A Walk on the Wild Side

Yesterday we went for a walk on a familiar route.  A farm lane/bridle path that leads into the Pentland Hills just outside Edinburgh.  We regularly walk this path and there is always some eyecatching novelty to stop you in your tracks.  Due to the virus restrictions we haven't been this way for about ages.  The flora and fauna haven't missed us and are thriving.

First to greet us this chicory flower:

Next a novelty I had to look up.  Yes it looks a bit like white ragwort or even blackberry flowers but this is Sneezewort (Achillea ptarmica)

Here's a picture with the leaf to help identification

The big attraction is the knapweed which is proving a magnet for many species

Another insect magnet is this:

My best guess is Hawkweed, but "dandelion like flowers" covers an extensive range of plants.  A check of the leaves suggests  Leafy hawkweed (Hieracium umbellatum)

As we get higher a heathland favourite appears

A bank of harebells

Now here is the most camera shy wildflower .  My camera's autofocus is fooled every time I try to get a close up.  It is Devil's-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis)

The much maligned ragwort (Senecio jacobaea)  is hosting an insect party

Another commonplace plant: Yarrow  (Achillea millefolium)

Looks like Cow Parsley - I reckon this is a Hogweed seedhead

Next a real surprise up on the moor: Wild Basil?

Clinopodium vulgare

Not to confused with White Horehound (Marubium vulgae) found a quarter of a mile further on 

Last to feature although the plant is long gone these Sweet Cicely seeds are hanging on in their characteristic configuration.

Time to head for home.

Crop Shop!

We had a garden gate sale at the school today. Fair to say that there was a bit more colour compared to two weeks ago when the potatoes and broad beans were sold. 

Between the two we have added £70 to the garden fund.

There are flowers as well as veg.

And demonstration beds like the "4 Seasons" veg beds designed to have something cropping at any time of the year.

We also maintain a rotation.  Here are the legumes (with soft fruit to the left).

Here are the netted brassicas

And some exotics like sweetcorn and pumpkins.

Let's not forget the wildflower bed:

The level of interest from pupils, parents and passersby (it is beside a public footpath) is a source of great encouragement.

Ragged Robin

Sometimes you just miss the boat with sowing seeds and so it was with Ragged Robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi) this year.  But much to my delight there is a whole patch of it which has just burst into flower nearby.  It is thriving in the damp conditions alongside our local pond.   I reckon I would be hard pressed to provide this habitat in our back garden just with its half barrel pond!

Drove of Ragged Robin  - or should that be a drift?

Wild and Stormy

The "Wildflower Meadow Bed" is looking suitably neglected in pride of place:

Wildflower Flowerbed

Here are some of the current hits:

Queen Anne's Lace or Wild Carrot

Also Queen Anne's Lace - just more mature

Who can resist Clover?

If you like architecture: Teasel

Bright and cheery Oxeye Daisy

Another Tease

The storms of the last few days have stopped the courgettes and beans in their track. Sheltered tomatoes and cucumbers are under notice, served by the night time temperature.  It will soon be time to plant garlic, as long as it's not stormy.

School Gardening

I have been helping out at a local school garden for a couple of seasons now.  I had hoped to launch a dedicated blog on the subject but this no longer seems practical.*  I will do a couple of posts here to describe some of the experiences we have had to date.

By way of introduction here is how the garden looked last year: 

Wildflower Garden

Gateway off Playground

Side on view

Brassicas and Salad Beds

Our Greenhouse

Cucurbits

Potatoes in Sacks

*Such a blog would best be run by the schoolchildren themselves as part of the curriculum.  The school does have a page devoted to the garden which has a calendar and some updates.  You can see this at the following link Garden Page .

Spot the Birdbath

Now you see it

Now you don't

The reverse view: