Ivydene Gardens Water Fern to Yew Wild Flower Families Gallery:
Wildflower 17 Flower Colours per Month -
Flower colour Blue in May

Topic
Plants detailed in this website by
Botanical Name

A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, I, J, K, L, M, N,
O, P, Q, R, S, T, U,
V, W, X, Y, Z ,
Bulb
A1
, 2, 3, B, C1, 2,
D, E, F, G, Glad,
H, I, J, K, L1, 2,
M, N, O, P, Q, R,
S, T, U, V, W, XYZ ,
Evergreen Perennial
A
, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, I, J, K, L, M, N,
O, P, Q, R, S, T, U,
V, W, X, Y, Z ,
Herbaceous Perennial
A1
, 2, B, C, D, E, F,
G, H, I, J, K, L, M,
N, O, P1, 2, Q, R,
S, T, U, V, W, XYZ,
Diascia Photo Album,
UK Peony Index

Wildflower
Botanical Names,
Common Names ,

will be
compared in:- Flower colour/month
Evergreen Perennial
,
F
lower shape Wildflower Flower Shape and
Plant use
Evergreen Perennial Flower Shape,
Bee plants for hay-fever sufferers

Bee-Pollinated Index
Butterfly
Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis, Butterfly Usage
of Plants.
Chalk
A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, I, J, K, L, M, N,
O, P, QR, S, T, UV,
WXYZ
Companion Planting
A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, I, J, K, L, M, N,
O, P, Q, R , S, T,
U ,V, W, X, Y, Z,
Pest Control using Plants
Fern Fern
1000 Ground Cover A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, I, J, K, L, M, N,
O, P, Q, R, S, T, U,
V, W, XYZ ,
Rock Garden and Alpine Flowers
A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, I, J, K, L, M,
NO, PQ, R, S, T,
UVWXYZ

Rose Rose Use

These 5 have Page links in rows below
Bulbs from the Infill Galleries (next row), Camera Photos,
Plant Colour Wheel Uses,
Sense of Fragrance, Wild Flower


Case Studies
...Drive Foundations
Ryegrass and turf kills plants within Roadstone and in Topsoil due to it starving and dehydrating them.
CEDAdrive creates stable drive surface and drains rain into your ground, rather than onto the public road.
8 problems caused by building house on clay or with house-wall attached to clay.
Pre-building work on polluted soil.

Companion Planting
to provide a Companion Plant to aid your selected plant or deter its pests

Garden
Construction

with ground drains

Garden Design
...How to Use the Colour Wheel Concepts for Selection of Flowers, Foliage and Flower Shape
...RHS Mixed
Borders

......Bedding Plants
......Her Perennials
......Other Plants
......Camera photos of Plant supports
Garden
Maintenance

Glossary with a tomato teaching cauliflowers
Home
Library of over 1000 books
Offbeat Glossary with DuLally Bird in its flower clock.

Plants
...in Chalk
(Alkaline) Soil
......A-F1, A-F2,
......A-F3, G-L, M-R,
......M-R Roses, S-Z
...in Heavy
Clay Soil
......A-F, G-L, M-R,
......S-Z
...in Lime-Free
(Acid) Soil
......A-F, G-L, M-R,
......S-Z
...in Light
Sand Soil
......A-F, G-L, M-R,
......S-Z.
...Poisonous Plants.
...Extra Plant Pages
with its 6 Plant Selection Levels

Soil
...
Interaction between 2 Quartz Sand Grains to make soil
...
How roots of plants are in control in the soil
...
Without replacing Soil Nutrients, the soil will break up to only clay, sand or silt
...
Subsidence caused by water in Clay
...
Use water ring for trees/shrubs for first 2 years.

Tool Shed with 3 kneeling pads
Useful Data with benefits of Seaweed

Topic -
Plant Photo Galleries
If the plant type below has flowers, then the first gallery will include the flower thumbnail in each month of 1 of 6 colour comparison pages of each plant in its subsidiary galleries, as a low-level Plant Selection Process

Aquatic
Bamboo
Bedding
...by Flower Shape

Bulb
...Allium/ Anemone
...Autumn
...Colchicum/ Crocus
...Dahlia
...Gladiolus with its 40 Flower Colours
......European A-E
......European F-M
......European N-Z
......European Non-classified
......American A,
B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, I, J, K, L, M,
N, O, P, Q, R, S,
T, U, V, W, XYZ
......American Non-classified
......Australia - empty
......India
......Lithuania
...Hippeastrum/ Lily
...Late Summer
...Narcissus
...Spring
...Tulip
...Winter
...Each of the above ...Bulb Galleries has its own set of Flower Colour Pages
...Flower Shape
...Bulb Form

...Bulb Use

...Bulb in Soil


Further details on bulbs from the Infill Galleries:-
Hardy Bulbs
...Aconitum
...Allium
...Alstroemeria
...Anemone

...Amaryllis
...Anthericum
...Antholyzas
...Apios
...Arisaema
...Arum
...Asphodeline

...Asphodelus
...Belamcanda
...Bloomeria
...Brodiaea
...Bulbocodium

...Calochorti
...Cyclobothrias
...Camassia
...Colchicum
...Convallaria 
...Forcing Lily of the Valley
...Corydalis
...Crinum
...Crosmia
...Montbretia
...Crocus

...Cyclamen
...Dicentra
...Dierama
...Eranthis
...Eremurus
...Erythrnium
...Eucomis

...Fritillaria
...Funkia
...Galanthus
...Galtonia
...Gladiolus
...Hemerocallis

...Hyacinth
...Hyacinths in Pots
...Scilla
...Puschkinia
...Chionodoxa
...Chionoscilla
...Muscari

...Iris
...Kniphofia
...Lapeyrousia
...Leucojum

...Lilium
...Lilium in Pots
...Malvastrum
...Merendera
...Milla
...Narcissus
...Narcissi in Pots

...Ornithogalum
...Oxalis
...Paeonia
...Ranunculus
...Romulea
...Sanguinaria
...Sternbergia
...Schizostylis
...Tecophilaea
...Trillium

...Tulip
...Zephyranthus

Half-Hardy Bulbs
...Acidanthera
...Albuca
...Alstroemeri
...Andro-stephium
...Bassers
...Boussing-aultias
...Bravoas
...Cypellas
...Dahlias
...Galaxis,
...Geissorhizas
...Hesperanthas

...Gladioli
...Ixias
...Sparaxises
...Babianas
...Morphixias
...Tritonias

...Ixiolirions
...Moraeas
...Ornithogalums
...Oxalises
...Phaedra-nassas
...Pancratiums
...Tigridias
...Zephyranthes
...Cooperias

Uses of Bulbs:-
...for Bedding
...in Windowboxes
...in Border
...naturalized in Grass
...in Bulb Frame
...in Woodland Garden
...in Rock Garden
...in Bowls
...in Alpine House
...Bulbs in Green-house or Stove:-
...Achimenes
...Alocasias
...Amorpho-phalluses
...Arisaemas
...Arums
...Begonias
...Bomareas
...Caladiums

...Clivias
...Colocasias
...Crinums
...Cyclamens
...Cyrtanthuses
...Eucharises
...Urceocharis
...Eurycles

...Freesias
...Gloxinias
...Haemanthus
...Hippeastrums

...Lachenalias
...Nerines
...Lycorises
...Pencratiums
...Hymenocallises
...Richardias
...Sprekelias
...Tuberoses
...Vallotas
...Watsonias
...Zephyranthes

...Plant Bedding in
......Spring

......Summer
...Bulb houseplants flowering during:-
......January
......February
......March
......April
......May
......June
......July
......August
......September
......October
......November
......December
...Bulbs and other types of plant flowering during:-
......Dec-Jan
......Feb-Mar
......Apr-May
......Jun-Aug
......Sep-Oct
......Nov-Dec
...Selection of the smaller and choicer plants for the Smallest of Gardens with plant flowering during the same 6 periods as in the previous selection

Climber in
3 Sector Vertical Plant System
...Clematis
...Climbers
Conifer
Deciduous Shrub
...Shrubs - Decid
Deciduous Tree
...Trees - Decid
Evergreen Perennial
...P-Evergreen A-L
...P-Evergreen M-Z
...Flower Shape
Evergreen Shrub
...Shrubs - Evergreen
...Heather Shrub
...Heather Index
......Andromeda
......Bruckenthalia
......Calluna
......Daboecia
......Erica: Carnea
......Erica: Cinerea
......Erica: Others
Evergreen Tree
...Trees - Evergreen
Fern
Grass
Hedging
Herbaceous
Perennial

...P -Herbaceous
...Peony
...Flower Shape
...RHS Wisley
......Mixed Border
......Other Borders
Herb
Odds and Sods
Rhododendron

Rose
...RHS Wisley A-F
...RHS Wisley G-R
...RHS Wisley S-Z
...Rose Use - page links in row 6. Rose, RHS Wisley and Other Roses rose indices on each Rose Use page
...Other Roses A-F
...Other Roses G-R
...Other Roses S-Z
Pruning Methods
Photo Index
R 1, 2, 3
Peter Beales Roses
RV Roger
Roses

Soft Fruit
Top Fruit
...Apple

...Cherry
...Pear
Vegetable
Wild Flower and
Butterfly page links are in next row

Topic -
UK Butterfly:-
...Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis and Butterfly Usage
of Plants.
...Plant Usage by
Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis and Butterfly.

Both native wildflowers and cultivated plants, with these
...Flower Shape,
...
Uses in USA,
...
Uses in UK and
...
Flo Cols / month are used by Butter-flies native in UK


Wild Flower
with its wildflower flower colour page, space,
data page(s).
...Blue Site Map.
Scented Flower, Foliage, Root.
Story of their Common Names.
Use of Plant with Flowers.
Use for Non-Flowering Plants.
Edible Plant Parts.
Flower Legend.
Flowering plants of
Chalk and
Limestone 1
, 2.
Flowering plants of Acid Soil
1.
...Brown Botanical Names.
Food for
Butterfly/Moth.

...Cream Common Names.
Coastal and Dunes.
Sandy Shores and Dunes.
...Green Broad-leaved Woods.
...Mauve Grassland - Acid, Neutral, Chalk.
...Multi-Cols Heaths and Moors.
...Orange Hedge-rows and Verges.
...Pink A-G Lakes, Canals and Rivers.
...Pink H-Z Marshes, Fens, Bogs.
...Purple Old Buildings and Walls.
...Red Pinewoods.
...White A-D
Saltmarshes.
Shingle Beaches, Rocks and Cliff Tops.
...White E-P Other.
...White Q-Z Number of Petals.
...Yellow A-G
Pollinator.
...Yellow H-Z
Poisonous Parts.
...Shrub/Tree River Banks and other Freshwater Margins. and together with cultivated plants in
Colour Wheel.

You know its
name:-
a-h, i-p, q-z,
Botanical Names, or Common Names,
habitat:-
on
Acid Soil,
on
Calcareous
(Chalk) Soil
,
on
Marine Soil,
on
Neutral Soil,
is a
Fern,
is a
Grass,
is a
Rush,
is a
Sedge, or
is
Poisonous.

Each plant in each WILD FLOWER FAMILY PAGE will have a link to:-
1) its created Plant Description Page in its Common Name column, then external sites:-
2) to purchase the plant or seed in its Botanical Name column,
3) to see photos in its Flowering Months column and
4) to read habitat details in its Habitat Column.
Adder's Tongue
Amaranth
Arrow-Grass
Arum
Balsam
Bamboo
Barberry
Bedstraw
Beech
Bellflower
Bindweed
Birch
Birds-Nest
Birthwort
Bogbean
Bog Myrtle
Borage
Box
Broomrape
Buckthorn
Buddleia
Bur-reed
Buttercup
Butterwort
Cornel (Dogwood)
Crowberry
Crucifer (Cabbage/Mustard) 1
Crucifer (Cabbage/Mustard) 2
Cypress
Daffodil
Daisy
Daisy Cudweeds
Daisy Chamomiles
Daisy Thistle
Daisy Catsears Daisy Hawkweeds
Daisy Hawksbeards
Daphne
Diapensia
Dock Bistorts
Dock Sorrels
Clubmoss
Duckweed
Eel-Grass
Elm
Filmy Fern
Horsetail
Polypody
Quillwort
Royal Fern
Figwort - Mulleins
Figwort - Speedwells
Flax
Flowering-Rush
Frog-bit
Fumitory
Gentian
Geranium
Glassworts
Gooseberry
Goosefoot
Grass 1
Grass 2
Grass 3
Grass Soft
Bromes 1

Grass Soft
Bromes 2

Grass Soft
Bromes 3

Hazel
Heath
Hemp
Herb-Paris
Holly
Honeysuckle
Horned-Pondweed
Hornwort
Iris
Ivy
Jacobs Ladder
Lily
Lily Garlic
Lime
Lobelia
Loosestrife
Mallow
Maple
Mares-tail
Marsh Pennywort
Melon (Gourd/Cucumber)
Mesem-bryanthemum
Mignonette
Milkwort
Mistletoe
Moschatel
Naiad
Nettle
Nightshade
Oleaster
Olive
Orchid 1
Orchid 2
Orchid 3
Orchid 4
Parnassus-Grass
Peaflower
Peaflower
Clover 1

Peaflower
Clover 2

Peaflower
Clover 3

Peaflower Vetches/Peas
Peony
Periwinkle
Pillwort
Pine
Pink 1
Pink 2
Pipewort
Pitcher-Plant
Plantain
Pondweed
Poppy
Primrose
Purslane
Rannock Rush
Reedmace
Rockrose
Rose 1
Rose 2
Rose 3
Rose 4
Rush
Rush Woodrushes
Saint Johns Wort
Saltmarsh Grasses
Sandalwood
Saxifrage
Seaheath
Sea Lavender
Sedge Rush-like
Sedges Carex 1
Sedges Carex 2
Sedges Carex 3
Sedges Carex 4
Spindle-Tree
Spurge
Stonecrop
Sundew
Tamarisk
Tassel Pondweed
Teasel
Thyme 1
Thyme 2
Umbellifer 1
Umbellifer 2
Valerian
Verbena
Violet
Water Fern
Waterlily
Water Milfoil
Water Plantain
Water Starwort
Waterwort
Willow
Willow-Herb
Wintergreen
Wood-Sorrel
Yam
Yew


Topic -
The following is a complete hierarchical Plant Selection Process

dependent on the Garden Style chosen
Garden Style
...Infill Plants
...12 Bloom Colours per Month Index
...12 Foliage Colours per Month Index
...All Plants Index
...Cultivation, Position, Use Index
...Shape, Form
Index

 


Topic -
Flower/Foliage Colour Wheel Galleries with number of colours as a high-level Plant Selection Process

All Flowers 53 with
...Use of Plant and
Flower Shape
- page links in bottom row

All Foliage 53
instead of redundant
...(All Foliage 212)


All Flowers
per Month 12


Bee instead of wind pollinated plants for hay-fever sufferers
All Bee-Pollinated Flowers
per Month
12
...Index

Rock Garden and Alpine Flowers
Rock Plant Flowers 53
INDEX
A, B, C, D, E, F,
G, H, I, J, K, L,
M, NO, PQ, R, S,
T, UVWXYZ
...Rock Plant Photos

Flower Colour Wheel without photos, but with links to photos
12 Bloom Colours
per Month Index

...All Plants Index


Topic -
Use of Plant in your Plant Selection Process

Plant Colour Wheel Uses
with
1. Perfect general use soil is composed of 8.3% lime, 16.6% humus, 25% clay and 50% sand, and
2. Why you are continually losing the SOIL STRUCTURE so your soil - will revert to clay, chalk, sand or silt.
Uses of Plant and Flower Shape:-
...Foliage Only
...Other than Green Foliage
...Trees in Lawn
...Trees in Small Gardens
...Wildflower Garden
...Attract Bird
...Attract Butterfly
1
, 2
...Climber on House Wall
...Climber not on House Wall
...Climber in Tree
...Rabbit-Resistant
...Woodland
...Pollution Barrier
...Part Shade
...Full Shade
...Single Flower provides Pollen for Bees
1
, 2, 3
...Ground-Cover
<60
cm
60-180cm
>180cm
...Hedge
...Wind-swept
...Covering Banks
...Patio Pot
...Edging Borders
...Back of Border
...Poisonous
...Adjacent to Water
...Bog Garden
...Tolerant of Poor Soil
...Winter-Flowering
...Fragrant
...Not Fragrant
...Exhibition
...Standard Plant is 'Ball on Stick'
...Upright Branches or Sword-shaped leaves
...Plant to Prevent Entry to Human or Animal
...Coastal Conditions
...Tolerant on North-facing Wall
...Cut Flower
...Potted Veg Outdoors
...Potted Veg Indoors
...Thornless
...Raised Bed Outdoors Veg
...Grow in Alkaline Soil A-F, G-L, M-R,
S-Z
...Grow in Acidic Soil
...Grow in Any Soil
...Grow in Rock Garden
...Grow Bulbs Indoors

Uses of Bedding
...Bedding Out
...Filling In
...Screen-ing
...Pots and Troughs
...Window Boxes
...Hanging Baskets
...Spring Bedding
...Summer Bedding
...Winter Bedding
...Foliage instead of Flower
...Coleus Bedding Photos for use in Public Domain 1

Uses of Bulb
...Other than Only Green Foliage
...Bedding or Mass Planting
...Ground-Cover
...Cut-Flower
...Tolerant of Shade
...In Woodland Areas
...Under-plant
...Tolerant of Poor Soil
...Covering Banks
...In Water
...Beside Stream or Water Garden
...Coastal Conditions
...Edging Borders
...Back of Border or Back-ground Plant
...Fragrant Flowers
...Not Fragrant Flowers
...Indoor
House-plant

...Grow in a Patio Pot
...Grow in an Alpine Trough
...Grow in an Alpine House
...Grow in Rock Garden
...Speciman Plant
...Into Native Plant Garden
...Naturalize in Grass
...Grow in Hanging Basket
...Grow in Window-box
...Grow in Green-house
...Grow in Scree
...Naturalized Plant Area
...Grow in Cottage Garden
...Attracts Butterflies
...Attracts Bees
...Resistant to Wildlife
...Bulb in Soil:-
......Chalk
......Clay
......Sand
......Lime-Free (Acid)
......Peat

Uses of Rose
Rose Index

...Bedding 1, 2
...Climber /Pillar
...Cut-Flower 1, 2
...Exhibition, Speciman
...Ground-Cover
...Grow In A Container 1, 2
...Hedge 1, 2
...Climber in Tree
...Woodland
...Edging Borders
...Tolerant of Poor Soil 1, 2
...Tolerant of Shade
...Back of Border
...Adjacent to Water
...Page for rose use as ARCH ROSE, PERGOLA ROSE, COASTAL CONDITIONS ROSE, WALL ROSE, STANDARD ROSE, COVERING BANKS or THORNLESS ROSES.
...FRAGRANT ROSES
...NOT FRAGRANT ROSES


Topic -
Camera Photo Galleries showing all 4000 x 3000 pixels of each photo on your screen that you can then click and drag it to your desktop as part of a Plant Selection Process:-

RHS Garden at Wisley

Plant Supports -
When supporting plants in a bed, it is found that not only do those plants grow upwards, but also they expand their roots and footpad sideways each year. Pages
1
, 2, 3, 8, 11,
12, 13,
Plants 4, 7, 10,
Bedding Plants 5,
Plant Supports for Unknown Plants 5
,
Clematis Climbers 6,
the RHS does not appear to either follow it's own pruning advice or advice from The Pruning of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers by George E. Brown.
ISBN 0-571-11084-3 with the plants in Pages 1-7 of this folder. You can see from looking at both these resources as to whether the pruning carried out on the remainder of the plants in Pages 7-15 was correct.

Narcissus (Daffodil) 9,
Phlox Plant Supports 14, 15

Coleus Bedding Foliage Trial - Pages
1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
11, 12, 13, 14, 15,
16, 17, 18, 19, 20,
21, 22, 23, 24, 25,
26, 27, 28, 29, 30,
31, 32, Index

National Trust Garden at Sissinghurst Castle
Plant Supports -
Pages for Gallery 1

with Plant Supports
1, 5, 10
Plants
2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9,
11, 12
Recommended Rose Pruning Methods 13
Pages for Gallery 2
with Plant Supports
2
,
Plants 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Dry Garden of
RHS Garden at
Hyde Hall

Plants - Pages
without Plant Supports
Plants 1
, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Nursery of
Peter Beales Roses
Display Garden

Roses Pages
1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
11, 12, 13

Nursery of
RV Roger

Roses - Pages
A1,A2,A3,A4,A5,
A6,A7,A8,A9,A10,
A11,A12,A13,A14,
B15,
B16,B17,B18,B19,
B20,
B21,B22,B23,B24,
B25,
B26,B27,B28,B29,
B30,
C31,C32,C33,C34,
C35,
C36,C37,C38,C39,
C40,
C41,CD2,D43,D44,
D45,
D46,D47,D48,D49,
E50,
E51,E52,F53,F54,
F55,
F56,F57,G58,G59,
H60,
H61,I62,K63,L64,
M65,
M66,N67,P68,P69,
P70,
R71,R72,S73,S74,
T75,
V76,Z77, 78,

Damage by Plants in Chilham Village - Pages
1, 2, 3, 4

Pavements of Funchal, Madeira
Damage to Trees - Pages
1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
11, 12, 13
for trees 1-54,
14, 15,
16, 17, 18, 19, 20,
21, 22, 23, 24, 25,
for trees 55-95,
26, 27, 28, 29, 30,
31, 32, 33, 34, 35,
36, 37,
for trees 95-133,
38, 39, 40,
41, 42, 43, 44, 45,
for trees 133-166

Chris Garnons-Williams
Work Done - Pages
1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
11, 12, 13

Identity of Plants
Label Problems - Pages
1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
11

Ron and Christine Foord - 1036 photos only inserted so far - Garden Flowers - Start Page of each Gallery
AB1 ,AN14,BA27,
CH40,CR52,DR63,
FR74,GE85,HE96,

Plant with Photo Index of Ivydene Gardens - 1187
A 1, 2, Photos - 43
B 1, Photos - 13
C 1, Photos - 35
D 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
Photos - 411
with Plants causing damage to buildings in Chilham Village and Damage to Trees in Pavements of Funchal
E 1, Photos - 21
F 1, Photos - 1
G 1, Photos - 5
H 1, Photos - 21
I 1, Photos - 8
J 1, Photos - 1
K 1, Photos - 1
L 1, Photos - 85
with Label Problems
M 1, Photos - 9
N 1, Photos - 12
O 1, Photos - 5
P 1, Photos - 54
Q 1, Photos -
R 1, 2, 3,
Photos - 229
S 1, Photos - 111
T 1, Photos - 13
U 1, Photos - 5
V 1, Photos - 4
W 1, Photos - 100
with Work Done by Chris Garnons-Williams
X 1 Photos -
Y 1, Photos -
Z 1 Photos -
Articles/Items in Ivydene Gardens - 88
Flower Colour, Num of Petals, Shape and
Plant Use of:-
Rock Garden
within linked page


 

 

Topic -
Fragrant Plants as a Plant Selection Process for your sense of smell:-

Sense of Fragrance from Roy Genders

Fragrant Plants:-
Trees and Shrubs with Scented Flowers
1
, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Shrubs bearing Scented Flowers for an Acid Soil
1
, 2, 3, 4
Shrubs bearing Scented Flowers for a
Chalky or Limestone Soil
1
, 2, 3, 4
Shrubs bearing Scented leaves for a
Sandy Soil
1
, 2, 3
Herbaceous Plants with Scented Flowers
1
, 2, 3
Annual and Biennial Plants with Scented Flowers or Leaves
1
, 2
Bulbs and Corms with Scented Flowers
1
, 2, 3, 4, 5
Scented Plants of Climbing and Trailing Habit
1
, 2, 3
Winter-flowering Plants with Scented Flowers
1
, 2
Night-scented Flowering Plants
1
, 2
 


Topic -
Website User Guidelines


My Gas Service Engineer found Flow and Return pipes incorrectly positioned on gas boilers and customers had refused to have positioning corrected in 2020.
 

fpaleflot1heathviolet

centaurea montana flower

heathflotmilkwort

fpaleflotflax

 

 

 

 

VIOLET Pale Heath Violet
SAND.

May-Jun

MILK-WORT Common Milkwort
CHALK, SAND.

May-Sep

MILK-WORT Heath Milkwort ACIDIC SOIL in MOORS, HEATHS, MIRES

May-Sep

FLAX
Pale Flax
SAND

May-Sep

 

 

 

 

chalkflotgentianmilkwort

chalkflot1gentianmilkwort

 

 

 

 

 

 

MILK-WORT Chalk Milkwort
CHALK, SAND.

Apr-Jun

MILK-WORT Chalk Milkwort
CHALK, SAND.

Apr-Jun

 

 

 

 

 

 

berberisdarwiniiflower10h3a22b1a1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

berberisdarwiniiflower10h3a22b2a1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

berberisdarwiniiflower10h3a22c1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ivydene Gardens Water Fern to Yew Wild Flower Families Gallery:
Wildflower Flowers Compared

Bulb Height from Text Border

Blue = 0-24 inches (0-60 cms)

Green= 24-72 inches (60-180 cms)

Red = 72+ inches (180+ cms)

Bulb Soil Moisture from Text Background

Wet Soil

Moist Soil

Dry Soil

Flowering months range abreviates month to its first 3 letters (Apr-Jun is April, May and June).

Click on thumbnail to change this comparison page to the Plant Description Page of the Bulb named in the Text box below that photo.
The Comments Row of that Plant Description Page links to where you personally can purchase that bulb via mail-order.

 

WATER FERN TO YEW FAMILIES WILD FLOWER GALLERY
PAGE MENU


Site Map of pages with content (o)

Introduction

BED PICTURES
(o)Bed 1


 


Global Biodiversity Information Facility Data Portal
with access to 203,173,596 data records. GBIF is an international organisation that is working to make the world's biodiversity data accessible everywhere in the world. GBIF and its many partners work to mobilise the data, and to improve search mechanisms, data and metadata standards, web services, and the other components of an Internet-based information infrastructure for biodiversity.

GBIF makes available data that are shared by hundreds of data publishers from around the world. These data are shared according to the GBIF Data Use Agreement, which includes the provision that users of any data accessed through or retrieved via the GBIF Portal will always give credit to the original data publishers.

What is the Global Biodiversity Information Facility?

GBIF enables free and open access to biodiversity data online. We’re an international government-initiated and funded initiative focused on making biodiversity data available to all and anyone, for scientific research, conservation and sustainable development. 

GBIF provides three core services and products:

  • 1. An information infrastructure – an Internet-based index of a globally distributed network of interoperable databases that contain primary biodiversity data – information on museum specimens, field observations of plants and animals in nature, and results from experiments – so that data holders across the world can access and share them
  • 2. Community-developed tools, standards and protocols – the tools data providers need to format and share their data
  • 3. Capacity-building – the training, access to international experts and mentoring programs that national and regional institutions need to become part of a decentralised network of biodiversity information facilities.
     

WILD FLOWER GALLERY
PAGE MENU
Site Map of pages with content (o)
Introduction

INDEX LINK TO WILDFLOWER PLANT DESCRIPTION PAGE
a-h
i-p
q-z

Wildflower Poisonous Plants

Wildflower Garden Use page from Evergreen Perrennial Shape Gallery.

FLOWER COLOUR
(o)Blue
(o)Brown
(o)Cream
(o)Green
(o)Mauve
(o)Multi-Coloured
Orange
(o)Pink 1
(o)Pink 2
(o)Purple
(o)Red
(o)White1
(o)White2
(o)White3
(o)Yelow1
(o)Yelow2
(o)Shrub or Small Tree

SEED COLOUR
(o)Seed 1
(o)Seed 2

BED PICTURES
(o)Bed

HABITAT TABLES
Flowers in
Acid Soil

Flowers in
Chalk Soil

Flowers in
Marine Soil

Flowers in
Neutral Soil

Ferns
Grasses
Rushes
Sedges

See Explanation of Structure of this Website with User Guidelines to aid your use of this website.

WILD FLOWER FAMILY
PAGE MENU 1


(o)Adder's Tongue
Amaranth
(o)Arrow-Grass
(o)Arum
(o)Balsam
Bamboo
(o)Barberry
(o)Bedstraw
(o)Beech
(o)Bellflower
(o)Bindweed
(o)Birch
(o)Birds-Nest
(o)Birthwort
(o)Bogbean
(o)Bog Myrtle
(o)Borage
(o)Box
(o)Broomrape
(o)Buckthorn
(o)Buddleia
(o)Bur-reed
(o)Buttercup
(o)Butterwort
(o)Cornel (Dogwood)
(o)Crowberry
(o)Crucifer (Cabbage/Mustard) 1
(o)Crucifer (Cabbage/Mustard) 2
Cypress
(o)Daffodil
(o)Daisy
(o)Daisy Cudweeds
(o)Daisy Chamomiles
(o)Daisy Thistle
(o)Daisy Catsears (o)Daisy Hawkweeds
(o)Daisy Hawksbeards
(o)Daphne
(o)Diapensia
(o)Dock Bistorts
(o)Dock Sorrels

WILD FLOWER FAMILY
PAGE MENU 2


(o)Clubmoss
(o)Duckweed
(o)Eel-Grass
(o)Elm
(o)Filmy Fern
(o)Horsetail
(o)Polypody
Quillwort
(o)Royal Fern
(o)Figwort - Mulleins
(o)Figwort - Speedwells
Family

(o)Flax
(o)Flowering-Rush
(o)Frog-bit
(o)Fumitory
(o)Gentian
(o)Geranium
(o)Glassworts
(o)Gooseberry
(o)Goosefoot
(o)Grass 1
(o)Grass 2
(o)Grass 3
(o)Grass Soft Bromes 1
(o)Grass Soft Bromes 2
(o)Grass Soft Bromes 3
(o)Hazel
(o)Heath
(o)Hemp
(o)Herb-Paris
(o)Holly
(o)Honeysuckle
(o)Horned-Pondweed
(o)Hornwort
(o)Iris
(o)Ivy
(o)Jacobs Ladder
(o)Lily
(o)Lily Garlic
(o)Lime
(o)Lobelia
(o)Loosestrife
(o)Mallow
(o)Maple
(o)Mares-tail
(o)Marsh Pennywort
(o)Melon (Gourd/Cucumber)
 

WILD FLOWER FAMILY
PAGE MENU 3


(o)Mesem-
bryanthemum

(o)Mignonette
(o)Milkwort
(o)Mistletoe
(o)Moschatel
Naiad
(o)Nettle
(o)Nightshade
(o)Oleaster
(o)Olive
(o)Orchid 1
(o)Orchid 2
(o)Orchid 3
(o)Orchid 4
(o)Parnassus-
Grass

(o)Peaflower
(o)Peaflower
Clover 1

(o)Peaflower
Clover 2

(o)Peaflower
Clover 3

(o)Peaflower
Vetches/Peas

Peony
(o)Periwinkle
Pillwort
Pine
(o)Pink 1
(o)Pink 2
Pipewort
(o)Pitcher-Plant
(o)Plantain
(o)Pondweed
(o)Poppy
(o)Primrose
(o)Purslane
Rannock Rush
(o)Reedmace
(o)Rockrose
(o)Rose 1
(o)Rose 2
(o)Rose 3
(o)Rose 4
(o)Rush
(o)Rush Woodrushes
(o)Saint Johns Wort
Saltmarsh Grasses
(o)Sandalwood
(o)Saxifrage
 

WILD FLOWER FAMILY
PAGE MENU 4


Seaheath
(o)Sea Lavender
(o)Sedge Rush-like
(o)Sedges Carex 1
(o)Sedges Carex 2
(o)Sedges Carex 3
(o)Sedges Carex 4
(o)Spindle-Tree
(o)Spurge
(o)Stonecrop
(o)Sundew
(o)Tamarisk
Tassel Pondweed
(o)Teasel
(o)Thyme 1
(o)Thyme 2
(o)Umbellifer 1
(o)Umbellifer 2
(o)Valerian
(o)Verbena
(o)Violet
(o)Water Fern
(o)Waterlily
(o)Water Milfoil
(o)Water Plantain
(o)Water Starwort
Waterwort
(o)Willow
(o)Willow-Herb
(o)Wintergreen
(o)Wood-Sorrel
(o)Yam
(o)Yew


The North American Rock Garden Society
NARGS is for gardening enthusiasts interested in alpine, saxatile, and low-growing perennials. It encourages the study and cultivation of wildflowers that grow well among rocks, whether such plants originate above treeline or at lower elevations. Through its publications, meetings, and garden visits, NARGS provides extensive opportunities for both beginners and experts to expand their knowledge of plant cultivation and propagation, and of construction, maintenance, and design of special interest gardens. Woodland gardens, bog gardens, raised beds, planted walls, container gardens, and alpine berms are all addressed.
NARGS, organized in 1934, currently has approximately 2,650 members in the US, Canada, and thirty other nations.

 

 

Wild About Britain is home to hundreds of thousands of pages about British wildlife, the Environment and the Great Outdoors; from birds, butterflies, fungi and trees to climate change, marine life, astronomy and the weather. We're also a huge online community with 35,000 members and more than 3 million unique visitors a year.

 

 

World Atlas of Seagrasses by Edmund P. Green and Frederick T. Short - "a group of about sixty species of underwater marine flowering plants, grow in the shallow marine and estuary environments of all the world's continents except Antarctica. The primary food of animals such as manatees, dugongs, and green sea turtles, and critical habitat for thousands of other animal and plant species, seagrasses are also considered one of the most important shallow-marine ecosystems for humans, since they play an important role in fishery production. Though they are highly valuable ecologically and economically, many seagrass habitats around the world have been completely destroyed or are now in rapid decline. The World Atlas of Seagrasses is the first authoritative and comprehensive global synthesis of the distribution and status of this critical marine habitat. "

 

 

Over 300 accounts of the Flora of the British Isles have been published in
Journal of Ecology.

 

 

Bookreview of A.R. Clapham, T.G. Tutin et E.F. Warburg Flora of the British Isles. Second Edition. Cambridge University Press.
Collins Pocket Guide to Wild Flowers by David McClintock and R.S.R. Fitter assisted by Francis Rose - ISBN 0 00 219363 9 - Eleventh Impression 1978 refers to the above book for further details about each plant and I have used the plants in Collins Pocket Guide as the basis of all the native UK plants in these Wildflower Galleries. I have put the families and plants in alphabetical order by common name to make it easier to find the plant.

 

 

Ferns in Britain and Ireland - A guide to ferns, horsetails, clubmosses
and quillworts
by Roger Golding:-
"Welcome to the Fern Site. This is a work in progress, so please be aware that I am continually adding to it and updating it. The current version contains images of most species of British and Irish ferns, including established alien species; also some subspecies and varieties. It does not yet cover hybrids - I hope to be able to include those soon."
The above online superb site shows a plant so that you can identify it using photos and text. Click on each of his thumbnails to have a larger image added to the screen.
Killarney Fern,
Scottish Filmy Fern,
(Wilson's Filmy Fern) and
Tunbridge Filmy Fern
are detailed in the
Filmy Fern Family, but not in the Common Name or Botanical Name Galleries

 

 

Selected References from KingdomPlantae.net

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Niering and Olmstead

Peterson Field Guides Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants, Steven Foster and James A. Duke

Peterson Field Guides Edible Wild Plants, Lee Allen Peterson

Stalking the Healthful Herbs, Euell Gibbons

Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants, Steve Brill

The Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of North America, Francois Couplan, Ph.D.

Tom Brown's Guide to Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants, Tom Brown, Jr.

A Modern Herbal, Volume II, Mrs. M. Grieve

Weeds, Alexander C Martin

 

 

Database of Insects and their Food Plants from the Biological Records Centre:-

This database is primarily a collation of published interactions between Great Britain 's invertebrate herbivores (insects and mites) and their host plants. There are also some interactions for the invertebrates closely associated with herbivores, such as predators, parasitoids, cleptoparasites and mutualists. DBIF contains about 47,000 interactions for roughly 9,300 invertebrate taxa (species, sub-species and forms) and 5,700 plant taxa (species, genera and broader groupings).

 

 

Helping Earth's Sustainable Management with a Plant
"Alternatives to the burning of fossil fuels, nuclear waste, deforestation and nitrate chemical fertilizers need to be developed. Hemp could have a vital role to play in the development of friendly alternatives.
Energy production 
A report published by the FCDA of Europe outlines the Cannabis Biomass Energy Equation (CBEE), outlining a convincing case that hemp plants can be used to produce fuel energy CHEAPER per BtU than fossil fuels and uranium - WITHOUT PRODUCING GREENHOUSE GASES! Hemp plants have the highest known quantities of cellulose for annuals - with at least 4x (some suggest even 50-100x) the biomass potential of its closest rivals (cornstalks, sugarcane, kernaf and trees) (Omni, 1983). Biomass production still produces greenhouse gases, although the idea is that the excess of carbon dioxide will be used up by growing hemp plants - they are effective absorbers and thrive at high levels - Unlike fossil fuel energy which produces energy from plants which died millions of years ago.
On reading the report of the FCDA, Hon. Jonathon Porrit (ex-director of Friends of the Earth, currently on the Board of Forum for the Future) commented  'I DID enjoy reading it - the report should contribute much'. Three years later - authorities are still not taking the potential of this plant seriously. MAFF are currently engaging in supporting research into the biomass potential of poplar trees which they claim has the most scientific support for biomass energy production. H-E-M-P recommend use of the hemp plant if biomass energy production is to have any real impact in reducing carbon dioxide levels.

