Category Archives: Wild Flowers

Wild and Weedy Wednesday: Myosotis discolor

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In early May we noticed lots of wild forget-me-nots were growing in our meadow.

On closer inspection we have identified them as both Myosotis stricta and Myosotis discolor. They are very similar, only M. discolor, or Changing Forget-me-not, has both blue and creamy yellow flowers. Quite a suprise to me when I first realized!

The tiny flowers (incredibly difficult to photograph in the sunshine!) are even smaller than woodland forget-me-nots or the ones that grow in gardens. I actually picked some to get a closer look…

The stems are upright and long, and continue growing to produce more and more flowers.

They have been going strong for several weeks now in the open meadow, and every time it rains more open. I have read that they like sandy well-drained soil, which is obviously why they have spread here. I think they might be overlooked from a distance, but on our sloping meadow they do form a definite cluster of blue.


There are wild forget-me-nots in the woods too, more like the garden varieties. Have you ever found any sort of wild forget-me-nots?

Do join me on a Wednesday if you would like to share a wild flower or weed that grows in your garden or nearby. And remember to leave a link below. 😃

Have a wonderful week!

Wild and Weedy Wednesday: Campanula patula

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This Wednesday I am once again sharing a wild flower or weed that grows in our garden. Today it is most definitely a wild flower and not what I would class as a weed, although this one has popped up in one of the flower beds.

Campanula patula

We have always had a few Harebells in the garden, and this year they seem to have spread even more. Botanically Campanula patula, these delicate bell-shaped flowers love meadows, or the edges of roads or woodland.

They will grow in almost any soil, but prefer the very slightly acid soil we have here, which is well-drained sandy loam, and they like plenty of sunshine. In fact the flowers will turn towards the sun, like sunflowers.

Harebells, bellflowers – whatever you wish to call them – are usually about 30-40cm tall and sway prettily in the breeze.

Do you see them in your part of the world?

If you wish to join me in sharing a local wild flower or weed on Wednesdays throughout this summer, please do. And leave a link in the comments below. 😃

Wild and Weedy Wednesday: Saxifraga granulata

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I am resuming my weekly posts about wild flowers and ‘weeds’ – ‘Wild and Weedy Wednesday’ – that I started last year. I thought I would run out of plants last summer, after several months of posts, but found I was making lists of flowers to include this year! Anyway, if anyone wishes to join in with me and look at some of the wild flowers (or are they weeds?!) growing in our gardens, please do!

Last summer we did not mow the vast majority of our meadows at all, and have thus already noticed a difference in the wildflowers we are seeing. Today’s flower is a good example – we don’t recall having seen it here at all in 2023; Saxifraga granulata, or meadow saxifrage.

The creamy white flowers with striking yellow stamens have been bobbing around in the wind for over a week now, standing out on their dark stems at a height of around 40 cm. The flowers are perhaps 2 cm in diameter and have a kind of ‘vintage’ look to them.

They are found on hillsides of sandy dry grassland, where the soil is poor in nutrients and slightly acidic. I am very happy this native plant has made its way to our plot, as it is on the red list of endangered plants in Bavaria.

I wonder if you have ever seen this flower? Do share if it seems familiar, as I have no idea how widespread or rare it actually is.

Have a great Wednesday!

 

Wild and Weedy Wednesday: Coltsfoot

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Some of my readers may remember I did a series of posts last year on wild flowers/weeds growing in and around my garden. Well, the series will continue this year, as there are still so many plants that I want to post about and share!

Yesterday I spotted the first wild flower of the year: Coltsfoot, Tussilago farfara.

What a wonderful sight amid the winter debris and moss! This small flower measures about 3cm when fully open, and grows on long scaly stems which continue to grow taller with the flower already open. The large leaves will emerge later – the leaves are what gives the plant its name as they supposedly resemble a colt’s foot!

The ground has to be at least 5°C before this plant will flower, so it is always a lovely find as it signifies the end of winter. In the phenological calendar we are therefore now officially in ‘Early Spring’. Hooray!

Interestingly, a report has shown that Coltsfoot in Germany still flowers at approximately the same time each year and has not reacted to ‘global warming’ at all…

I find it here directly outside our garden gate on the edge of the woods, and on our lane through the woods up to the main road. It is an old medicinal plant used primarily for tea that is said to help with coughs and asthma. As with all herbal medicines though, it should be used with caution, as too much can damage the liver.

Another interesting and useful fact is that the large leaves are soft and hairy on the underside, like tissue paper, and are a hiker’s friend when caught short in the woods! 😉

Do you see Coltsfoot near you? And if so, when does it usually start flowering?

My Wild and Weedy Wednesday posts will probably be a little intermittent until spring gets a foothold, but I just had to share this little ray of sunshine!

