Friday 25th April 2014

Bluebells at Highdown Gardens

With the bluebells in full flower at the Garden House we had a discussion about wild flowers and what constitutes a weed. Bluebells look stunning in woodlands but often pop up all over the flowerbeds and many of the bluebells we now see are the Spanish bluebells or native Spanish hybrids that have larger leaves and have flowers all around the stem rather than just on one side. The Spanish hybrid is more robust than the native and if not monitored could eventually change the genetics of the native variety. The bluebell is part of the asparagus family and forms extensive carpets of flowers especially under the canopy of trees.

Other wild flowers we looked at :

• Herb Robert or Geranium robertianum - which has distinct red stems, a sprawling habit, pink flowers and rather unpleasant smell. Apparently is has been used as a cure for toothache and nosebleeds

• Cow parsley or Anthriscus sylvestris - which is a hollow stemmed tall plant and is a member of the carrot family
  
• Garlic mustard - Alliaria petiolata or 'jack by the hedge' is a biennial flowering plant and the leaves can be added to salads
  

Weeds/wild flowers are also an important indicator of soil type e.g. ox-eye daisies grow very well in chalk soil.

Recommended books on wild flowers:

Sarah Raven - Wild Flowers

Keble Martin- Concise British Flora in Colour

John Akeroyd - Encyclopaedia of Wild Flowers

Valerie Ellis - Need to Weed

Activities in the garden this week:

• planting out corn cockles
• dead heading narcissi 
• planting gladioli murielae bulbs and ammi plants in sunken garden
• sowing sunflower and pumpkin seeds
• preparing the bed outside greenhouse for dahlias
• planting peas in containers
• planting up potato bag
• continuing path work
• eating cake when rain stopped play

Photos of Ruth's garden 

Here are some photos to show how much Ruth's garden has progressed since the Friday group worked on her plot in January.

And finally:

I thought you might enjoy some photos of the handkerchief tree (Davidia involucrata) I saw in Highdown gardens on Saturday - it was such a treat to come across it.