IT'S SO PRODUCTIVE!
1 acre of hemp = 1,000 gallons of methanol.

  In fact, Henry Ford's first car ran on hemp-methanol! - and at just a fraction of the cost of petroleum alternatives. Alternatives to coal, fuel oil, acetone, ethyl, tar pitch and creosote can be derived - from this one single plant!
  As regards depletion of the ozone layer - hemp actually withstands UV radiation. It absorbs UV light, whilst resisting damage to itself and providing protection for everything else.
  Risk-free, pollution-free energy. No acid rain, and a reduction in airborne pollution of up to 80% ... There's further potential for the same in industry. "

 

 

Hemp (cannabis sativa) - 1% of Irelands landmass, growing hemp for fuel, would provide all the energy needs for the country each year, keeping the money with the farmers and keeping the rural economies active and this is also an environmentally friendly fuel. Hemp only has 100,000 commercial uses, so is not worth growing.

 

 

Hours of the Victorian Flower Clock

1:00
Red Rose
2:00
Snapdragon
3:00
Violet
4:00
Field Daisy
5:00
Sweet pea
6:00
Marigold   

7:00
Sweet William
8:00
Jonquil
9:00
Herb Robert
10:00
Clove Pink
11:00
Sweet Sultan
12:00
Carnation

 


Updating the Saltmarsh Management Manual
This project updated the Saltmarsh Management Manual for coastal planners and operating authorities working in flood and coastal erosion risk management (FCERM). It helps coastal and estuary managers and planners to identify problems with saltmarshes and decide how to deal with them appropriately.
Saltmarshes play an important role as a coastal ecosystem and also a part in managing flood risk. In the context of the wider coast and estuary environment, maintaining, restoring and enhancing saltmarshes are increasingly being considered as ways of managing flood risk.

Superceeded Wildflower Indices
Botanical Name
Common Name
by
Botanical Names in BROWN WILD FLOWER GALLERY PAGE MENUS
and
Common Names in CREAM WILD FLOWER GALLERY PAGE MENUS
detailed above in this table.

Plant description, culture, propagation and photos/illustrations will be provided for every wildflower plant (February 2021) in the above 2 galleries.

After clicking on the WILD FLOWER Common Name INDEX link to Wildflower Family Page;

locate that Common name on that Wildflower Family Page,
then
Click on Underlined Text in:-

Common Name to view that Plant Description Page

Botanical Name to link to Plant or Seed Supplier

Flowering Months to view photos

Habitat to view further Natural Habitat details and Botanical Society of the British Isles Distribution Map

The process below provides a uniform method for
comparing every plant detailed in the following galleries with
the ones already compared in the relevant plant gallery
from the last list of plant galleries in this cell:-

  • These are the galleries that will provide the plants to be added to their own Extra Index Pages
  • Bee plants for hay-fever sufferers - Bee-Pollinated Index
  • Plants that grow in Chalk - A,
  • Rock Garden and Alpine Flowers - A,
  • Bulbs from the Infill Galleries see Hardy Bulbs, Half-hardy Bulbs, etc in the second row of Topic Table, usually positioned as the first table on the left.
  • The complete Camera Photo is displayed on the screen
  • Climber in 3 Sector Vertical Plant System
  • Plants with Sense of Fragrance

 

 

The following Extra Index of Wildflowers is created in the Borage Wildflower Gallery, to which the Wildflowers found in the above list will have that row entry copied to.
Its wildflower flower thumbnail - or foliage thumbnail if it does not have flowers - will be compared with the others in this gallery per month.
The Header Row for the Extra Indices pages is the same as used in the 1000 Ground Cover
A of Plants Topic:-
A, B, C, D, E,
F, G, H, I, J,
K, L, M, N, O,
P, Q, R, S, T,
U, V, W, XYZ

 

 

Having transferred the Extra Index row entry to the relevant Extra Index row for the same type of plant in a gallery below; then
its flower or foliage thumbnail will be compared per month in that relevant gallery:-

Cultural Needs of Plants
from Chapter 4 in Fern Grower's Manual by Barbara Joe Hoshizaki & Robbin C. Moran. Revised and Expanded Edition. Published in 2001 by Timber Press, Inc. Reprinted 2002, 2006. ISBN-13:978-0-
88192-495-4.

"Understanding Fern Needs
Ferns have the same basic growing requirements as other plants and will thrive when these are met. There is nothing mysterious about the requirements - they are not something known only to people with green thumbs - but the best gardeners are those who understand plant requirements and are careful about satisfying them.
What, then, does a fern need?

All plants need water.
Water in the soil prevents roots from drying, and all mineral nutrients taken up by the roots must be dissolved in the soil water. Besides water in the soil, most plants need water in the air. Adequate humidity keeps the plant from drying out. Leaves need water for photosynthesis and to keep from wilting.
All green plants need light to manufacture food (sugars) by photosynthesis. Some plants need more light than others, and some can flourish in sun or shade. Most ferns, however, prefer some amount of shade.
For photosynthesis, plants require carbon dioxide, a gas that is exhaled by animals as waste. Carbon dioxide diffuses into plants through tiny pores, called stomata, that abound on the lower surface of the leaves. In the leaf, carbon dioxide is combined with the hydrogen from water to form carbohydrates, the plant's food. This process takes place only in the presence of light and chlorophyll, a green pigment found in plant cells. To enhance growth, some commercial growers increase the carbon dioxide level in their greenhouses to 600ppm (parts per million), or twice the amount typically found in the air.
Plants need oxygen. The green plants of a plant do not require much oxygen from the air because plants produce more oxygen by photosynthesis than they use. The excess oxygen liberated from the plants is used by all animals, including humans. What do plants do with oxygen? They use it just as we do, to release the energy stored in food. We use energy to move about, to talk, to grow, to think - in fact, for all our life processes. Although plants don't talk or move much, they do grow and metabolize and must carry on all their life processes using oxygen to release the stored energy in their food.
Roots need air all the time. They get it from the air spaces between the soil particles. Overwatering displaces the air between soil particles with water, thereby removing the oxygen needed by the roots. This reduces the root's ability to absorb mineral nutrients and can foster root-rot.
Plants need minerals to grow properly. The minerals are mined from the soil by the plant's root system. If a certain mineral is missing, such as calcium needed for developing cell walls, then the plant will be stunted, discoloured, or deformed.
Some plants tolerate a wide range of temperatures, whereas others are fussy. If the temperature is too high or low, the machinery of the plant will not operate satisfactorily or will cease entirely.

The basic needs of plants are not hard to supply, but growing success depends on attending to these needs with care and exactitude. The remainder of this chapter is devoted to a discussion of these requirements, with the exception of mineral needs, which are discussed in Chapter 5."

 

KPR - Gardeners Club Slovakia:-

"KPR was officially established in 2000 in Slovakia in Europe; however, we supply seeds and plants from all over the world since 1998.

Our main object is focused on joining gardeners around the world from all fields of interests to create a big database of seeds and plants (Seeds and Plants Bank of KPR) from around the world.

At present, we have 6 main branches (Slovakia, Czechia, Australia, India, Thailand, South Africa and Tanzania) and over 200 co-operators and seeds collectors all over the world.

Nowadays we are able to collect and supply over 10 000 species of plants from all over the world.

If you are looking for anything, you are at the right place! Although we do not have every plant in our collection yet, but we are expanding daily, step-by-step, seed-by-seed, plant by plant. We believe that soon we will be able to supply (almost) anything!

For sale over 10 000 seeds and plants from all over the world - palms, cycads, exotic and frost tolerant shrubs and trees, succulents, carnivorous, annuals, perennials, ornamental grasses, vegetable, etc."

Flora of Europe:-

"At present, we can collect seeds and plants on request (as well as parts of plants - for example bulbs, cuttings, meristematic tissues, pollen, etc.) from more than 4000 species of plants from 19 European countries.

Now we collect in the following countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Czechia, Germany, Spain, Finland, Great Britain, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Russia, Slovenia, Slovakia.

We prepare to collect in the following countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, Estonia, France, Switzerland, Italy, Kosovo, Norway, Sweden, Ukraine.

We are able to collect all species in this area on your request. However, we do not collect protected species and species from the orchids (Orchidaceae).

Since 2002, we supply a wide range of European plants annually to both domestic and foreign small gardeners as well as big gardeners' societies, pharmaceutical companies and for scientific research.

The Vegetation season in Europe is from March to October. Seeds are usually harvested from August to September, and some species earlier. We provide a guarantee of 2 years for germination seeds. Seeds of some species are available throughout the year, but most of the species are collected on request. If you are searching for anything from Europe, you are at the right place! Contact us and inform yourself about stock availability, prices and terms of supplying.

We are able to supply all plant parts as well - seeds, bulbs, cuttings, meristematic issues, pollen etc. We also grow many species in cultivation and supply these as seedlings or young plants for wholesale. If you require seedlings, your order should be placed before April, seeing that the seeds are sown in April."

 

 

Colin's virtual Herbarium - "I am Colin Ladyka, and I live in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.  Native plants are my hobby.
This web site contains pictures I have taken of 280 species of flowering plants (excluding grasses) found on the Canadian Prairies, with particular emphasis on those found in Saskatchewan."

 

 

Toxicity of Common Comfrey :-
Another problem with comfrey is that it contains at least eight pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA). While the level of PAs in fresh plant may not be very high, ready-to-use preparation often have high levels (e.g., 270-2900 mg/kg). PAs are hepatoxins and can cause irreversible liver damage. One of the problems is that the effects of the alkaloids can be cumulative. Therefore, damage to the liver may not be associated to the alkaloids in comfrey. Sometimes toxicity signs will not be present until an animal is stressed by something that requires greater liver function (e.g., lactation). Also, the leaves and roots of comfrey have been shown to be carcinogenic. PAs from comfrey given to rats caused mortality. Liver pathology was characteristic of PA toxicosis. When rats were fed dietary levels of 0.5% roots and 8% leaves, they formed hepatomas.

 

 

Useful websites

The Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland – Founded in 1836 as the Botanical Society of London and welcomes both professional and amateur botanists. The society focuses on the study of botany in the British Isles.

The British Bryological Society – For the study and conservation of mosses and liverworts worldwide.

The British Lichen Society – The first society in the world entirely devoted to the study of lichens.

The Natural History Society of Northumbria – Everything you might want to know about NHSN including details of their field meetings, lectures, and nature reserve.

Common by Nature – James Common regularly writes about his botanical finds across Newcastle and Northumberland on his personal blog.

Help Identifying Plants Online

BSBI Plant Crib – Sections from BSBI’s ground-breaking publication make the identification of complex plant families much easier.
Plant Crib on Juncus by the BSBI is:-
A useful account of identification of the British and Irish species, including many useful illustrations, is given by
T. A. Cope (1990) A guide to British rushes and woodrushes. In: A guide to some difficult plants. Pp 68-89. Wild Flower Society, London.

NatureSpot – Perfect for beginners, this online resource hosts species accounts for many plants also found in the North East.

Arable Plant Crib – A series of helpful crib sheets for the UK’s arable plants from the Colour in the Margins project (now ceased).

Common’s Cribs – A new series of beginner-friendly crib sheets exploring the identification of various plant families and group.

 

EXTRA PAGES OF PLANTS
MENU
Introduction
Site Map
 

PLANT USE
Plant Selection
Level 1
Bee Forage Plants
Attracts Bird/Butterfly
Photos - Butterfly

Bee Pollinated Plants for Hay Fever Sufferers in
Bee Pollinated Calendar and Index Galleries
0-24 inches
(0-60 cms)
24-72 inches
(60-180 cms)
Above 72 inches
(180 cms)
Photos - Bee Pollinated Plant Bloom per Month
Blooms Nov-Feb
Blooms Mar-May
Blooms Jun-Aug 1, 2
Blooms Sep-Oct

 

Poisonous Cultivated and UK Wildflower Plants with Photos
or
Cultivated Poisonous Plants

or
Wildflower Poisonous Plants


Rabbit-Resistant Plant
Flower Arranging
Wildflower
Photos - Wildflowers

 


PLANTS FOR SOIL
Plant Selection
Level 2
Info - Any Soil
Any Soil A-F
Any Soil G-L
Any Soil M-R
Any Soil S-Z

Info - Chalky Soil
Chalky Soil A-F 1
Chalky Soil A-F 2
Chalky Soil A-F 3
Chalky Soil G-L
Chalky Soil M-R
Chalky Soil Roses
Chalky Soil S-Z
Chalky Soil Other

Info - Clay Soil
Clay Soil A-F
Clay Soil G-L
Clay Soil M-R
Clay Soil S-Z
Clay Soil Other

Info - Lime-Free (Acid) Soil
Lime-Free (Acid)
A-F 1

Lime-Free (Acid)
A-F 2

Lime-Free (Acid)
A-F 3

Lime-Free (Acid) G-L
Lime-Free (Acid) M-R
Lime-Free (Acid) S-Z

Info - Sandy Soil
Sandy Soil A-F 1
Sandy Soil A-F 2
Sandy Soil A-F 3
Sandy Soil G-L
Sandy Soil M-R
Sandy Soil S-Z

Info - Peaty Soils
Peaty Soil A-F
Peaty Soil G-L
Peaty Soil M-R
Peaty Soil S-Z

Following parts of Level 2a,
Level 2b,
Level 2c and
Level 2d are included in separate columns
together with
Acid Soil,
Alkaline Soil
,
Any Soil,
Height and Spread,
Flowering Months and
Flower Colour in their Columns,
and also
Companion Plants to aid this plant Page,
Alpine Plant for
Rock Garden Index Page
Native to UK WildFlower Plant in its Family Page in this website

and/or
Level 2cc
in the Comment Column
within each
of the Soil Type Pages of
Level 2

Explanation of Structure of this Website with User Guidelines Page for those photo galleries with Photos (of either ones I have taken myself or others which have been loaned only for use on this website from external sources)


PLANTS PAGE MENU

Plant Selection by Plant Requirements
Level 2a
Sun aspect, Moisture


Plant Selection by Form
Level 2b
Tree Growth Shape
Columnar
Oval
Rounded / Spherical
Flattened Spherical
Narrow Conical
Broad Pyramidal
Ovoid / Egg
Broad Ovoid
Narrow Vase
Fan
Broad Fan
Narrow Weeping
Broad Weeping
Single-stem Palm
Multi-stem Palm
Shrub/Perennial Growth Habit
Mat
Prostrate / Trailing
Cushion / Mound
Spreading / Creeping
Clump
Stemless
Erect or Upright
Climbing
Arching


Plant Selection by Garden Use
Level 2c
Bedding
Photos - Bedding
Bog Garden
Coastal Conditions
Containers in Garden
Front of Border
Edibles in Containers
Hanging Basket
Hedge
Photos - Hedging
Pollution Barrier 1, 2
Rest of Border
Rock Garden
Photos - Rock Garden
Thorny Hedge
Windbreak
Woodland


Plant Selection by Garden Use
Level 2cc Others
Aquatic
Back of Shady Border
Crevice Garden
Desert Garden
Raised Bed
Scree Bed
Specimen Plant
Trees for Lawns
Trees for Small Garden
Wildflower
Photos - Wildflowers


Plant Selection by Plant Type
Level 2d
Alpine
Photos - Evergr Per
Photos - Herbac Per
Photos - RHS Herbac
Photos - Rock Garden
Annual
Bamboo
Photos - Bamboo
Biennial

Bulb
Photos - Bulb
Climber
Photos - Climber
Conifer
Deciduous Rhizome
Deciduous Shrub
Photos - Decid Shrub
Evergreen Perennial
Photos - Evergr Per

Evergreen Shrub
0-24 inches 1, 2, 3
24-72 inches 1, 2, 3
Above 72 inches 1, 2

Semi-Evergreen Shrub

Photos - Evergr Shrub
Fern
Photos - Fern
Fruit Plant
Grass
Herb
Herbaceous Perennial
Photos - Herbac Per
Remaining Top Fruit
Soft Fruit
Sub-Shrub
Top Fruit
Tuber
Vegetable
Photos - Vegetable

 

Photos - with its link; provides a link to its respective Plant Photo Gallery in this website to provide comparison photos.
Click on required comparison page and then centre of selected plant thumbnail. Further details on that plant will be shown in a separate Plant Description webpage.
Usually the Available from Mail Order Plant Nursery link will link you to the relevant page on that website.
I started this website in 2005 - it is possible that those particular links no longer connect, so you may need to search for that plant instead.

When I started, a click on the centre of the thumbnail ADDED the Plant Description Page, now I CHANGE the page instead. Mobile phones do not allow ADDING a page, whereas stand alone computers do. The User Guidelines Page shows which Plant Photo Galleries have been modified to CHANGE rather than ADD.

------------

Ground-cover Height
Ground Cover. How to use flowering and foliage plants to cover areas of soil by Mineke Kurpershoek.
ISBN 1 901094 41 3
Plant combinations for normal garden soil,
Plant combinations for sandy soil,
Plant combinations for clay soil,
Woodland, heaths and wet soil and
Shrubs for slopes and large beds chapters are useful

Groundcover Height
0-24 inches
(0-60 cms)
1, 2, 3
24-72 inches
(60-180 cms)
4, 5, 6
Above 72 inches
(180 cms)
7


PLANTS PAGE MENU

REFINING SELECTION
Plant Selection by
Flower Colour
Level 3a
Blue Flowers
Photos -
Bedding

Bulb
Climber
Evergr Per
Evergr Shrub
Wild Flower

Orange Flowers
Photos -
Bedding

Wild Flower

Other Colour Flowers
Photos -
Bedding
Bulb
Climber
Evergr Per
Evergr Shrub
Wild Flower

Red Flowers
Photos -
Bedding

Bulb
Climber
Decid Shrub
Evergr Per
Evergr Shrub
Herbac Per
Rose
Wild Flower

White Flowers
Photos -
Bedding

Bulb
Climber
Decid Shrub
Decid Tree
Evergr Per
Evergr Shrub
Herbac Per
Rose
Wild Flower

Yellow Flowers
Photos -
Bedding

Bulb
Climber
Decid Shrub
Evergr Per
Evergr Shrub
Herbac Per
Rose
Wild Flower

Photos - 53 Colours in its Colour Wheel Gallery
Photos - 12 Flower Colours per Month in its Bloom Colour Wheel Gallery

Plant Selection by Flower Shape
Level 3b
Photos -
Bedding
Evergr Per
Herbac Per

Plant Selection by Foliage Colour
Level 3c
Aromatic Foliage
Finely Cut Leaves
Large Leaves
Other
Non-Green
Foliage 1

Non-Green
Foliage 2

Sword-shaped Leaves


PRUNING
Plant Selection by Pruning Requirements
Level 4
Pruning Plants


GROUNDCOVER PLANT DETAIL
Plant Selection Level 5
Plant Name - A from Ground Cover a thousand beautiful plants for difficult places by John Cushnie
ISBN 1 85626 326 6

Plant Name - B
Plant Name - C
Plant Name - D with Ground Cover. How to use flowering and foliage plants to cover areas of soil by Mineke Kurpershoek.
ISBN 1 901094 41 3
Plant combinations for normal garden soil.
Plant combinations for sandy soil.
Plant combinations for clay soil.
Woodland, heaths and wet soil.
Shrubs for slopes and large beds.

