A Strange and Intriguing Foxglove

Hello Friends!

I was out for an afternoon walk today when I came across a most intriguing looking foxglove. It was not of the usual native foxglove ilk, with long and slender stems, bolt upright with a gently curving top, and the stem dotted with the familiar, pink gloves at intervals, nor did it have that bare space at the bottom where the early flowers have withered to produce the ripening green seed heads. No, this one was quite different indeed.

This picture of a group of foxgloves is of the sort with which I am more familiar.

See how the little gloves are spaced out, and tend to be more to one side of the stem?  Well, imagine my surprise to find this chunky, almost formidable, quite frightening looking beast nearby!

Whether it is because they are so tightly packed or not, the gloves do not seem to have that same elongated, elegant appearance of the more usual foxglove, appearing much stubbier in shape.

Now, it doesn't matter which angle I snapped it from, the gloves are tightly packed and wrapped completely around the stem. You can just see a tiny piece of stem at the very bottom of the plant.

Not only that, but just look at those vicious looking flowers yet to open at the top of the stem! Why, they look like tiny alien babies, with gaping maws and horrible yellow teeth. I have never seen so many anthers, or the like of this, before.

I think if I were a bee, I would fly quickly in the opposite direction!

Even my favourite foxglove shot shows what appear to be extra stamens inside.

Here is a picture I took several days ago of a more typical foxglove, and the inside is quite different to the Beast.  It is more how I expect a foxglove to look. Sweetly charming, soft, and ready to fit gracefully onto the paws of a fox.  I always think the flowers would make darling little hats for pixies, elves, and fairy folk.

In my curiosity this afternoon I have Googled images of foxgloves and my only conclusion is that this frightening looking beast may be a hybrid cross between some of the more specialised cultivated varieties and a native wild species. What do you think? I will be interested to know if any of you, especially in the UK, have seen anything like this before.

Until next time
Deborah xo

After The Rain ~~~

Hello Friends!

After the rain comes ~~~ more rain! We’ve taken quite a pasting with strong gales over the last few days, not only here in the west, but right across the country. At one time over one hundred twenty thousand {120,000} lightening strikes hit the southern counties of England and the northern coast of France in twelve hours! That must have been some show, and frightening if you do not like lightening.

We have had several days of strong winds, topping off at around 50~60mph, but at this time of year, when all the plants, big and small, from rose bushes and poppies right up to the big sycamores and lime trees, are in full flower and leaf, it all seems so much worse than during the winter months when there are few things to grasp the wind as it rips through the air. 

The garden, which was looking so pretty, is a bit of a mess ~~~pauses to dry tears~~~ many coloured rose petals are strewn beneath bushes; verbena bonariensis did not whip, but lie snapped and flat; not for the first time my delicate Oriental poppies resemble soggy, wet tissue paper, ink splotched with their dark pollen. Weeds, of course, flourish ~ did we expect them not to do so? The peonies and arum lilies are, thankfully, past their best but have since been helped on their way! 

One thing is sure ~ nature has a wonderful, magical way of recovering, and once this spate of nasty, inclement weather passes, I know all will be restored and a quick recovery should follow.

There has been enough rainfall to consider building an Ark. Put your name on the list and I’ll swing by to pick you up as the next round of torrential rain arrives from the Atlantic Ocean tomorrow!  There has certainly been no need to water and the raspberries are swelling magnificently now.

Yesterday, despite the cold, blowing wind, I managed a quick ramble out and about between the downpours which abated somewhat yesterday afternoon because I wanted to see what the wild foxgloves are doing. They are such a magnificent wildflower and probably my favourite {but then, so is gorse; and bluebells; and cowslips; and sea pinks; and ling too}. I was not disappointed, but I have seen better displays. Here are a few photographs of what I saw ~~~

On my way home, I saw a quick flash of movement in the hedge as Mamma Blue Tit flew quickly away from feeding her recently fledged baby.  Poor, drenched little mite as it is, it obligingly sat while I quickly took some pictures of it, and then began preening it's soaked feathers. I did not stay long, I did not want to stop Mamma from returning with yet more juicy bugs to feed what seems to be her only surviving baby ~~~

I feel immensely privileged to have shared these few intimate moments with such a sweet little creature of our planet.  Nature is magical, wonderful, pure and unashamedly so.

Until next time ~~~

~~~Deborah xo

Let There be Mint {and Basil}

Hello Friends!

It is a glorious afternoon in the Shire, maybe at times a tad muggy, but then the wind freshens and whips it all away for a few minutes, and it is such beautiful sunshine to lift my flagging spirits after several days of murk.

Over the past few weeks you’ve seen photographs of my free mint plant. Well, not exactly free, in the middle of winter, when there was no mint in my garden, I bought one of those growing herb pots for £1.00 and when I had used it, I put the pot outside to be dealt with later when the weather improved.  In the meantime, the root kept on growing and a few weeks ago I noticed lovely, small green shoots in the pot, so I potted it up into a bigger container with some fresh compost and look at it now! A few weeks of moderately warm days, a few days of rain, as well as regular watering when it is dry and I’ve got a lovely, big, healthy mint plant.  I’m not certain, it may be Moroccan Mint, but it has that deliciously fresh minty taste to it, and which is perfect for fresh mint tea {which I love}

These photos are taken over several weeks, in chronological order ~~~

7th April

 

20th April

28th April 

13th May

24th May

Then, I did the same thing with some basil {which I never have much success growing from seed} I bought a pot, used some of it, then planted up the twenty or so stems, which are invidual plants, into a bigger pot and I now have fresh basil for a few weeks longer ~~~

I've also found an early~ish lone foxglove in my hedge ~~~ I love foxgloves dearly and am privileged that the simple, pink native has chosen to make a home in my garden ~~~

It's nearly June and things are moving along in the garden now ~~~

Until next time ~~~

~~~Deborah xo