylvatica ) inste...

I first came across this plant a few years ago at West Green House (pictured), where it provided useful winter colour and scent in a shady part of the garden. I decided there and then it was just what was needed to provide some winter interest for our views from the kitchen. I finally achieved that intent last year when I bought three of these plants, which go by the catchy title (not) of Coronilla valentina subsp. glauca 'Citrina' aka Scorpion vetch or Bastard senna. My research showed it likes sunny, walled areas as well as the shade I'd seen it in, which is just as well as that's exactly the spot I had for it. However, all is not well in my garden so far. I needed two plants, one for the top terrace bed and one for a pot next to the kitchen door, but I found it was cheaper to buy three. However my Coronilla curled up its toes at my chosen spots, and prefered my careless 'bunging' of the spare plant into another patio pot, one which can't be s...

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 ...

Top left to right:  Triphora trianthophoros ,  Cypripedium californicum ,  Hexalectris spicata ,  Cypripedium Reginae , and  Spiranthes odorata Bottom, left to right:  Platanthera leucophaea ,  Triphora trianthophoros ,  Platanthera grandiflora ,  Cyrtopodium polyphyllum , and  Calopogon tuberosus It's not often that my worlds of nature, gardens and stamp collecting collide, so a recent email about a forthcoming stamp issue in the USA on Friday is cause for celebration. Even better when it means I can join in Gail's Wildflower Wednesday . These are a selection of 10 from over 100 native species which grow in the wild (and in gardens) in the States. We have 52 native species here in the UK, many of which are so rare they can only be seen in a nature reserve. Thanks to Facebook friend Jacqueline Soule who double checked with David Coleman (originator of the email), I also have their confirmed names as shown above. Now to ...

I was surprised to find a-new-to-me plant on our walk along the canal at Bradford on Avon recently. It reminded me of the invasive Himalayan Balsam which is well established along many of our waterways, but a bright jewel-like orange instead of gaudy pink? Its ID had me stumped. Back home I soon found I was at least half way there with my ID. It is indeed another balsam, otherwise known as  Impatiens capensis , aka orange jewelweed, or orange balsam. Whilst it was quite common along our walk, I was pleased to see it's not out competed the other grasses and wild flowers along the canal. According to its entry on the BSBI website, it's not currently considered to have a high ecological impact on our river and canal system, unlike its Himalayan cousin. However it does also has an explosive seed capsule and buoyant seeds which helps with dispersal. This has resulted in its subsequent spread through our canal and river systems in Southern England. Have you seen it yet...

A little while ago I wrote about garden visits which suit both NAH and me. Little did I know within a few days of that post I'd find a whole holiday. Don't get me wrong, all our holidays are enjoyable, but Switzerland was exceptional. NAH could happily play on the mountain railways and cable cars all day, whilst I could take in everything nature wanted to show me. One day on a train journey up the mountain back to Wengen I caught NAH watching me with a smile on his face. 'What's up?', I asked him. 'I'm watching you taking it all in', he said. Little did he know that not only was I drinking in the gorgeous mountain views, I also had a running commentary playing in my head along the lines of: "That view is fabulous; that's a wild flower I have in my garden... there's another, it's clover; and that's a Campanula ; and there's a scabious like the one I have in my pots; here's a smaller version of the ox-eye daisy in my...

Autumn is a good time to start plans for next season in the garden, and the following three books are great aids to help gardeners to do so. Over the past few weeks I've had the pleasure of reading: The mother of all plant reference works A great boxed set to inspire the budding fruit and veg grower, no matter how small their plot A book on design that's been a regular companion in my garden, whilst I ponder where it's headed next. All three are review copies, I received courtesy of the publishers. The RHS A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants This is no lap book, but a hefty tome weighing in at around four kilos. It merits a read whilst sitting at a table with a cuppa and notebook to hand. This is the 4th Edition of Christopher Brickell's outstanding work. Around 5,000 plants have been added, to provide a comprehensive reference of over 15,000 garden plants. I would have preferred the two-volume approach of the previous edition, but welcome the increas...