Plant Name - E
Plant Name - F
Plant Name - G
Plant Name - H
Plant Name - I with How about using staging in your unheated greenhouse and stock it with bulbs and ferns for looking at from the house from autumn to spring, before using it for salads during the spring/summer from The Culture of Bulbs, Bulbous Plants and Tubers Made Plain by Sir J. L. Cotter.
Plant Name - J
Plant Name - K
Plant Name - L If you have no garden but only a concrete or tarmac area why not use 1 of the 8 Garden on a Roll garden borders and then maintain your garden using their Maintaining your border instructions.
Plant Name - M Importance of providing a mulch with the ground cover
Plant Name - N
Plant Name - O
Plant Name - P
Plant Name - Q
Plant Name - R
Plant Name - S
Plant Name - T
Plant Name - U
Plant Name - V
Plant Name - W
Plant Name - XYZ with Ground cover plants for 14 Special Situations:-
1 Dry Shade
2 Damp Shade
3 Full Sun
4 Banks and Terraces
5 Woodland
6 Alkaline Sites
7 Acid Sites
8 Heavy Clay Soil
9 Dry Sandy Soil
10 Exposed Sites
11 Under Hedges
12 Patios and Paths
13 Formal Gardens
14 Swimming Pools and Tennis Courts
Why grass/lawn should never be used as a groundcover
and
Why seaweed is a necessary ingredient for gardens
The 1000 Ground Cover plants detailed above will be compared in the Comparison Pages of this Wildflower Shape Gallery and in the flower colour per month comparison pages of Evergreen Perennial Gallery starting in November 2022


Then, finally use
COMPANION PLANTING to
aid your plant selected or to
deter Pests
Plant Selection Level 6

Remember the following from Row 2 of the TOPIC TABLE
Topic -
Plant Photo Galleries
with Plant Botanical Index

...A, B, C, D, E,
...F, G, H, I, J, K,
...L, M, N, O, P, Q,
...R, S, T, U, V, W,
...X, Y, Z
for all plants detailed in this website.

Bulb Galleries has its own set of Flower Colour Pages
...Flower Shape
...Bulb Form

...Bulb Use

...Bulb in Soil

Bulb houseplants flowering inside House during:-
......January
......February
......March
......April
......May
......June
......July
......August
......September
......October
......November
......December

Climber in
3 Sector Vertical Plant System
...Clematis
...Climbers

Remember the following from Row 2 of the TOPIC TABLE
Topic -
Fern
...Cold-hardy
...From Lime-hating Soil
...From Limestone Soil
...Hanging Basket
...Indoor Decoration
...Outdoor Pot
...Terrariums
...Wet Soils
...Ground Cover
...Pendulous Fronds

 

Remember the following from Row 4 of the TOPIC TABLE
Topic -
The following is a complete hierarchical Plant Selection Process

dependent on the Garden Style chosen.
Cultivation Requirements of Plant:-
Outdoor /Garden Cultivation,

Indoor / House Cultivation,

Cool Greenhouse Cultivation with artificial heating in the Winter,

Conservatory Cultivation with heating throughout the year, and

Stovehouse Cultivation with heating throughout the year for Tropical Plants

Remember the following from Row 5 of the TOPIC TABLE
Topic -
Flower/Foliage Colour Wheel Galleries with number of colours as a high-level Plant Selection Process
Bee instead of wind pollinated plants for hay-fever sufferers

All Bee-Pollinated Flowers
per Month
12
...Index
......Single Flowers provide honeybees with pollen

Rock Garden and Alpine Flowers
Rock Plant Flowers 53
INDEX
A, B, C, D, E, F,
G, H, I, J, K, L,
M, NO, PQ, R, S,
T, UVWXYZ
...Rock Plant Photos

 

Remember the following from Row 6 of the TOPIC TABLE
Topic -
Use of Plant in your Plant Selection Process
Plant Colour Wheel Uses

Uses of Bedding
...Bedding Out

Uses of Bulb
...Other than Only Green Foliage

Uses of Rose
Rose Index

Remember the following from Row 7 of the TOPIC TABLE
Topic -
Camera Photo Galleries showing all 4000 x 3000 pixels of each photo on your screen that you can then click and drag it to your desktop as part of a Plant Selection Process:-
with
Plant with Photo Index of Ivydene Gardens
- 1187
A 1, 2, Photos - 43

and

Coleus Bedding Foliage Trial Gallery, which also contains:-
Tables of
Annuals:-
2, Blue to Purple Flowers
31, To Cover Fences
Annuals from the Infill Galleries:-
...Cut Flowers 1, 2
...Bee Pollinated
...as Houseplants
with
Bedding Gallery
and
Bedding from the Infill Galleries:-
...for Spring
...for Summer
......Coloured Fol

Remember the following from Row 8 of the TOPIC TABLE
Topic -
Fragrant Plants as a Plant Selection Process for your sense of smell:-

Sense of Fragrance from Roy Genders

When you have chosen a plant, remember to use
Companion Planting
A ,B ,C ,D ,E ,
F ,G ,H ,I ,J ,K ,
L ,M ,N ,O ,P ,Q ,
R ,S ,T ,U ,V ,W ,
X, Y, Z to aid it or prevent problems for it

 

Remember especially not to replace a plant from the following
Rose 1
Rose 2
Rose 3
Rose 4

immediately with the same specie or another from the same family, because of Specific Replant Disease. See article in Recommended Rose Pruning Methods.

To be on the safe side, do not replant the same specie in the same place, which is why we have a 4-year Vegetable rotation pattern.

 

Handbook of alien species in Europe
Biological invasions by alien (non-native) species are widely recognized as a significant component of human-caused global environmental change and the second most important cause of biodiversity decline. Alien species threaten many European ecosystems and have serious environmental, economic and health impacts. The DAISIE (Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe) project has now brought together all available information on alien species in Europe (terrestrial, aquatic and marine) and from all taxa (fungi, plants, animals). Thus for the first time, an overview and assessment of biological invasions in the Pan-European region is finally possible. The Handbook of Alien Species in Europe summarises the major findings of this groundbreaking research and addresses the invasion trends, pathways, and both economic as well as ecological impact for eight major taxonomic groups. Approximately 11.000 alien species recorded in Europe are listed, and fact sheets for 100 of the most invasive alien species are included, each with a distribution map and colour illustration.The book is complemented by a regularly updated internet database providing free additional information. With its highly interdisciplinary approach, DAISIE and its Handbook will be the basis for future scientific investigations as well as management and control of alien invasive species in Europe.

 

 

Herbaria@home, a ground-breaking new approach to digitising and documenting the archives of the UK's herbaria. This site provides a web-based method for documenting herbarium sheets. We welcome participation in the project, so please read more about the project and if you would like to help then get involved!
Current progress
82560 herbarium specimens have been documented so far.
We are currently concentrating efforts on sheets from the South London Botanical Institute and Gloucester Museum.
8 May 2011

 

 

Ukwildflowers has lists of English Common Names with their Latin botanical name.

 

 

APHOTOFLORA
An Educational Photographic Resource and Botanical Stock Image Library
dedicated to the Flora, Wildflowers, Trees, Shrubs and Habitats of South-West 
England, including the Devon and Cornwall Peninsula by David Fenwick.

 

 

Since 1972 I (Leif Stridvall) have almost exclusively been working with Nikon 35 mm system cameras as photographic equipment. They have proved to be very reliable and have never let me down. I started with Nikkormat, later exchanging it for Nikon FA (had matrix metering) and ended up with Nikon 801 (had autofocus) adding Nikon F70 as a reserve camera. In 2001 I began shooting digitally, first with Nikon Coolpix 990 and a couple of years later Minolta Dimage 7Hi, both excellent cameras for close-up photography. However when Nikon last year released its digital system camera D70 at a very affordable price, giving me opportunity to use all my old lenses with their new camera model, I gave up 35 mm photography for good. Since many years I use as macro lens the very sharp Nikon 60/2,8 AF (many old photos are taken with Mikro-Nikkor 3,5/55, also an excellent lens for macro work but only with manual focusing).

All my 35 mm photos are taken with slide film, before 1972 Agfacolor, from 1972 till 1991 Kodachrome 25 (very few with Kodachrome 64) and from 1992 onwards with my favourite film, Fuji Velvia, very sharp and contrasty. Slides have been scanned by a HP PhotoSmart S20 Photo Scanner at a fairly moderate resolution of 1200 dpi. Most photos have been slightly edited either in Ulead PhotoImpact or in Adobe Photoshop.

Photos with filenames starting with 4 letters are shot with a digital camera (AAAAxxxx or BBBBxxxx indicate Nikon CoolPix 990, MINAxxx Minolta Dimage 7Hi and NIKAxxxx Nikon D70).

 

 

The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation grew out of the Convention on Biological Diversity and is being fed into government policy around the world.
The GSPC highlights the importance of plants and the ecosystem services they provide for all life on earth, and aims to ensure their conservation.
The GSPC consists of 16 outcome-oriented targets for conservation with a deadline of 2010.

 

 

Biopix is a collection of biological photos, primarily from Scandinavia. Biopix is used online by a wide range of students, teachers, researchers, photographers etc. The photos are used professionally in a large range of publications; the sale helps to cover the expenses.
Photographers are primarily:

  • Antje Neumann (plant ecologist and nature guide) Home page
  • Ib Nord Nielsen (Forester)
  • Jens Christian Schou (botanist, teacher, scientific illustrator, writer)
  • Jens Kristian Overgaard (teacher)
  • Kirsten Andersen (teacher)
  • Niels Sloth (biologist PhD) Home page
  • Technique
    The photos were mainly taken with digital cameras: Nikon CP8700, Olympus E330, Nikon D80, Nikon D300 but many photos were also scanned from 24x36 negatives.

 

 

How to grow: saxifrage - An article written by Charles Lyte on 8 March 2003 in The Telegraph.


Limonium - from My Dear Valentine.com
The Purple bloom Limonium as per some school of thought is believed to bring good luck along with it. Flowers as per the general thought have mostly been attached to love and romance and Limonium is also no exception to the rule. Limonium flowers with its magical grace have been characterizing love in its own way since time immemorial. A bunch of Limoniums will never fail to work wonders as you would stand witness to the joy of your beloved. Express your deepest emotion through these flowers without you even uttering a single word. Leave it to these flowers to entirely shift you towards a new beginning of life where the tale of Love is being told time and again. 
The flower of the autumn also popular by the name of ‘Sea Lavender’ and ‘Statice’ is grouped under 120 species of flowering plants and belongs to the family of ‘Plumbaginaceae’. The flower has got its name from the Greek word ‘leimon’ meaning meadow. The plant of this bloom is most commonly found in Africa, Australia, Asia and Europe with North America also being home to some of its species. Herbaceous perennial by nature, these plants generally grow up to a maximum height of 70 cm with some being exceptions in the form of woody shrubs. A typical plant of Limonium bloom requires saline soil and therefore mostly grows in the coastline regions or in salt marshes. 
Limonium’s growth and care absolutely gives you no reason to worry as these flowers can withstand many difficult conditions of growth and calls for little care. The plant ensures a perfect growth and bloom when exposed to direct sunlight and planted in a well drained soil. The soil of the plant should be kept moist but should not be over watered. These plants are heat resistant and can even withstand a drought season this makes them popular as garden flowers. Exposed to such growing condition with a little care can result in astounding bloom in your garden throughout a season. 
Available in colors like; peach, pink, red, white, lavender, blue, carmine yellow, and its original purple color these flowers makes a statement in all kinds of decorating arrangements. Use of this flower is best accomplished as filler flowers that offer great style to any floral arrangements or bouquets or even to any kind of interior décor. These flowers are also used for dried floral arrangements. 
Classes of Limonium:

 

The New Zealand Electronic Text Centre has under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 New Zealand Licence produced the following information from Chapter IX - Ferns for the Open Garden from The Cultivation of New Zealand Plants by L.Cockayne published by Whitcombe and Tombs Limited, 1923, Auckland:-
"No descriptions are given. The leaves of ferns are too complex in form to allow of a useful brief description. However, photographs of all the species are to be seen in H. B. Dobbie's, "New Zealand Ferns," and to this book readers are referred.

Class 1.—Ferns requiring no shade in dry districts.
Blechnum (Lomaria) penna marina, (vh.); Cheilanthes Sieberi, (vh.), alpine-garden, dry ground; Doodia media, (hh.); Histiopteris (Pteris) incisa, (vh.); Hypolepis millefolium, (vh.); Lindsaya linearis, (vh.), grows in bogs; Notochlaena distans, (vh.); Paesia (Pteris) scaberula, (vh.), will grow in full sunshine in Christchurch.

Class 2.—Ferns requiring only the minimum amount of shade.
Asplenium bulbiferum, (vh.), there are many forms differing somewhat in their shade-requirements; A. flabellifolium, (vh.); A. flaccidum, (vh.), there are many forms; A. Hookerianum, (vh.); A. lucidum, (vh.), A. oblusatum and its allies, (vh.); Blechnum (Lomaria) Banksii, (vh.); B. capense (vh.) grows under many conditions. and changes its form greatly according to habitat; B. (L.) durum, (vh.); Cyathea dealbata (ponga, silver tree-fern, vh.); C. medullaris (mamaku, black tree-fern. h.); Cyclophorus (Polypodium) serpens (vh.) comes of its own accord in the wetter districts on rough-barked, exotic trees, e.g., Cupressus macrocarpa and elderberry (Sambucus niger); Dicksonia fibrosa, (vh); D. squarrosa wheki, vh.); Dryopteris (Polypodium) punctata, (vh.); Gleichenia circinata. (vh.); G. dicarpa, (vh.), these last two difficult to establish from wild plants; Hypolepis distans, (h.); H. tenuifolia, (vh.); Loxsoma Cunninghamii, (hh.); Pellaea falcata, (vh.); P. rotundifolia, (vh.); Polypodium diversifolium (Billardieri of all New Zealand books on ferns), (vh.); Polystichum (Aspidium) Richardi, (vh.); P. vestitum (A. aculeatum var. vestitum), (vh.); Todaea barbara, (hh.).

Class 3.—Ferns requiring a moderate amount of shade.
Adiantum aethiopicum, (h.); A. affine, (vh.); A. fulvum, (h.); A. hispidulum, (hh.); Alsophila Colensoi (vh.) has its trunk mostly underground; Blechnum (Lomaria) discolor, (vh.); B. (L.) filiforme, (hh.); B. (L.) Fraseri, (hh.); B. (L.) lanceolatum, (vh.); B. (L.) vulcanicum, (vh.); Dicksonia lanata, (h.); Dryopteris (Nephrodium) glabella, (vh.); D. (N.) hispida, (vh.) D. (N.) velutina, (h.); Gleichenia Cunninghamii (umbrella-fern, vh.), difficult to establish; Hemitelia Smithii, (vh.); Leptolepia (Davallia) novae-zelandiae, (vh.); Lindsaya cuneata (trichomanoides), (vh.); Polypodium dictyopteris (Cunninghamii), (hh.); P. novae-zelandiae, (vh.); P. pustulatum, (h.); Polystichum adiantiforme (capense), (vh.); Pteris macilenta, (hh.); P. tremula, (hh.).

Class 4.—Ferns requiring a considerable amount of shade.
Adiantum formosum, (hh.); Asplenium Colensoi, (vh.); A. Richardi, (vh.); A. umbrosum, (hh.); Blechnum (Lomaria) fluviatile, (vh.); B. (L.) Pattersoni, (vh.), grows in drip of water or extremely wet ground; Cystopteris novae-zealandiae (fragilis of New Zealand authors—vh.); Dryopteris (Nephrodium) decomposita (h.); D. (Polypodium) pennigera, (vh.); Gleichenia flabellata, (hh.), difficult to establish: Leptopteris (Todaea) hymenophylloides, (vh.); Lindsaya viridis, (h.); Lygodium articulatum, (hh.); Marattia fraxinea (para, king-fern, hh.)."

 

 

GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora:-
"W.D. Clayton, M.S. Vorontsova, K.T. Harman & H. Williamson.

What is GrassBase?
GrassBase will ultimately provide an integrated, online view of the World Grass Species databases which have historically been held in two separate downloadable databases. The first step towards this integration has been the generation of nearly 11,000 species descriptons from the DELTA format that they're encoded in. In addition to this the synonymy/nomenclature database now contains links to these species descriptions integrated with searches for the accepted name and synonyms for just over 60,000 grass names."
To view a description just click on the name of the species you want from the GrassBase Descriptions List.

 

 

A Vegetative Key to Grasses by Ellen McDouall from the Bristol Regional Environmental Records Centre.

 

 

Landscaping with Perennials in USA Name Index using these books:-


  • Landscaping with Perennials by Emily Brown. 5th printing 1989 by
    Timber Press. ISBN 0-88192-063-0
    for planting sites in the USA for perennials,
    which include most plant types except Annuals and Biennials
    .
  • Perennials The Gardener's Reference by Susan Carter,
    Carrie Becker and Bob Lilly. Published by Timber Press in 2007
    for plants for Special Gardens in the USA. It also gives details of species
    and cultivars for each genus.
  • Perennials & Ephemerals chapter of Plants for Dry Gardens by
    Jane Taylor. Published by Frances Lincoln Limited in 1993.
    ISBN 0-7112-0772-0 for plants that are drought tolerant.

Landscaping with Perennials in USA
Name Index

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

Landscaping with Perennials in USA
Name Index

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

Landscaping with Perennials in USA
Name Index

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

Landscaping with Perennials in USA
Name Index

V

W

X

Y

Z

Per in USA with no flowers are compared in --->

January Unusual Colour Flower Page

 

Companion Planting

Companion planting is the name given to the system of using one plant to help another. It happens in various ways:-

  • 1. Plants may help each other directly.
  • 2. Plants may help each other indirectly by improving the soil.
  • 3. Plants may compete with and/or directly harm others.
  • 4. Some plants help others if they are present in a small proportion, but hinder or harm them as the ratio increases.
  • 5. Plants may repel harmful insects or attract them away from other plants.
  • 6. Plants may support insect populations which are beneficial to other plants.
  • 7. Plants may repel other and larger pests.
  • 8. Plants may attract birds and other creatures which prey on pests and/or are generally beneficial.
  • 9. Plants may reduce the incidence of fungal or other diseases in nearby plants.
  • 10. And, finally, plants may be attractive and/or beneficial to animals and people.

Further details in Companion Planting page of Garden Design.

Pest Control
using Plants
to provide a Companion Plant to aid your selected plant or deter its pests.
 

 

The following plants shall be added to the Flower Shape pages of this gallery
from

 

Climbers:-

3 Sector Vertical Plant System from Infill3 Gallery

Ramblers Scramblers & Twiners by Michael Jefferson-Brown (ISBN 0 - 7153 - 0942 - 0) describes how to choose, plant and nurture over 500 high-performance climbing plants and wall shrubs, so that more can be made of your garden if you think not just laterally on the ground but use the vertical support structures including the house as well.

Warning - Just as it is a mistake to try to keep a tiger in a dog's kennel, it can be a disaster to plant a rampant grower in a site that it will very quickly outgrow. Strong climbers, especially self-supporting ones (Ivy, Ampelopsis, Parthenocissus and Vitis), can quickly get to the eaves, where they may sabotage gutters, and if allowed to get onto the roof, distort or even dislodge tiling. Climbing roses must be supported by humans tying them to structures since the roses cannot do it themselves (keep the top of the structures 3 feet below the eaves so that annual pruning can reduce the risk of the odd stem reaching the guttering!!).

There are 3 sectors on a house wall or high wall:-

  • 0-36 inches (0-90 cms) in height - The Base. This gives the most sheltered conditions in the garden, with soil and air temperatures above those of the surrounding area. This area will suffer less buffeting from wind. Soil care will be ensuring a high humus content - to enrich the nutrient value and help to create reservoirs of moisture. Light intensity will depend on the aspect of the wall (North-facing will get very little sunlight) with the surrounding buildings and plants, including trees.
    The following pages in InFill3 gallery cover
    The Base:
  • 36-120 inches (90-300 cms) in height - The Prime Site. As the plant moves upwards to about 6 feet, conditions change: plants still benefit from the reflected heat and stored heat of walls warmed by the sun but have more light and air. Many climbers will have established a trunk below and now begin to spread themselves. This middle section is visually important, because it is at eye level and just below that that we should display those items to which we want to draw most attention. Most of the shrubs that are suitable for growing against walls are between 3 and 10 feet in height.
    The following pages in Infill3 gallery cover
    The Prime Site:
  • Above 120 inches (300+ cms) in height - The Higher Reaches. This is only likely to occur on house walls and other tall buildings with climbers and trained trees/shrubs covering all the way up to 36 inches from the guttering at roof level ( to prevent ingress to the internal roof space or blockage of the guttering).
    The following pages in Infill3 gallery cover
    The Higher Reaches:

The climbers in the Climber Plant Gallery have been placed into one of these 3 heights with the Text Box Boundary in:-

  • Blue for 0-36 inches (0-90 cms)
  • Green for 36-120 inches (90-300 cms)
  • Red for above 10 feet.

The Climber Plant Gallery splits the climbers into their following ways of climbing:-

  • Ramblers/Scramblers - These climbers lean on other plants or need artificial supports to climb - Roses, Jasmine, Espalier-trained Fruit Tree/Fruit Ramblers. These are suitable for house or building walls where vine-eye and wire or 1 inch square timber trellis support structures can be erected up to 3 feet below the gutter for the climbers to be tied to with natural twine (not plastic or metal wire - stems grow sideways but plastic and metal contrict this, whereas natural twine will eventually rot or be broken by the expanding stem), or they can be trained on chainlink fences, trellis, pergolas or arbours. Herbaceous Clematis has been added since the top growth dies off completely in the Autumn and Non-Climbing Clematis since it will require being tied to a support structure. In theInfill3 Plants Index Gallery, these climbers go into the
    3a House-Wall Ramblers
     
  • Self-Clingers: Aerial Roots - A series of roots are produced along the length of its stems. These attach themselves very strongly to the surfaces they find - Ivy (Hedera).
    Self-Clingers: Sucker Pads - Tendrils are produced along the young growing stems, opposite the leaves. The main tendril stem divides into a number of slender filaments, each of which has a scarcely perceivable pad at its tip.Once the tips have established contact, the tiny pad is much expanded and becomes a significant sucker, which fits so strongly to the surface that if the stem is pulled away the suckers are left behind- Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia).
    Self-Clingers: Twining - Many climbers find support simply by twining their stems around any object they find - Wisteria and Honeysuckle.
    Self-Clingers: Twining Leaf-Stem - Some climbers make do with sensitive leaf stalks which wrap themselves around objects for support - Clematis. Others establish themselves with thorns, hooks, spines and prickles.
    Self-Clingers: Twining Tendrils - A group of climbers climb by producing a series of tendrils. These are touch sensitive and will curl round any small object they come into contact with and thus enable the plant to climb securely on itself or other plants or manmade support structures - Chinese Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus henryana), Sweet Pea and the Pea Family (Leguminosae).
    All these Self-Clingers are suitable for garden walls, chainlink fences, trellis, pergolas or fedges, but not for House-Walls. In the Infill3 Plants Index Gallery, these climbers go into the
    3b The Higher Reaches - Non-House-Wall Climbing Twiners 1, 2 Page or
    3c The Higher Reaches - Non-House-Wall Self-Clinging Climbers Page.
     

Climber 3 Sector Vertical Plant System Use Pages:-

The Gardener's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Climbers & Wall Shrubs - A guide to more than 2000 varieties including Roses, Clematis and Fruit Trees by Brian Davis. Published by Penguin Books Ltd. in 1990. ISBN 0-670-82929-3 is providing more climbers to add to the ones from Ramblers Scramblers & Twiners by Michael Jefferson-Brown (ISBN 0 - 7153 - 0942 - 0).

 

Further details of each are available in Climber Plant Gallery:-
Climber Ramblers and Scramblers for House Wall and other supports like garden walls, pergolas, tripods, shrubs, trees,
Climber Wall Shrub Index for House Wall and other areas of the garden,
Climber Annuals Index for all support areas except House Walls,
Climber Base of Wall Plants for all support areas except House Walls,
Climber Self-Clinging Index for all support areas except House Walls,
Climber Tender Plants Index for all support areas except House Walls, or
Climber Twiners Index for all support areas except House Walls

 

Bedding:-

The following details about BEDDING comes from Wikipedia:-
"Bedding, in horticulture, refers to the temporary planting of fast-growing plants into flower beds to create colourful, temporary, seasonal displays, during spring, summer or winter. Plants used for bedding are generally annuals, biennials or tender perennials; succulents are gaining in popularity.
Some bedding plants are also referred to as "patio plants" because they are widely used in pots and other containers positioned on patios, terraces, decking and other areas around houses. Larger tender "conservatory plants" may also be moved out from greenhouses or conservatories and planted out in borders (or stood in their pots in sheltered positions) for the warmer months, then returned to shelter for the winter.
The modern bedding plant industry breeds and produces plants with a neat, dwarf habit, which flower uniformly and reliably. They are bred primarily for use in large-scale bedding schemes where uniformity and predictability is of paramount importance, but this is often achieved by losing the plants' individual character, and has been criticised by such notable plantsmen as the late Christopher Lloyd, who championed an informal style of bedding.

Bedding plants
There exists a huge range of plants specifically grown to produce a period of flower colour throughout the spring and summer, and (usually) discarded after flowering. They may conveniently be divided into four groups:-

  • Hardy annuals sown directly into the ground early in the season (poppy, stock, sunflower, clarkia, godetia, eschscholzia, nigella, dianthus)
  • Tender annual or perennial plants treated as half-hardy annuals - sown under glass in late winter in heat, or purchased as young plants, and hardened-off outdoors when all danger of frost has passed (begonia, lobelia, petunia, argyranthemum, chrysanthemum, pelargonium, nicotiana, cosmos, fuchsia)
  • Hardy biennial plants, or perennials treated as biennial, sown in one year to flower the next, and discarded after flowering (antirrhinum, polyanthus, wallflower, daisy, foxglove, some dianthus, some poppies, campanula, delphinium, aubrieta, aquilegia, cornflower, pansies)
  • Corms, rhizomes, bulbs and tubers, planted each year and lifted after the plant has died down and stored in winter, or discarded (tulip, narcissus, hyacinth, gladiolus, dahlia, canna)

Types of bedding
Formal bedding, as seen in parks and large gardens, where whole flower beds are replanted two or three times a year, is a costly and labour-intensive process. Towns and cities are encouraged to produce impressive displays by campaigns such as "Britain in Bloom".

  • Spring Bedding
    Plants used for spring bedding are often biennials (sown one year to flower the next), or hardy, but short-lived, perennials. Spring-flowering bulbs such as tulips are often used, typically with forget-me-nots, wallflowers, winter pansies and polyanthus.
  • Summer Bedding
    Plants used for summer bedding are generally annuals or tender perennials. They become available (often as what are referred to as "plug plants") in nurseries and garden centres during spring, to be gradually "hardened off" (acclimatised to outdoor conditions) by the purchaser and finally planted out around the time that the last frosts are expected. Experienced gardeners keep an eye on the weather forecasts at that time of year and are on standby to protect their bedding displays overnight with horticultural fleece (or the older alternatives of net curtains or newspaper) if frost threatens.
  • some annuals for bedding:-
  • Carpet bedding
    Carpet bedding employs two or more contrasting plant cultivars with a neat, dwarf habit and distinct colouring (of flower or foliage) to create geometric displays. It is often used to form such things as lettering, logos or trademarks, coats of arms, or floral clocks. Suitable plants are rosette-forming succulents such as Echeveria or fairly slow-growing or mat-forming foliage plants, such as coloured-leaved Alternanthera cultivars, which are tolerant of clipping; such plants may also be used in three-dimensional sculptural forms or pseudo-topiary.
  • Winter Bedding
    Planted in autumn to give a display until early spring, the plants used for winter bedding are mainly hardy perennials. As it has to be planted at the same time of year as spring bedding does, winter bedding tends to be less commonly seen, except in containers such as windowboxes. Some are short-lived and will be discarded after their first display; others may be used as a source of cuttings for the next year. Winter-hardy ornamental vegetables such as cultivars of kale and cabbage with coloured or variegated foliage are increasingly common. Primula cultivars (polyanthus and primroses) are commonly used, as are winter-flowering heathers and Viola × wittrockiana, winter pansies. Variegated evergreens such as cultivars of Vinca minor (lesser periwinkle), Euonymus fortunei and Hedera helix (ivies) are also popular."
  • Other Bedding Plant Uses in Pear Gallery (Bedding):-

 

 

How www.discoverlife.org Works
"We have tools to study natural history and track the impact of climate change, invasive species, and other large-scale ecological factors. We are building a network of study sites across North America. It's exciting to participate in our research projects and help us collect high quality data. We hope you will join us.

About
Our web tools can benefit you and your projects. Teachers can design hands-on ecological research projects for the schoolyard or local park without killing specimens. Park managers can track migrations of invasive species. Scientists can map large collections and present information about species. Amateur naturalists can upload images and make a life list of species they find. Environmental educators can build online field guides so simple they can be used even by the youngest beginner.

Everyone can benefit in some way from a partnership with Discover Life. With our powerful integrated web tools, you can:

• Keep a life list - store your photographic (or video/audio) records of natural history. It's your own electronic nature journal - this is a service somewhat like Flickr or Picasa web albums, but linked to species information, map data and more. You can keep thousands of photographs and other data on our site for free, and store associated information as well. To see examples of stored photographs, click here.
 
• Map species you find - every time you enter locality data to one of your photo records, it will instantly map as a point on the Global Mapper. This works similarly to Google Earth, but our mapper is capable of mapping many more points, each of them attached to an individual record of species occurrence.
 
• Monitor species locations - You can enter a species name on the Global Mapper and it will show all the points where we and our partners have records for that species - each of the points on a species map is a live link to species occurrence, with photo or other record.
 
• Learn about species - Discover Life is an online encyclopedia of life, with over a million species pages, many with photos, information, and links to more info on other sites. You can access this information via the search box on the home page, via "All Living Things" or if you are unsure of the identification, using the IDnature Guides.
 
• Identify species - use our IDnature Guides to identify bees, ants, caterpillars, slime molds, birds, invasive species, among many other groups - many of our online guides are under construction but some are quite complete.
 
• Create your own field guide - use our technology to create a field guide to your local schoolyard, national park, even your own back yard. With our guide-building tools you can build simple guides to plants, insects, fungi, whatever group you are interested in.
 
• For scientists, we provide further services. We can create labels with unique identifiers for your specimens. Using our electronic journal, Proceedings of Life, we can translate cumbersome printed literature such as catalogs into efficient, integrated electronic databases. With the same technology teachers have used to build simple guides to schoolyard plants, you can build very sophisticated guides to any group. You can store and map your photos, videos, audio, locality data, species relationships such as host/parasite information, and other notes on each species record. Discover Life provides the tools to monitor large amounts of natural history data, over large areas, over any period of time. Imagine the possibilities, develop the questions.

We are dedicated to improving education about the natural world, and therefore make our tools available for everyone, for free. You keep copyrights of your photographs and other information, you control how much or how little information you provide. We work constantly to improve our technology to make it easier to use."

 

 

BackyardGardener.com:-
"Since 1996, Backyard Gardener in the USA has provided gardening tips, information, season-by-season, how to grow for almost every gardening type you can imagine. Whether you're interested in flowers, plants, trees, organic gardening, vegetable gardening, composting, rocks... we have it all, and more.

This is no superficial overview. We have everything you need to learn, explore, and improve your gardening. We also provide every product imaginable to assist you in creating your beautiful home garden surroundings.

Backyard Gardener has provided gardening information since 1996. We are a one stop informational site to help people understand their gardening needs. Backyard Gardener provides gardening plans and plant lists to enhance your gardening knowledge.

We assist in providing the best gardening reference sites on the web with our own 'hands on' gardening information."

 

 

Monty Don. The Observer, Sunday 22 April 2001

"Weeds are the unwanted visitors which spoil our garden parties. But before you chuck them out, they can teach us a thing or two. There are other ways to deal with weeds:-

1 Hoe. There are lots of hoes available, but there are only two basic principles: you either push or you pull. I find I use a Dutch hoe most of the time, which, if kept sharp, slices through the roots of any weeds just below the surface of the soil. The secret of hoeing - like all weeding - is to do it little and often. If you have a very weed-infested bit of ground you want to cultivate (and remember, weed-infestation implies good healthy soil) and they have not yet gone to seed, then hoe the weeds off with a mattock or large draw or field hoe, let the weeds wilt for a day in the sun and then dig the whole thing over, weeds and all. This will not get rid of the perennial weeds but will increase the fertility and allow you to grow a crop of fast-growing, weed-suppressing vegetables such as potatoes, beans or squashes.
2 Mulch. Cover every piece of bare soil with a light-excluding but moisture-permeable layer. I use mushroom and garden compost and cocoa shells. Well-rotted horse or cattle manure is good, but cattle manure can include a lot of weed seeds if it is not very well-rotted. But anything will do, including straw, hay, shredded bark, permeable plastic, old carpet, or rolls of white paper mulch. If you are using an organic mulch (ie, one that will rot down into the soil), place it at least 2in thick - 4in is better. This will not stop existing perennial weeds growing through but will make them much easier to pull up.
3 Hand-weed. First the bad news: hand-weeding means getting down on your knees and removing every scrap of weed. Now the good news: it is one of the most enjoyable aspects of gardening. You get to know your soil, your plants, the seedlings and herbaceous perennials coming through.
4 Timing. You must remove weeds before they seed. The old adage 'one year's seeding means seven years' weeding' is pretty much accurate.

 

My weeds: Monty's list of garden horrors, most of which are detailed in this website - look by common name or botanical in the Cream and Brown Wild Flower Gallery Page menus above:-

  • Annuals
    Never let these seed:
    shepherd's-purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris);
    bittercress (Cardamine);
    fat hen (Chenopodium album);
    caper spurge (Euphorbia lathyrus);
    petty spurge (Euphorbia peplus);
    goosegrass (Galium aparine);
    herb Robert (Geranium robertianum);
    Himalaya balsam (Impatiens glandifulifera);
    knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare);
    shepherd's needle (Scandix pectenveneris);
    groundsel (Senecio vulgaris);
    charlock (Sinapsis arvensis) ;
    prickly sow thistle (Sonchus asper);
    chickweed (Stellaria media)
     
  • Perennials
    Very difficult (will take long-term strategy or inspired acceptance):
    Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum);
    horsetail (Equisetum)
     
  • Take very seriously (dig up every scrap of root and burn): ground elder (Aegopodium podagraria);
    bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis, Calystegia sepium); creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens);
    couch grass (Agropyron repens);
    lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria)
     
  • Work at (dig up as and when you can):
    broad- leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius);
    nettles (Urtica dioica);
    spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare);
    creeping thistle (Cirsium arvense);
    burdock (Arctium lappa)
     
  • Handsome (but intrusive):
    daisy (Bellis perennis);
    greater celandine (Chelidonium majus);
    teasel (Dipsacus fullonum);
    rosebay willowherb (Epilobium angustifolium);
    hogweed (Heracleum spondylium);
    dead-nettle (Lamium);
    alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens);
    mallow (Malva sylvestris);
    plantain (Plantago major);
    silverweed (Potentilla anserina);
    selfheal (Prunella vulgaris);
    comfrey (Symphytum);
    feverfew (Tanacetum);
    dandelion (Taraxacum)."

 

 

ONLINE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 
THE UMBELLIFERAE (CARROT/PARSLEY)
FAMILY OF THE BRITISH ISLES
Edition - Interactive Launched 01:08:2002
43 species described. By Mr James Miles Burton
A comprehensive online guide to the botany, biology, nomenclature, ecology,
chemistry, pharmacology, edibility folklore of British Umbelliferae. Umbelliferae Of The British Isles, 2nd edition, 2000. 1st edition 1998.
 

 

How www.discoverlife.org Works
"We have tools to study natural history and track the impact of climate change, invasive species, and other large-scale ecological factors. We are building a network of study sites across North America. It's exciting to participate in our research projects and help us collect high quality data. We hope you will join us.

About
Our web tools can benefit you and your projects. Teachers can design hands-on ecological research projects for the schoolyard or local park without killing specimens. Park managers can track migrations of invasive species. Scientists can map large collections and present information about species. Amateur naturalists can upload images and make a life list of species they find. Environmental educators can build online field guides so simple they can be used even by the youngest beginner.