😁

A Week of Flowers 2023, Day Five

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What? Day Five already? And so many flowers to share still! Join me for the last few days of my Week of Flowers, and share a photo of a flower you have grown this year, or perhaps seen in somebody else’s garden. And don’t forget to leave a link below. 😃

First of all, a few salvias. I love these flowers, and the bees do too! The first one is Salvia azurea, then comes ‘Aromax Blue’, and the last one is simply called ‘Peach’.

 

The next flowers were growing in our meadow this summer, and a couple were included in my ‘Wild and Weedy Wednesday’ posts this year, which I intend to resume next spring. 😃

Scot’s Thistle (Cirsium vulgare)

Wild Mallow (Malva sylvestris)

Orange Hawkweed (Hieracium aurantiacum)

Lady’s Smock (Cardamine pratensis)

Thank you to all who are joining in, sharing, liking, commenting etc! December has never looked brighter! 😉

See you tomorrow! 🙋‍♀️

Wild and Weedy Wednesday: 13th September, 2023

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Over the past few months I have been sharing a weed/wild flower every week that grows in my garden. I added them up and I have covered over 20 different weeds and there are still so many I haven’t shared! But as the season is now changing and there is little new growth I will make this the last one for the time being and will probably continue next year. (I already have another ten on a list!)

So today I will end with a pretty yellow flower that has an unpronouncable botanical name and looks very much like a small dandelion. In fact it is often called ‘Autumn Dandelion’: Scorzoneroides autumnalis, Autumn Hawkbit.

It does actually have another botanical name, Leontodon autumnalis. Leondoton means ‘lion’s tooth’, like dandelion.

This started flowering at the end of August in the meadow and has continued into our warm and sunny September. The flowers are about 3cm in diameter, and grow on tall thin stems. In our garden they are getting to about 40cm or even taller.

The hover flies and small pollinators love them. Some have already started going to seed.

As with dandelions, the leaves are edible but bitter, which is what aids the digestion, and the roots can be boiled to make a coffee substitute. (I would have to be desperate!) It is also a diuretic, helpful in the treatment of kidney complaints.

It is native to Europe, but has spread across the globe. Have you seen it in your garden?

Well, one of my first weeds I posted about was the dandelion, so it seemed fitting to end this series with a similar plant. Here they all are again. If you click on the first photo you can see them as a slideshow with their botanical names.

Erodium cicutarium
Taraxacum officinale
Potentilla vrna
Cardamine pratensis
Rumex acetosella
Veronica chamaedrys
Hieracium aurantiacum
Trifolium pratense
Matricaria chamomilla
Hypericum perforatum
Lotus corniculatus
Achillea millefolium
Daucus carota
Erigeron annuus
Centaurea jacea
Cirsium arvense
Cirsium vulgare
Prunella vulgaris
Artemisia vulgaris
Solidago canadensis
Impatiens glandulifera
Plantago lanceolata
Scorzoneroides autumnalis

Which do you like best? 😉

Hope you have enjoyed seeing what grows wild and weedy on the edge of the Bavarian Forest here in Germany!

🐝🌻🐝

 

 

Wild and Weedy Wednesday: 30th August, 2023

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The summer is drawing to a close but there are still a couple of weeds/wild flowers growing in or near my garden that I want to cover this year in my Wild and Weedy Wednesday posts. And this week’s is another neophyte – a non-native plant that has become quite invasive in parts of Germany and no doubt other areas in Europe:

Himalaya Balsam, Impatiens glandulifera

According to Wikipedia, ‘In Europe, Himalayan balsam has been included since 2017 in the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern’ and ‘the species cannot be imported, cultivated, transported, commercialized, planted, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union.’

They grow up to 2 metres tall and have pale green foliage with a slight red tinge to the stems. The flowers are pink, and sticky with nectar. They emit a soapy scent which I personally find rather sickly. On a hot calm day I often get a whiff of them at least 50 metres away.

Here they grow along streams and river banks and on the edge of damp woodland areas. These are just a few metres beyond our fence on the lane up to the road.

They have a wonderful way of dispersing their seed, whereby tension builds up in the seedpod as it develops and then it suddenly pops and catapults the seed several metres. The German name for these weeds refers to that mechanism: ‘Indisches Springkraut’ (Indian spring weed).

The seed can lie dormant for years, but mowing down the plants before they flower or ripping them out altogether helps keep them confined. It has nonetheless become part of the landscape here and although it is beneficial to pollinators, especially as it blooms late in the year (late July or August until the first frosts), it is pushing back native plants that provide nectar earlier in the year and over several months.

It hasn’t quite made the jump into our garden yet, but you can see here it is right at the fence…

Let me in!

I wonder if you see this weed near (or even in!) your garden? Would love to hear if it has spread to where you live, so do let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading, and happy weeding!