I don't usually go for coleus, but these three simple pots round the corner catch my eye every time I go past them. They're placed below a window at the end of a drab drive, with colours that blend with each other well and also complement the brickwork of the house. This photo was taken on a dreary day and their fieriness helps to lift the gloom. I think they're fabulous, how about you? Update October 4th 2016: It looks like the outer coleus are a new cultivar called 'Campfire' , spotted amongst 56,000 seedlings at the University of Florida in 2012, or possibly 'Redhead' . It depends whether the orange of 'Campfire' has intensified, like the blurb in this month's HTA News says it does. This is a tender perennial of hardiness H1C which means it can be grown outdoors in the summer. Update same day: Ball Colegrave introduced these onto the UK market this year, so I was able to get their American company to confirm the cultivar via Tw...

A while ago I blogged about my mystery clematis and then its  Case Solved , but I've never actually shown you the blooms at the centre of the mystery together. Both are looking especially lovely here at VP Gardens this year, so I couldn't resist making them the subject of this month's Blooms Day . The mysterious clematis is the one on the right, sold to me as C . 'Crystal Fountain', which is actually the one on the left. You can easily see why I was puzzled, and also why my bloom with its mistaken identity still has the wow factor with anyone visiting the garden. Several years after it appeared here, Raymond Evison launched my mysterious bloom as C . 'Diamantina' at Chelsea Flower Show. It's a sport of C . 'Crystal Fountain', so I really do have a case of Separated at Birth in my garden. What delightful mysteries have you had to solve in your garden? Garden Bloggers Blooms Day is hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens .

The snowdrops petals are opened wide, which means the temperature was above 10 o C. This allows the release of their scent and detection by foraging bees who won't fly below that temperature.  It's time to update my Snowdrops Plant Profile , as there have been developments since last year. As you can see I have some snowdrops which have self-seeded themselves in the gravel path whilst I wasn't looking. They also deserve to join the ranks of Against the Odds , just like the wall-grown ones I found at Painswick Rococo Garden a few years ago. I showed them to Naomi - she of snowdrop book and Snowdrops on Tour fame - as I wanted to know how long it takes to get from seed to flowering bulb. She peered at them and said: From seed to flower, snowdrops take about 5 years. But many nivalis are clonal by preference – have you got yourself a hybrid? Are there other actual seedlings around? (Looks like nivalis to me but hard to tell from a pic!) . I confirmed it must be...

How did you get on matching the flowers, fruit and vegetables to their respective plant Families? I hope you had some fun whilst doing so. The answers are: Amaryllidaceae - snowdrop and onion Apiaceae - Eryngium and parsnip Asteraceae - dahlia and lettuce Fabaceae - lupin and pea Polygonaceae - Persicaria and rhubarb Rosaceae - hawthorn and strawberry Which pairing surprised you the most? Well done if you spotted that by putting the pictures into alphabetical order, I'd given you three of the pairs already.

I've had a lot of fun putting together the latest edition of Puzzle Corner.  Can you match the flowers and fruit/vegetables with their plant kingdom Families? There is a flower and fruit/vegetable for each one. The Families are: Amaryllidaceae Apiaceae Asteraceae Fabaceae Polygonaceae Rosaceae I think - like me - you'll be surprised how some of these pair up with their families. I hope you enjoy this fun quiz and I'll give you the answers next week .

The last day of our holiday saw us walking along St Ouen's Bay close to the site where Monday's Jersey Royals box is located. The tide was out, so there was plenty of beach to explore. I've added NAH to the scene to give a sense of scale. This view looks back towards the spot atop the cliffs where I took the picture postcard of the bay   shown previously. I was keen to have a closer look at the vegetation to the right of the photo, which stood next to the farmer's fields. As I suspected, it's sea beet , an edible relative of chard and beetroot that's suitable for foraging. It was a new find for me and I saw plenty growing around the island during our stay. I wonder if it's ever harvested for the vegetable boxes? Young leaves can be used in salads, and it serves as a good substitute for spinach in any recipe. As you can see, it likes growing along the sea wall and in the shingle of St Ouen's Bay. However, when I reached the slipwa...