Everyone can benefit in some way from a partnership with Discover Life. With our powerful integrated web tools, you can:

• Keep a life list - store your photographic (or video/audio) records of natural history. It's your own electronic nature journal - this is a service somewhat like Flickr or Picasa web albums, but linked to species information, map data and more. You can keep thousands of photographs and other data on our site for free, and store associated information as well. To see examples of stored photographs, click here.
 
• Map species you find - every time you enter locality data to one of your photo records, it will instantly map as a point on the Global Mapper. This works similarly to Google Earth, but our mapper is capable of mapping many more points, each of them attached to an individual record of species occurrence.
 
• Monitor species locations - You can enter a species name on the Global Mapper and it will show all the points where we and our partners have records for that species - each of the points on a species map is a live link to species occurrence, with photo or other record.
 
• Learn about species - Discover Life is an online encyclopedia of life, with over a million species pages, many with photos, information, and links to more info on other sites. You can access this information via the search box on the home page, via "All Living Things" or if you are unsure of the identification, using the IDnature Guides.
 
• Identify species - use our IDnature Guides to identify bees, ants, caterpillars, slime molds, birds, invasive species, among many other groups - many of our online guides are under construction but some are quite complete.
 
• Create your own field guide - use our technology to create a field guide to your local schoolyard, national park, even your own back yard. With our guide-building tools you can build simple guides to plants, insects, fungi, whatever group you are interested in.
 
• For scientists, we provide further services. We can create labels with unique identifiers for your specimens. Using our electronic journal, Proceedings of Life, we can translate cumbersome printed literature such as catalogs into efficient, integrated electronic databases. With the same technology teachers have used to build simple guides to schoolyard plants, you can build very sophisticated guides to any group. You can store and map your photos, videos, audio, locality data, species relationships such as host/parasite information, and other notes on each species record. Discover Life provides the tools to monitor large amounts of natural history data, over large areas, over any period of time. Imagine the possibilities, develop the questions.

We are dedicated to improving education about the natural world, and therefore make our tools available for everyone, for free. You keep copyrights of your photographs and other information, you control how much or how little information you provide. We work constantly to improve our technology to make it easier to use."

 

 

What is The Threatened Plants Database
"At its heart, the TPDB is a database about the 400-or- so rarest species in Britain, and was set up to enable the Joint Nature Conservation Committee to fulfil its statutory duties in protecting these plants and advising the UK government on conservation issues. It was originally compiled for the production of the third edition of the Red Data Book, which went on sale this month (April 1999), and it is now being run by the BSBI under a three-year contract to the JNCC and the country agencies.
As such, it is a very restricted set of biological records. On the other hand, in order to compile it, one needs to have an enormous amount of information available. For example, how would anyone know which plants were rare and which were common if they didn’t keep information on the common ones? So, in the long term, it is not sufficient to simply keep rare plant records. Instead we need to have access to a full set of information on all the British flora in order to be able to extract the particular data that we want. And, of course, that is precisely what the BSBI has been building up for over 150 years.
We have a strategy, therefore, to use the TPDB project to reach into every corner of the BSBI’s work and create an integrated network of information sources which can all send and receive biological records accurately and to uniform high standards. This sounds ambitious, but again it is just an extension of what we’ve all been doing for years. When someone gives a record to a vice county recorder, and the recorder goes out to check it, and then sends a pink card to the BRC, that is a typical example of data management. The only difference is that this process is now being done using computers and the internet.
While all this is happening, there are considerable benefits and spin-offs. It is becoming increasingly possible for ordinary people, with no special training or access to expensive equipment, to produce complex reports and analyses of botanical data. For example, a county checklist can take just minutes to produce. Distribution maps are available at the touch of a button. And there are many other things one can do with the data once you know how to use the software. We have an opportunity to develop this initiative over the next few years, and the plan is to do just that.
Of course not everyone in the BSBI will notice a great change to their everyday activities. This is not an imposed change on the way people work – it is an opportunity for those who wish to take advantage of it. In this newsletter some of those opportunities are explored, and examples are given of people who are involved in this work already. "

 

 

Photos and images of Bupleurum species with descriptions.

From Sarah Ravens Kitchen & Garden:-

Wildflowers - Clay and rich loam soil mix

There are two main things I want from my wildflower meadow –

  • to look beautiful for months not weeks, with flowers coming out and going over in succession
  • AND
  • to grow pollen-rich, insect friendly plants from EARLY in the year to LATE. I want my patch to be a regular and reliable food source for the birds and the bees.

That’s what you’ll get with this beautiful selection of my favourite easy and reliable perennial wild flowers.

To cover an area of 3m2

  • General Height: 60cm.
  • Sow: April- June

Spring into Summer Flowering

• Cowslip March – May
• Common Birdsfoot Trefoil May – July
• Lady’s Bedstraw Late May – August
• Rough Hawksbit May – July
• Red Clover May – October
• Oxeye Daisy May – July
• Yellow Rattle May – July
• Meadow Buttercup May – July

Summer into Autumn Flowering

• Self Heal June – September
• Sorrel June – September
• Tufted Vetch June – September
• Common Knapweed June – September
• Common Toadflax July – October
• Musk Mallow July – October
• Ragged Robin July – September
 

From Sarah Ravens Kitchen & Garden:-

Wildflowers - Chalk and sand, freely-drained soil mix

A wonderfully varied self-sowing wild flower mix for thin, poor, chalky or sandy soils to give your garden or field flowers right through the year and food for the birds and bees.

To cover an area of 3m2

  • General Height: 60cm.
  • Sow: April- June
  • Spring into Summer Flowering
    • • Cowslip March – May
    • • Crosswort April - June
    • • Common Birdsfoot Trefoil May – July
    • • Kidney Vetch May – July
    • • Lady’s Bedstraw Late May – August
    • • Red Clover May – October
    • • Yellow Rattle May – July
    • • Meadow Buttercup May – July
    • • Wild Mignonette May – August
  • Summer into Autumn Flowering
    • • Field Scabious June – September
    • • Hedge Bedstraw June – August
    • • Viper’s Bugloss June – September
    • • Meadow Cranesbill June – September
    • • Greater Knapweed June – August
    • • Salad Burnet June – September
    • • Common Knapweed June – September
    • • Wild Carrot June – September
    • • Wild Marjoram July – September
       

Ivydene Horticultural Services logo with I design, construct and maintain private gardens. I also advise and teach you in your own garden. 01634 389677

 

Site design and content copyright ©May 2008.
Page structure amended October 2012.
Feet changed to inches (cms) July 2015.
Menus and Master changed January 2016.
New Common Names and Botanical Names added February 2021.
Wildflower Index added in November 2023.
Chris Garnons-Williams.

DISCLAIMER: Links to external sites are provided as a courtesy to visitors. Ivydene Horticultural Services are not responsible for the content and/or quality of external web sites linked from this site.


The English Flower Garden Design, Arrangement, and Plans
followed by
A description of all the best plants for it and their culture and the positions fitted for them by W. Robinson
(Author of the "Wild Garden").
Fourth Edition. Published by John Murray in London in 1895 is a useful source of culture and positions for them,

as is

The Gardener' Golden Treasury
incorporating
Sanders Encyclopedia of Gardening.
Revised by A.G.L. Hellyer
and published in 1960 by W.H. & L. Collingridge Limited.

 

 

"We have a choice - to use up the world's resources, or to save humanity" from i The Essential Daily Briefing from The Independent on 26 May 2011:-

It is coming from the people of Ecuador, led by their President Rafael Correa, and it would begin to deal with 2 converging crises.

In the 4 billion years since life on earth began, there have been 5 times when there was a sudden mass extinction of life-forms. The last time was 65 million years ago, when the dinosaurs were killed, probably by a meteor. But now the world's scientists agree that the 6th mass extinction is at hand. Humans have accelerated the rate of species extinction by a factor of at least 100 and the Harvard biologist EO Wilson warns it could reach a factor of 10,000 within the next 20 years.. We are doing this largely by stripping species of their habitat.

At the same time, we are dramatically warming the atmosphere. The joint-hottest year ever recorded was 2010, according to Nasa. The best scientific prediction is that we are now on course for a 3 feet rise in global sea levels this century. Goodbye London, Cairo, Bangkok, Venice and Shanghai.

So where does Ecuador come in? At the tip of this South American country, there lies 4,000 square miles of rainforest where the Amazon basin, the Andes mountains and the equator come together. It is the most diverse place on earth. When scientists studied a single hectare of it, they found it had more different species of trees that the whole of North America put together. It holds the world records for different species of amphibeans, reptiles and bats. And - more importantly - this rainforest is a crucial part of the planets lungs, inhaling huge amounts of heat-trapping gases and keeping them out of the atmosphere.

Yet almost all the pressure from the outside world today is to cut it down. Why? Because underneath that rainforest, there is almost a billion barrels of untapped oil, containing 400 million tons of planet-cooking gases.

The oil beneath the rainforest is worth about 7 billion dollars. Ecuador's democratic government says that, if the rest of the world offers just half of what the oil is worth - 3.5 billion dollars - they will keep the rainforest standing and alive and working for us all. In a country where 38% live in poverty and 13% are on the brink of starvation, it's an incredibly generous offer and one that is popular in the rainforest itself.

No country with oil has ever done anything like this before. Not a single one has ever considered leaving it in the ground because the consequences of digging it up are too disastrous.

They first made this offer in 2006. Chile has offered $100,000. Spain has offered $1.4million. Germany initially offered $50million, then pulled out. Now Mr Carrea is warning they can't wait forever in a country where 13% are close to starving. If they do not have $100million in the pot by the end of this year, he says, they will have no choice but to pursue Plan B - the digging and destruction of the rainforest."

What the idiots in power in the world do not realise is that a 25 feet by 25 feet grass lawn will provide enough oxygen for a person per year. A car travelling 60 miles consumes the same volume of oxygen as a mature beech tree produces in a year. Every person in the UK travels by car, bus or public transport and they therefore consume more oxygen per year than the property they own or the country they live in can create. We get our oxygen from outside the United Kingdom.

We owe over 900 billion pounds and now we are lending more than 3.5 billion dollars to Greece, Ireland and Portugal. We are spending £800,000 on dropping 1 missile on Libya and last month we were involved in 3 wars costing more that £3.5 billion a year. UNFORTUNATELY THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT INTERESTED IN THE FACT THAT WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BREATHE FAIRLY SOON.

Since no government will do it, perhaps you as the individual reading this could send £1 a month by standing order to the Ecuador Embassy in your country, so that President Carrea can carry out Plan A rather than Plan B.

Ivydene Gardens Water Fern to Yew Wild Flower Families Gallery:
Wildflower 17 Flower Colours per Month

Only Wildflowers detailed in the following Wildflower Colour Pages
are compared in all the relevant month(s) of when that Wildflower flowers -
in the Wildflower Flower Colour
of that row

CREAM WILD FLOWER GALLERY PAGE MENUS


Common Name with Botanical Name, Wild Flower Family, Flower Colour and Form Index of each of all the Wildflowers of the UK in 1965:- AC,AL,AS,BE,
BL,BO,BR,CA,
CL,CO,CO,CO,
CR,DA,DO,EA,
FE,FI,FR,GO,
GR,GU,HA,HO,
IR,KN,LE,LE,
LO,MA,ME,MO,
NA,NO,PE,PO,
PY,RE,RO,SA,
SE,SE,SK,SM,
SO,SP,ST,SW,
TO,TW,WA,WE,
WI,WO,WO,YE

Extra Common Names have been added within a row for a different plant. Each Extra Common Name Plant will link to an Extras Page where it will be detailed in its own row.

EXTRAS 57,58,
59,60,

 

BROWN WILD FLOWER GALLERY PAGE MENUS

Botanical Name with Common Name, Wild Flower Family, Flower Colour and Form Index of each of all the Wildflowers of the UK in 1965:- AC, AG,AL,AL,AN,
AR,AR,AS,BA,
BR,BR,CA,CA,
CA,CA,CA,CA,
CA,CE,CE,CH,
CI,CO,CR,DA,
DE,DR,EP,EP,
ER,EU,FE,FO,
GA,GA,GE,GL,
HE,HI,HI,HY,
IM,JU,KI,LA,
LE,LI,LL,LU,LY, ME,ME,MI,MY,
NA,OE,OR,OR,
PA,PH,PL,PO,
PO,PO,PO,PU,
RA,RH,RO,RO,
RU,SA,SA,SA,
SC,SC,SE,SI,
SI,SO,SP,ST,
TA,TH,TR,TR,
UR,VE,VE,VI

Extra Botanical Names have been added within a row for a different plant. Each Extra Botanical Name Plant will link to an Extras Page where it will be detailed in its own row.

EXTRAS 91,
 

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1
Blue

1

1

1

Blue
Edible Plant Parts.
Flower Legend.
Food for Butterfly/Moth..
Flowering plants of
Chalk and Limestone Page 1, Page 2 .
Flowering plants of Acid Soil Page 1 .
SEED COLOUR
Seed 1 ,
Seed 2 .
Use of Plant with Flowers .
Scented Flower, Foliage, Root .
Story of their Common Names.
Use for Non-Flowering Plants .

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1
Brown

1

1

1

Brown
Botanical Names .

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1
Cream

1

1

1

Cream
Common Names .
Coastal and Dunes .
Sandy Shores and Dunes .

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1
Green

1

1

1

Green
Broad-leaved Woods .

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1
Mauve

1

1

1

Mauve
Grassland - Acid, Neutral, Chalk.

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1
Multi-Col-oured

1
 

1
 

1
 

Multi-Cols
Heaths and Moors .

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1
Orange

1

1

1

Orange
Hedgerows and Verges .

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1
Pink

1

1

1

Pink A-G
Lakes, Canals and Rivers .

Pink H-Z
Marshes, Fens, Bogs .

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1
Purple

1

1

1

Purple
Old Buildings and Walls .

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1
Red

1

1

1

Red
Pinewoods .

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1
White

1

1

1

White A-D
Saltmarshes .
Shingle Beaches, Rocks and
Cliff Tops
.

White E-P
Other .

White Q-Z
Number of Petals .

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1 Yellow

1

1

1

Yellow A-G
Pollinator .

Yellow H-Z
Poisonous Parts .

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1
Shrub/ Tree

1

1

1

Shrub/Tree
River Banks and
other Freshwater Margins
.
 

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1
Fruit or Seed

1

1

1

SEED COLOUR
Seed 1
Seed 2

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1
Non-Flower Plants

1

1

1

Use for
Non-Flowering Plants

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1
Chalk and Lime-stone

1

1

1

Flowering plants of
Chalk and Limestone
Page 1

Page 2

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1
Acid Soil

1

1

1

Flowering plants of
Acid Soil
Page 1

Copied from

Ivydene Gardens Blue Wildflowers Note Gallery:
Brown Flowers with
Food for Butterfly/Moth Index

Form from
The Concise British Flora in Colour by W. Keble Martin, MA, FLS.
Designed and produced by George Rainbird Limited and Second Impression (with revisions) June 1965.

Number of Flower Petals

lessershape1meadowrue1

cosmoscflobipinnatuspuritygarnonswilliams1

irishcflobladderwort1

ajugacflo1genevensisfoord2a1

aethionemacfloarmenumfoord1

anemonecflo1hybridafoord1

anemonecflo1blandafoord1

Petal-less

1

2

3

4

5

Above 5

Flower Shape - Simple

 

These in this Table are for Wild-flowers

anthericumcfloliliagofoord1

argemonecflomexicanaflowermissouriplants1

geraniumcinereumballerinaflot9a

paeoniamlokosewitschiiflot1

magnoliagrandifloracflogarnonswilliams1

acantholinumcflop99glumaceumfoord

stachysflotmacrantha1

Stars

Bowls

Cups and Saucers

Globes

Goblets and Chalices

Trumpets

Funnels

campanulacochlearifoliapusillacflofoord1

clematiscflodiversifoliagarnonswilliams1

Ericacarneaspringwoodwhitecflogarnonswilliams1

phloxflotsubulatatemiskaming1

 

 

 

Bells

Thimbles

Urns

Salver-form

 

 

 

Flower Shape - Elab--orated

prunellaflotgrandiflora1

aquilegiacfloformosafoord1

lilliumcflomartagonrvroger1

laburnumcflowaterivossiistandardpage1

brachyscomecflorigidulakevock1

scabiosacflo1columbariawikimediacommons1

melancholycflothistle1

Tubes, Lips and Straps

Slippers, Spurs and Lockets

Hats, Hoods and Helmets

Stan-dards, Wings and Keels

Discs and Florets

Pin-Cushions

Tufts

androsacecforyargongensiskevock1

androsacecflorigidakevock1

argyranthemumfloc1madeiracrestedyellow1

agapanthuscflosafricanusbluekevock1

 

 

 

Cushion

Umbel

Buttons

Pompoms

 

 

 

Natural Arrange--ments

bergeniamorningredcforcoblands1

ajugacfloreptansatropurpurea1a

morinacfloslongifoliapershape1

eremuruscflo1bungeipershapefoord1

amaranthuscflos1caudatuswikimediacommons1

clematiscformontanaontrellisfoord1

androsacecfor1albanakevock1

Bunches, Posies and Sprays

Columns, Spikes and Spires

Whorls, Tiers and Candle-labra

Plumes and Tails

Chains and Tassels

Clouds, Garlands and Cascades

Spheres, Domes and Plates

 

Form for Wildflowers:-

Mat-forming
Prostrate
Mound-forming
Spreading
Clump-forming
Stemless
Upright
Climbing
Arching

These Forms are used for Bulbs with Herbaceous and Evergreen Perennials.

 

Shape for Evergreen Shrubs:-

Columnar
Oval
Rounded
Flattened Spherical
Narrow Conical
Broad Conical
Egg-shaped
Broad Ovoid
Narrow Vase-shape
Fan-shaped
Broad Fan-shape
Narrow Weeping
Broad Weeping
Single-stem Palm
Multi-stem Palm

These Forms and Shapes are also used for Deciduous and Evergreen Shrubs and Trees.
Wildflowers from Shrub/Tree page will be inserted into these Shapes for Evergreen Shrubs pages.

 

GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora:-
"W.D. Clayton, M.S. Vorontsova, K.T. Harman & H. Williamson
What is GrassBase?
GrassBase will ultimately provide an integrated, online view of the World Grass Species databases which have historically been held in two separate downloadable databases. The first step towards this integration has been the generation of nearly 11,000 species descriptions from the DELTA format that they're encoded in. In addition to this the synonymy/nomenclature database now contains links to these species descriptions integrated with searches for the accepted name and synonyms for just over 60,000 grass names."
To view a description just click on the name of the species you want from the GrassBase Descriptions List.

