Whiling away the Hours with the Spring Flowers

I need more whiling. I'm sure most of us do and after a slow start, May has come along apace. I can't keep up with nature's growth rate so instead of a blog on a specific plant, today I thought I'd post some pretty pictures of my ramblings - amblings and ramblings . These delightful comfrey specimens above are gorgeous. Not only a fabulous bee friendly plant, which will tolerate dry, shady conditions (there's not many of those), it also makes excellent fertilizer for the tomatoes and many other feed-hungry plants. Fill a bucket of water and strip some large, old leaves from the bottom and leave to soak for a month. It was traditionally used for healing wounds, especially in battle.

Surely the most aptly named British beauty? One of my favourites, the bluebell had a mundane but vital use to our ancestors. The bulbs ground to a pulp and heated produce a pungent glue, which fletchers used to cement the feathered flights to arrows.

Can you tell how much I love blue flowers? Speedwell, adorable carpet of blue. I can't believe that this little sweetheart is considered a weed but then my garden has a mixture of wild and cultivated plants and this would be a welcome addition. It was often known as bird's-eye and in Somerset the children thought that if you picked these flowers, birds would come and pluck your eyes out. This isn't a common trait of our feathered, wild friends in my experience.

Not a wild flower of course, but wisteria is too much of a May glory for me to ignore with my camera. In China, it is known as the purple vine and the flowers symbolise playfulness and adventure. Some varieties are edible and can be made into wine. I don't know which these are and I consider it a waste to pluck these all-too-short blooms anyway. There are plenty of less attractive ingredients to gather to make homemade vino.

I certainly have plenty of herb robert in the garden. Less fairly known as stinking bob, due to its aroma of cat wee when brushed. Still, it's a pretty little thing and I leave most of these plants alone. The leaves are quite attractive too, a native, smaller cousin of the many popular garden and indoor geranium varieties. Apparently, she makes for a good mouth antiseptic but I wonder what the quality of breath would be afterwards! One of the very many wild flowers known as bachelor's buttons due to the plant's button-like capsules. Another one that was known as bird's eye.

The green alkanet, which sounds like a super hero character to me and is yet another 'bird's eye.' It really must have been confusing growing up a few generations back! The roots of the alkanets are used to make purple and burgundy dyes and even in varnishes for violins.

Hold a buttercup under your chin and if you see a yellow reflection, it means you like butter. Of course, this proved to be entirely true when we tested this on ourselves as children. Who knew? We didn't use them as a remedy for piles though, like many of our former generations. Made using ground-up roots and lard, it seems fats from animals feature quite widely in connection with this cheery, common plant. Boomer is showing his blurry approval of both butter and lard above.

Have a fantastic week and enjoy the spring sunshine and especially the flowers. As Nanki-Poo so eloquently sings:

The flowers that bloom in the spring, Tra la, Breathe promise of merry sunshine — As we merrily dance and we sing, Tra la, We welcome the hope that they bring.

With love, Annie x

Norfolk Psychics 2016

Bibliography

Freethy Ron: Agar to Zenry (The Crowood Press, 1985)

Vickery Roy: Garlands, Conkers and Mother-Die (Continium, 2010)

#flowers #sping #buttercup #alkanet #bluebell #speedwell #wisteria #comfrey