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May 29, 2005
Attending to wildflowers
There are scads of little flowers in our yard that we've only recently begun to pay attention to. Why? Because they're not cultivated, not "desired." We knew we had dandelions, violets, mustard, and dame's rocket, but this year I've undertaken to begin learning the names of the others.
Right now our yard is strewn with colonies of speedwell. The majority of the colonies are lavender, but some are an astonishing blue, and a few are nearly white. The colonies are so thick that you can see them from quite a distance, even though the flowers are very small (about 1/4 inch radius) and are only a few inches high. (What's shown in this picture is a larger, cultivated speedwell, but the formation of the blossom is the same.) And each colony seems to be a single color of flower, though we have some white colonies growing right on the edge of the lavender ones.
Why is a living flower called "dead nettle"? It's a peculiar little hooded plant with tiny pink flowers at its terminus. To see the flower, scroll down at this site.
Celandine used to be used to treat liver disorders, because the juice of the plant is bile-colored. It is still used for "indigestion"—but of what sort, I don't know. I think I'll stick with Pepto and Tums, thanks very much.
BP is allergic to garlic mustard; it gives him a rash.
Who on earth came up with the name "gill-over-the-ground"? When I posed this question to BP, he replied, "Only an Anglo."
Posted by senioritis at May 29, 2005 07:35 AM
Comments
Well, see, now I don't feel so bad. I just assumed that all gardeners automatically knew the names of all growing things. perhaps there's still hope for me...
Posted by: aerobil at May 29, 2005 10:43 AM