 

Recommended Plants for Wildlife in different situations

The following Container Gardening for Wildlife is from Appendix 1 of The Wildlife Garden Month-by-Month by Jackie Bennett. Published by David & Charles in 1993. ISBN
0 7153 0033 4 :-

 

"It is quite possible to entice wildlife into even the most unpromising paved areas by utilising containers. Several mini-habitats can be created by growing a carefully selected range of trees, shrubs and flowers in pots, tubs, window boxes and hanging baskets.
If the space is enclosed by walls or high fences, it is important to let the passing wildlife know that this area is a source of food and shelter. Aim to add height and greenery with a small native tree grown in a good-sized wooden barrel and add 1 or 2 berry-bearing shrubs. Clothe the walls in climbers for nesting birds and introduce nectar-rich flowers for the insects. Finally, put up a nesting box amongst the climbers and find a place for a feeding table in winter and a bird bath in the summer. Despite the lack of grass and full-size trees, a surprising range of creatures will begin to inhabit this new garden.

DON'T FORGET HERBS

Herbs are amongst the most useful wildlife plants, including borage, mint, chives and rosemary, and are ideally suited to container growing. Do allow them to flower though, even at the expense of a continuous supply of leaves for cooking.

 

FOUR-SEASON WINDOW BOX

Try planting a window box with the following selection of evergreens, perennials, bulbs and bedding plants, for an all-the-year-round display.

WINTER
Ivy, hellebores, snowdrops

SPRING
Ivy, yellow crocus and grape hyacinths

SUMMER
Ivy, white alyssum and dwarf lavender

AUTUMN
Ivy, meadow saffron.

 

 

 

 

APPENDIX 2 has a Traditional Wildlife Garden Plan and a Garden Plan for Urban Wildlife.

STEP-BY-STEP CONTAINER PLANTING

Make sure the container has adequate drainage holes and that they are free of obstruction.

Put a layer of broken clay pots or crockery over the base of the container.

Half-fill with a multi-purpose potting compost.

Place the plants in position and fill around the root ball with more compost. Press down firmly.

Water well and add more compost if necessary, to bring the level up to 1 inch (2.5 cm) below the rim of the container.
 

Use the self-watering containers and potting mix detailed in the Vegetable Gallery Site Map Page rather the the pots or multi-purpose potting compost detailed above. Provide an outside water tap and watering can, so that you can irrigate the pots without traipsing the can through the house.

 

NOTE
To boost the wildlife habitat in a concrete yard, make a pile of logs in one corner. As the wood begins to break down, it will house beetles, spiders and slugs - great food for birds. The cool, damp habitat may be secluded enough to offer daytime cover to a toad, or possibly frogs and newts from a nearby pond.

RECOMMENDED PLANTS

TREES
Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia 'Fastigiata') Dwarf form (120 inches (300 cms)). Flowers for insects and berries for birds.

Willow (Salix caprea 'Pendula') Weeping form (120 inches (300 cms)). Catkins for insects, young leaves for caterpillars.

SHRUBS
Buddleia davidii (120 inches (300 cms)) Nectar from flowers for butterflies.

Cotoneaster 'Hybridus Pendulus' (120 inches (300 cms)) Berries and flowers.

Hawthorn (Craaegus monogyna) (180 inches (500 cms)) can be pruned hard to keep it within bounds. Secure nesting sites for birds. Berries and flowers.

Holly (Ilex aquifolium) (to 180 inches (500 cms)) a male and female bush are needed to be sure of berries. Nesting cover for birds.

Lavender (Lavendula angustifolia) Scented and attracts bees, flowers.

--->


 

CLIMBERS
Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum) Summer wall and fence cover. Has nectar and flowers.

Ivy (Hedera helix) All-year-round wall and fence cover. Has nectar and flowers.

FLOWERS FOR NECTAR
Alyssum
Candytuft (Iberis)
Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus).
Nicotiana
Night-scented stock (Matthiola bicornis).
Pot marigold (Calendula officinalis).

 

PLAN OF A SMALL ENCLOSED PATIO WITH CONTAINERS
Exit doorway on left with window on its left and window box outside window. Group of pots between door and window. Another group of pots in corner after window with one of the pots containing a tree. A wall basket between that corner and the corner on the right where a barrel with ivy is growing up the wall. A bench is half-way down to the bottom right corner with its pot group and a pile of logs. A bird table is half-way across to the bottom left corner with its large pot." - Use a 4 inch (10 cm) plastic pipe through the wall to allow non-flying creatures access from the public area outside to your garden area.

The following Growing Marsh Plants in Containers is from The Wildlife Garden Month-by-Month by Jackie Bennett. Published by David & Charles in 1993. ISBN
0 7153 0033 4 :-

Where space is limited, or simply as an alternative to conventional patio plants, it is possible to grow moisture-loving species in pots and tubs. The container needs to retain water - a terracotta pot which has a porouus structure would not be suitable, but a glazed ceramic pot would work well. Plastic pots can also be used - like the self-watering containers detailed in the Vegetable Gallery Site Map Page. Choose a pot at least 12 (30) deep and 16 (40) across. The best way to ensure the compost stays wet is to stand the whole pot in a substantial tray of water, so that the marsh can draw up moisture as it is needed (there is a water reservoir in the self-watering pots detailed above). Ordinary plant saucers will not hold enough water, and something deeper like a large kitchen roasting tin, which may not look so elegant, will do the job more effectively.
Spring is an ideal time to plant moisture-loving plants. Fill the container with a loam-based potting compost, insert the plants and water until soaked. Choose plants that won't outgrow the limited space too quickly. Include a selection of tall-growing species like purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), sweet flag (Acorus calamus) and ragged robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi) alongside smaller plants like bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata) and x-lips (Primula elatior). Avoid lady's smock (Cardamine pratensis) and water mint (Mentha aquatica) which can spread too quickly.
Keep the water in the base tray topped up, using rainwater collected in a water butt where possible. Keeping the tray full of water is particularly important in long, hot, dry spells, although in spring and autumn the naturall rainfall will probably be adequate. Cut back the foliage in the autumn to prevent the pots becoming choked with decaying material. Repot the plants every 2 or 3 years when they start to outgrow their containers. In the second year after planting, the plants may have used up the nutrients in the compost and will need an extra boost from a slow-release fertiliser.

MOISTURE-LOVING NATIVE PLANTS
Plant / Use of Plant

 

Height


 

 

Flower Colour

 

Flowering Time
 

Bog Bean (Menyanthes trifoliata) /
Moths

10 (25)

White

Mid-Summer

Globe Flower
(Trollius europaeus /

24 (60)

Yellow

Early Summer

Oxlip
(Primula elatior) /
Bee plant,
Butterfly nectar plant

6 (15)

Pale Yellow

Late spring

Primrose
(Primula vulgaris) /
Butterfly nectar plant

4 (10)

Pale Yellow

Mid-spring

Purple Loosestrife
(Lythrum salicaria) /
Bee plant,
Butterfly nectar plant

36 (90)

Pink-purple

Summer

Ragged Robin
(Lychnis flos-cuculi) /
Butterfly nectar plant

24 (60)

Pink

Summer

Sweet Flag
(Acorus calamus) /
 

24 (60)

Green

Mid-summer

Bog Arum
(Calla palustris) /

Naturalised in places in Britain

6 (15)

Yellow-green

Summer

Hemp Agrimony
(Eupatorium cannabinum) /
Bee plant,
Butterfly nectar plant

48 (120)

Reddish-pink

Late summer

Lady's Smock
(Cardamine pratensis) /
Attractive to Hoverflies,
Caterpillar food plant,
Butterfly nectar plant

9 (23)

Pale pink

Spring

Marsh Betony
(Stachys palustris) /
Bee plant

12 (30)

Purple

Summer

Marsh Cinquefoil
(Potentilla palustris) /
 

9 (23)

Dark red

Summer

Marsh St John's Wort
(Hypericum elodes) /

6 (15)

Pale yellow

Summer

Meadowsweet
(Filipendula ulmaria) /

36 (90)

Creamy-white

Summer

The following Planning a Herb Bed or Garden is from The Wildlife Garden Month-by-Month by Jackie Bennett. Published by David & Charles in 1993. ISBN
0 7153 0033 4 :-

TOP HERBS FOR WILDLIFE
Although there are a huge number of culinary and medicinal herbs which can be grown, not all are relevant to wildlife. The herbs in the fourth column describe the best herbs for attracting garden wildlife.

PREPARING THE SITE
The best location for a herb bed is one which gets a lot of sun and where the soil is already well drained. Most herbs dislike getting waterlogged roots and can tolerate almost drought conditions - in fact, those like rosemary and marjoram with Mediterranean ancestry, improve in taste, scent and flower growth in a sunny location.

If the soil is not ideal (heavy clay for instance), it is possible to add some coarse grit to aid drainage. However, it might be smpler and more productive to grow the herbs in pots - like the self-watering containers detailed in the Vegetable Gallery Site Map Page, putting in a good layer of gravel before adding the compost.

The ground should be dug thoroughly, removing any weeds --->

and large stones. Lay brick paths, edging tiles or wooden dividers before planting the herbs.

HERBS FOR LESS-THAN-IDEAL CONDITIONS
Although most herbs prefer a sunny position in a well-drained soil, there are some which will tolerate shade and a heavier soil. The resulting plants may not do as well but there is no need to give up the idea of growing herbs altogether and the wildlife will still find them useful.

Mint (Mentha) can tolerate shade although it does tend to grow towards the light and become crooked and leggy.

Tansy (Tanecetum vulgare) is an excellent native plant for butterflies and it is not too fussy about growing conditions.

Lovage (Levisticum officinale), a relative of the fennel, is also worth growing for its young leaves which add a celery flavour to soups and stews. It will grow quite adequately in a dark, damp spot and the flowers produced, although not as abundant as they should be, will provide nectar for hoverflies, wasps and bees.

Comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum) should be included purely for its leaves which are a reliable food source for moth and butterfly caterpillars.

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is another strong grower in less than ideal conditions. Its white or pale yellow flowers rely on bees for their pollination.

--->

Garden chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium) is an annual herb, greatly prized for the flavour of its parsley-like leaves. It will tolerate some shade, but prefers a well-drained soil.

Great burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis) is a tall native herb that prefers a damp habitat and a heavy clay soil. The tiny crimson flowers appear from mid-summer to early autumn.

Angelica (Angelica archangelica), originally from central Europe, is widely naturalised in Britain. It will do well in a shady spot in damp soil and has huge seedheads in early autumn.

PLANTING AND MAINTENANCE CALENDAR
Late Summer - prepare site

Autumn - Plant shrubs and pot-grown perennials

Spring - Sow seeds of annuals

Late Spring - Sow seeds of biennials

Summer - Keep beds free of weeds; water container plants. Adas Colour Atlas of Weed Seedlings by J.B Williams and J.R. Morrison provides photos to the 40 most common weeds afflicting gardens and arable farm land. ISBN 0-7234-0929-3

Instead of snipping off the flowers as they appear, leave a few plants of parsley, mint, marjoram and lemon balm to flower naturally. Many more insects will visit the plants and consequently the herb garden will be a richer feeding ground for birds.

TOP HERBS FOR WILDLIFE
Herb - Angelica (Angelica archangelica)
Type - Biennial
wildflower value - Flowers - hoverflies, bees.
Leaves - butterflies, caterpillars.
Seedheads - greenfinches, bluetits

Borage (borago officinalis)
Annual
Flowers - bees

Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)
Perennial
Flowers - bees, butterflies

Comfrey (Symphytum uplandicum)
Perennial
Leaves - moths, butterflies

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare0
Perennial
Flowers - bees, wasps, hoverflies
Leaves - caterpillars

Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis)
Perennial
Flowers - lacewings, bees

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
Shrub
Flowers - bees, butterflies

Marjoram (Origanum vulgare)
Perennial
Flowers - bees, butterflies

Mint (Mentha - all types)
Perennial
Flowers - bees, butterflies, moths

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Shrub
Flowers - bees, butterflies, hoverflies

Thyme (Thymus - all types)
Perennial / shrub
Flowers - bees, butterflies

The following Recommended Bulbs is from The Wildlife Garden Month-by-Month by Jackie Bennett. Published by David & Charles in 1993. ISBN
0 7153 0033 4 :-

RECOMMENDED BULBS
Name - Bluebell (Scilla non-scripta)
Use of plant - Bee plant, Butterfly nectar plant
Site - Hedgerows, woodland
Depth of soil above the bulb - 2 (5)

Crocus (Purple) (Crocus tomasinianus)
Butterfly nectar plant
Lawns, borders, under deciduous trees. 3 (8)

Crocus (Yellow) (Crocus chrysanthus)
Butterfly nectar plant
Lawns, borders, under deciduous trees. 3(8)

Grape Hyacinth (Muscari neglectum)
Bee plant, Butterfly nectar plant.
Lawns, borders.
3 (8)

Ramsons Garlic (Allium ursinum)
Butterfly nectar plant. 3 (8)

Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis)
Under deciduous trees, shady borders. 2 (5)

Wild Daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarcissus)
Bee plant.
Lawns, banks. 3 (8)

Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis)
Under deciduous trees, shady borders. 2 (5)

The following Incorporating Wildfflowers into an existing lawn is from The Wildlife Garden Month-by-Month by Jackie Bennett. Published by David & Charles in 1993. ISBN
0 7153 0033 4 :-

INCORPORATING WILDFLOWERS INTO AN EXISTING LAWN
There are basically 2 ways of doing this, both of which can be implemented in early autumn. The first involves sowing seed, the second planting pot-grown plants. Whichever method is chosen, the best results will be obtained with a lawn that is already patchy and weak in growth. The lush green grass of a well-fed lawn is likely to swamp any wildflowers that are introduced.

SOWING WILDFLOWER SEED INTO AN EXISTING LAWN
Begin by giving the lawn a thorough raking with a metal rake to remove moss, dead grass and leaves. Water thoroughly and sow the seed at the manufacturer's recommended rate.

ADDING POT-GROWN WILDFLOWERS TO AN EXISTING LAWN
After the last cut of the season is a good time to put in pot-grown wildflowers. More and more nurseries are stocking wildflowers in pots, but remember to choose species which will suit your intended regime of meadow maintenance. Place the plants in groups, with individual plants 8-16 (20-40) apart. Remove a plug of earth the same size as the pot, using a bulb planter or trowel. Knock the plants from their pots and place them in the holes, firming down the soil and watering well afterwards.

TYPICAL MEADOW MIXTURE
20% Flowering native perennials (as below)
40% Crested dog-tail (native grass)
30% Fescue (non-native grass)
10% Bent (lawn grass)

SPRING-FLOWERING MEADOW PERENNIALS
Bladder campion (Silene vulgaris)
Cowslip (Primula veris)
Lady's bedstraw (Galium verum)
Meadow buttercup (Ranunculus acris)

SUMMER-FLOWERING MEADOW PERENNIALS
Betony (stachys officinalis)
Bird's foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus)
Field scabious (Knautia arvensis)
Greater Knapweed
(Centaurea scabiosa)
Meadow cranesbill (Geranium pratense)
Musk mallow (Malva moschata)
Ox-eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare)
Rough hawkbit (Leontodon hispidus)
Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris)

 

Lindum Turf sell wildflower Mats for your new wildflower lawn instead of part of your old lawn

as
well as
Lindum's Wildflower Mat on Lindum's extensive green roof substrate for use as a Wildflower Green Roof

or
could be used to create a wildflower lawn on a back garden, whose ground is currently covered in concrete, tarmac, brick or stone.

The following Establishing a 'No Go' Area is from The Wildlife Garden Month-by-Month by Jackie Bennett. Published by David & Charles in 1993. ISBN
0 7153 0033 4 :-

It is important to nominate a part of the garden as a 'no-go' area for humans, which can be left deliberately untidy. Usually this is some spot well away from the house and preferably shielded by shrubs or trees, but it might equally be behind a garden shed or garage.

 

THE WOODPILE
Old untreated timber or unwanted logs can be piled up to provide shelter for a range of creatures. Choose a shady spot to prevent the wood from drying out in the sun. If possible, use a mixture of native woods such as elm, oak or ash which will guarantee a wider range of insect species. Logs 6-9 (15-23) in diameter make a good pile.

The first wildlife to inhabit the pile will probably be fungi in the early autumn, but in time it will become home to spiders, beetles, wood wasps, solitary bees, slugs and snails. These will then attract bird predators, particularly wrens and blackbirds, who will pick over the pile in search of a meal. The insects will also provide food for wood mice, voles and hedgehogs.

First-year newts, after leaving the pond, may well spend large amounts of time in the damp shelter of a log pile.

---->

GROWING NETTLES FOR BUTTERFLIES
Stinging nettles are the caterpillar food plants for commas, peacocks, red admirals, and small tortoiseshells who all rely on nettle leaves and shoots for their survival. If there is an existing nettle patch, this may need to be contained with a fence, wall or path. Better still, clumps of nettles can be transferred to large tubs or barrels sunk into the ground to prevent the roots from encroaching into the garden proper.

As the emerging caterpillars prefer fresh, new leaves to feed on, it is a good idea to cut back half the patch in early or mid-summer to encourage new growth. This is particularly important for commas and small tortoiseshells who regularly have 2 broods a year - the first in the spring, the second in mid-summer. The adults will seek out the new shoots to lay their eggs.

Nettles can be introduced into the garden if they are not growing naturally. In late winter, dig up some roots about 4 (10) long which are bearing yound shoots. Bury the roots in pots of garden soil and keep cutting back the shoots to 3 (7.5). By late spring the new plants can be put out into the untidy area.

The life-cycle of many butterflies extends over much of the year, so if you can put the plants that are used in its 4 stages in that untidy area, then it is more likely that you will see the butterfly, since YOU WILL NEVER BE TIDYING UP THAT NO-GO AREA. ---->

LEAF PILES AND HEDGEHOG HABITATS
if hedgehogs are to take up residence in the garden, they need a dry, secure place for hibernation from late autumn to early spring. A pile of dead leaves or garden prunings heaped into a corner will often be acceptable, but it is also possible to contruct a hibernation 'box'.

Use an upturned wooden box (untreated wood) and cut an entrance out of one of the side panels, 4-5 (10-12) square. This is large enough to allow the hedgehog to enter but small enough to prevent dogs or foxes getting in.

A covered entrance tunnel can also be constructed using 2 rows of house bricks stood on their sides and a plank of wood. This helps to keep the interior of the box dry, but is not essential.

Cover the box with a sheet of polythene to keep out the rain, and a mound of dry leaves or brushwood to disguise the exterior. Add a handful of straw or dry leaves as bedding.

HABITAT BOOSTERS
Asheet of corrugated iron does not look very attractive, but if you happen to have one lying around, it is worth keeping. As the sun warms the metal, the 'tunnels' beneath become inviting resting quarters for slow worms and grass snakes. Equally, an old paving slab laid over a hollow in the ground and in a shady spot makes a damp hiding place for frogs and toads.

The following Planting in Gravel and Paving is from The Wildlife Garden Month-by-Month by Jackie Bennett. Published by David & Charles in 1993. ISBN
0 7153 0033 4 :-

Many plants enjoy the dry growing conditions and refected warmth of gravel, stone chippings or paving. It is relatively easy to incorporate native species into existing paving schemes or to lay areas of gravel.

MAKING A GRAVEL BED
The underlying soil should be well-drained and gritty. If it is too heavy, mix it with equal parts of rock chippings or gravel. If the ground area is concrete/ tarmac/ stone/ paver or brick, cover the area with a layer of equal parts of top dressing and stone chippings to a 2 (5cm) depth, before continuing as below.

Cover the area with a layer of sand 1 (2.5) deep.

Finish the bed with a 1 (2.5) layer of gravel or 0.25 (0.5) stone chippings.

Water plants well before removing them from their pots. Use a narrow trowel to make holes the same size as the root ball and firm them in gently.

Water new plants thoroughly and sprinkle more gravel over the surface if necessary

PLANTING IN PAVING
If new paths or patios are to be laid, it is worth considering leaving some gaps between the paving stones as planting pockets. If the stones are already laid, it is still possible to incorporate a wide range of species.

The simplest way is to take up some of the stones, perhaps create a chequeboard effect. This is better done in a random pattern, rather than taking out every other stone. The earth beneath the stones shuld be workable and weed-free. Dig out the earth to a depth of 6-9 (15-23) and mix with an equal quantity of gravel or stone chippings. Replace the soil mixture and plant in the normal way.

Brick paths or patios can be planted in the same way. Take out any bricks that are already damaged or crumbling and fill the gaps as above.

PLANTS FOR PAVING AND GRAVEL
The following plants will thrive in a shallow, well-drained soil in full sun and will self-seed easily:

Broom
(Cytisus scoparius)
Native or naturalised species, Bee plant

Common Toadflax
Native or naturalised species, Bee plant

Globe Thistle
(Echinops sphaerocephalus)
Bee plant, Butterfly nectar plant

Great Mullein
(Verbascum phlomoides)
Native or naturalised species, Large number of associated insects

Hawkweed
(Hieracium murorum)
Native or naturalised species

Lady's Bedstraw
(Galium verum)
Native or naturalised species

Maiden Pink
(Dianthus deltoides)
Native or naturalised species

Thyme
(Thymus species) Especially the native Thymus praecox
Bee plant

Trailing St John's Wort
(Hypericum humifusum)
Native or naturalised species

White Campion
(Silene latifolia)
Native or naturalised species

Yarrow
(Achillea millefolium)
Native or naturalised species

The following Constructing a Rock Bank is from The Wildlife Garden Month-by-Month by Jackie Bennett. Published by David & Charles in 1993. ISBN
0 7153 0033 4 :-

If the garden has no manmade rock garden or natural outcrops of rock for planting, it is possible to make a rock bank to provide a useful wildlife habitat. This is a simple construction and far less costly than a full-scale rock garden.

Stack the stones randomly to form a double-sided wall to the desired height and length.

Between each layer of stones, add a mixture of stone chippings or gravel and loam potting compost (this makes a good growing medium for rock plants, but if not available any poor, stony garden soil can be substituted). There are better soil mixtures detailed for many rock garden plants in Colour Wheel Rock Gallery.

Leave some gaps between the stones without any soil, to allow access to the interior for small mammals and creatures.

Lay more stones or rocks across the top of the structure to form a 'lid'. The planting pockets can be planted with any of the rock or wall plants listed in the next column and the column below it.

RECOMMENDED PLANTS FOR ROCK BANKS AND GARDENS
Plant - Cheddar Pink
(Dianthus gratiano-poliatanus)
Flower - Early Summer
Height - 8 (20)
Wildlife value - Moths, butterflies

Common Pink
(Dianthus plumarius)
Summer 8 (20)
Bees

Hairy Thyme
(Thymus praecox)
Summe 3-4 (8-10)
Bees

Harebell
(Campanula rotundifolia)
Late summer
12 (30)
Bees

Hebe 'Autumn Glory'
Autumn
24-36 x 24-36
(60-90 x 60-90)
Butterflies

Hebe 'Carl Teschner'
Summer
12 x 24-36
(30 x 60-90)
Hoverflies, bees

Herb Robert
(Geranium robertianum)
Summer 12 (30)
Bees

Ling (Heather)
(Calluna vulgaris)
Late summer
12-24 x (30-60 x )
Ground cover for birds, grass snakes and slow worms

Purple Saxifrage
(Saxifraga oppositifolia)
Summer 3 (8)
Butterflies, bees

Rock Rose
Bees, insects

Spring Gentian
Butterflies, bees

The following Planting a Native Hedge is from The Wildlife Garden Month-by-Month by Jackie Bennett. Published by David & Charles in 1993. ISBN
0 7153 0033 4 :-

Different types of hedges were planted for different purposes: a double hedge would mark an important boundary whilst a hedge designed to contain livestock would be particularly impenetrable at the base. Almost incidentally they became shelters and pathways for wildlife, harbouring birds, mammals and insects. In the garden, a hedge of native species can serve both as a wildlife provider and as an effective division between neighbouring plots.

CHOOSING THE SPECIES
The use of only 1 species in a hedge as a wildlife corridor is limited. A mixed hedge provides a much wider resource and a greater number of animal and flower species will soon become associated with it. A balanced hedge might include a large proportion of one of the mainstay species such as hawthorn, which forms a dense, thorny structure, as well as blossoms and berries. This may be interspersed with 4 or 5 other species which flower and fruit at different times, and should include at least 1 evergreen to provide shelter in winter.

TREES/SHRUBS SUITABLE FOR HEDGING

Alder Buckthorn
(Frangula alnus)
Deciduous, fruit

Beech
(Fagus sylvatica)
Slow-growing, deciduous, autumn colour

Blackthorn
(Prunus spinosa)
Deciduous, blossom, fruit

Crab Apple
(Malus sylvestris)
Deciduous, blossom, fruit

Dog Rose
(Rosa canina)
Deciduous, blossom, hips

Elm
(Ulmus procera)
Deciduous

Field Maple
(Acer campestre)
Deciduous, autumn colour

Hawthorn
(Crataegus monogyna)
Deciduous, blossom, berries

Hazel
(Corylus avellana)
Deciduous, catkins, nuts

Holly
(Ilex aquifolium)
Slow-growing, evergreen, berries

Wild Privet
(Ligustrum ovalifolium)
Quick-growing, evergreen

Yew
(Taxus baccata)
Slow-growing, evergreen

HOW TO PLANT A HEDGE

Choose two-year-old seedlings, which are large enough to handle, but should not need staking.

Mark out the length of the hedge with canes and string. It does not have to be a straight line, a curving hedge works just as well.

Dig a trench in front of the line, 24 (60) wide and 18 (45) deep, running the entire length of the proposed hedge. Remove weed roots and large stones whilst digging.

Add a layer of organic matter (garden compost or well-rotted manure) and mix with the loose soil at the bottom of the trench.

Set the plants, 12-18 (30-45) apart and at the same depth as they were in the nursery (shown by the soil mark on the stem), adding more soil to the bottom of the trench, if necessary, to ensure the plant will sit at the right depth.

Holding the plant upright, fill around the roots with loose soil, until it reaches the soil mark, firming it down well.

IMMEDIATE AFTERCARE

Water the new plants thoroughly, making sure the water soaks down around the roots. Cut back the top and side growths by at least one third - this will encourage side branching and bushy growth.

WILDLIFE USES FOR HEDGING

Caterpillars of brimstone butterflies feed on alder buckthorn.

Blackthorn, hawthorn, hazel and privet provide nectar for many species of butterfly.

Thrushes, dunnocks, garden warblers and finches use the hedgerow for nesting

Hedgehogs, voles and woodmice shelter and feed in the hedge bottom.

Hawthorn, blackthorn and holly provide berries for birds in winter

FLOWERING WALL PLANTS
Small-leaved Cotoneaster
(Cotoneaster microphyllus)
Fruit / berries / nuts for birds / mammals

Hoary Cinquefoil
(Potentilla argentea)
Butterfly nectar plant, Bee plant

Houseleek
(Sempervivum tectorum)
Large number of associated insects

Ivy-leaved Toadflax
(Cymbalaria muralis)
Butterfly nectar plant, Bee plant

London Pride
(Saxifraga x urbinum)
Butterfly nectar plant

Red Valerian
(Centranthus ruber)
Native or naturalised species

Round-leaved Cranesbill
(Geranium rotundifolium)
Native or naturalised species

Stonecrops
Biting stonecrop (sedum acre)
White stonecrop
(Sedum album)
Butterfly nectar plants

Wallflower
(Cheiranthus cheiri)
Butterfly nectar plant

Wall Rocket
(Diplotaxis tenuifolia)
Bee plant

Arabis
(Arabis albida)
Bee plant, Butterfly nectar plant.

Yellow Corydalis
(Corydalis lutea)
 

The following Planting a Native Hedge is from The Wildlife Garden Month-by-Month by Jackie Bennett. Published by David & Charles in 1993. ISBN
0 7153 0033 4 :-

MAINTENANCE

Each spring, whilst the hedge is still forming, prune the top and side shoots by one third. Do not leave the central stem to grow to the desired height of the hedge before cutting back. Regular pruning will ensure that by the time the hedge does reach its final height, it will have developed a strong, dense framework

It is a good idea to apply a mulch of garden compost, leaf mould or chopped bark around the plants each spring (if you have trees growing besides the public road on its verge, then in the autumn when its leaves fall to the ground below, you can use your rotary mower to mow them up and put them as a mulch in the the hedge bottom.). This will discourage weeds (which may strangle the young hedge) and form a good environment for hedgerow plants and microscopic creatures. Adas Colour Atlas of Weed Seedlings by J.B Williams and J.R. Morrison provides photos to the 40 most common weeds afflicting gardens and arable farm land. ISBN 0-7234-0929-3

CLIPPING

The main difference between conventional hedge care and those managed for wildlife is in the clipping. Wildlife hedges should never be clipped before nesting is completely finished; usually it is safe to do so in late summer or early autumn, but in doubt, leave until the winter.

WILDLIFE TO EXPECT

Blackbirds, thrushes, dunnocks, sparrows, greenfinches and bullfinches all prefer the dense, protected growth of a hedge to any other nesting site. They will be joined in the summer, by shy, ground-feeding wrens, who search the leaf litter beneath the hedge for spiders and other insects. Many other garden birds like tits and robins will use the hedge simply as a convenient perch, for picking off caterpillars from the leafy growth. The hedge foliage is a particularly good breeding ground for moths such as the privet hawkmoth, garden spiders who leave their mark in the shape of finely woven webs and the often heard, but rarely seen, bush cricket. At ground level, the wildlife residents are most likely to be hedgehogs, wood mice and bank voles, although toads and frogs often hide in the shelter of a hedge bottom. In time a native hedge will become a busy wildlife corridor offering shelter, food and a convenient route from one part of the garden to another

HEDGEROW FLOWERS

Although the soil at the base of the hedge may be poor, a surprising number of wildflowers seem to thrive here. The orientation of the hedge will determine which flowers may be grown. South-facing hedges receive a good deal of sun whilst north faces may be in almost complete shade. Choose a selection of plants to suit the position of your hedge.
Most of the hedgerow flowers tolerate a dry, poor soil, but 1 or 2 such as primroses and lesser celandines need to be kept moist. Unless the hedge is by a stream or pool, it is unlikely that their needs will be met; they would be happier in a damp ditch or marshy area.
Pot-grown plants can be planted out any time from spring to autumn. In the first 2 years of the hedge's growth, avoid putting in the taller plants, such as sweet cicely, which may compete with the new hedging. It is also advisable to wait until the hedge is well-established (5 years or more) before putting in hedgerow climbers, like traveller's joy (Clematis vitalba). Its scrambling habit is ideal for dense, well-grown hedges, but it can easily strangle younger plants.
It is best to use small, healthy plants for the hedge bottom and not seedlings, whose roots may not be sufficiently developed to cope with the poor soil. Insert the new plants with a trowel and water thoroughly. Water regularly for the first 2 weeks - particularly if there is a hot, dry spell.

RECOMMENDED NATIVE HEDGEROW FLOWERS

Plant - Betony (Stachys officinalis)
Type - Perennial
Position -Sun or shade
Soil - Any
Wildlife value - bees, butterflies

Bluebell
(Scilla non-scripta)
Bulb
Sun or shade
Any
Bees, butterflies

Common Dog Violet
(Viola riviana)
Perennial
Part shade
Any
Caterpillar food plant for fritillary butterflies

Garlic Mustard
(Alliaria petiolata)
Biennial
Part shade
Any
Caterpillar food for orange tips, tortoiseshells and whites butterflies

Greater Stitchwort
(Stellaria holostea)
Perennial
Part shade
Any
Bees, moths, butterflies

Hedge Wounwort
(Stachys sylvatica)
Perennial
Part shade
Any
Bees, butterflies

Hedgerow Cranesbill
(Geranium pyrenaicum)
Perennial
Part shade
Any

Lesser Celandine
(Ranunculus ficaria)
Perennial
Part shade
Damp
Bees, butterflies
 

Primrose
(Primula vulgaris)
Perennial
Sun or shade
Damp
Butterflies (whites)

Red Campion
(Silene Dioca)
Perennial
Sun or shade
Any
Butterflies

Selfheal
(Prunella vulgaris)
Perennial
Sun or shade
Any
Bees, butterflies

Sweet Cicely
(Myrrhis odorata)
Perennial
Sun or shade
Any
Bees

White Deadnettle
(Lamium maculatum album)
Perennial
Sun or shade
Any
Bees

From the Ivydene Gardens Box to Crowberry Wild Flower Families Gallery:
Cornel Family

The Bumblebee Pages website is divided into five major areas:

• Bumblebees which deals solely with bumblebees, and was the original part of the site.
• Invertebrates, which deals with all the other invertebrates.
• Homework answers, where you'll find hints and tips to common questions set as biology, ecology, botany, zoology homework, there are also definitions of common terms in biology.
• Window box gardens, this was started when we were exiled to central Paris, and 2 north-facing window boxes were all the garden available, however it was amazing the wildlife those window boxes attracted. You'll find plant lists, hints and tips, etc.
• Torphins, this is the village in north-east Scotland where we are now located. In this part of the site you can find photographs of invertebrates found locally, where to see them and when, also links to pages with more detailed information.

 

FORCED INDOOR BULBS in Window Box Gardens.

Once these have flowered don't throw them out. Cut off the heads (unless you want seed) then put them somewhere that the leaves can get the sun. This will feed the bulb for the next year. Once the leaves have died you can plant the bulbs outside and they will flower at the normal (unforced) time next year. The narcissus Tete-a-tete is particularly good, and provides early colour and a delicate fragrance too.

Below I have listed groups of plants. I have tried to include at least four plants in each list as you may not be able to find all of them, although, unless you have a very large windowbox, I would recommend that you have just three in each box.

Theme

Plants

Comments

Thyme

Thymus praecox, wild thyme

Thymus pulegioides

Thymus leucotrichus

Thymus citriodorus

Thymes make a very fragrant, easy to care for windowbox, and an excellent choice for windy sites. The flower colour will be pinky/purple, and you can eat the leaves if your air is not too polluted. Try to get one variegated thyme to add a little colour when there are no flowers.

Herb

Sage, mint, chives, thyme, rosemary

Get the plants from the herb section of the supermarket, so you can eat the leaves. Do not include basil as it need greater fertility than the others. Pot the rosemary up separately if it grows too large.

Mints

Mentha longifolia, horse mint

Mentha spicata, spear mint

Mentha pulgium, pennyroyal

Mentha piperita, peppermint

Mentha suaveolens, apple mint

Mints are fairly fast growers, so you could start this box with seed. They are thugs, though, and will very soon be fighting for space. So you will either have to thin and cut back or else you will end up with one species - the strongest. The very best mint tea I ever had was in Marrakesh. A glass full of fresh mint was placed in front of me, and boiling water was poured into it. Then I was given a cube of sugar to hold between my teeth while I sipped the tea. Plant this box and you can have mint tea for months.

Heather

Too many to list

See Heather Shrub gallery

For year-round colour try to plant varieties that flower at different times of year. Heather requires acid soils, so fertilise with an ericaceous fertilser, and plant in ericaceous compost. Cut back after flowering and remove the cuttings. It is best to buy plants as heather is slow growing.

Blue

Ajuga reptans, bugle

Endymion non-scriptus, bluebell

Myosotis spp., forget-me-not

Pentaglottis sempervirens, alkanet

This will give you flowers from March till July. The bluebells should be bought as bulbs, as seed will take a few years to flower. The others can be started from seed.

Yellow

Anthyllis vulneraria, kidney vetch

Geum urbanum, wood avens

Lathryus pratensis, meadow vetchling

Linaria vulgaris, toadflax

Lotus corniculatus, birdsfoot trefoil

Primula vulgaris, primrose

Ranunculus acris, meadow buttercup

Ranunculus ficaria, lesser celandine

These will give you flowers from May to October, and if you include the primrose, from February. Try to include a vetch as they can climb or trail so occupy the space that other plants can't. All can be grown from seed.

White

Trifolium repens, white clover

Bellis perennis, daisy

Digitalis purpurea alba, white foxglove

Alyssum maritimum

Redsea odorata, mignonette

All can be grown from seed. The clover and daisy will have to be cut back as they will take over. The clover roots add nitrogen to the soil. The mignonette flower doesn't look very special, but the fragrance is wonderful, and the alyssum smells of honey.

Pink

Lychnis flos-cucli, ragged robin

Scabiosa columbaria, small scabious

Symphytum officinale, comfrey

The comfrey will try to take over. Its leaves make an excellent fertiliser, and are very good on the compost heap, though windowbox gardeners rarely have one.

Fragrant

Lonicera spp., honeysuckle

Alyssum maritimum

Redsea odorata, mignonette

Lathyrus odoratus, sweet pea

The sweet pea will need twine or something to climb up, so is suitable if you have sliding windows or window that open inwards. You will be rewarded by a fragrant curtain every time you open your window.

Spring bulbs and late wildflowers

Galanthus nivalis, snowdrop

Narcissus pseudonarcissus, narcissius

Crocus purpureus, crocus

Cyclamen spp.

The idea of this box is to maximize your space. The bulbs (cyclamen has a corm) will flower and do their stuff early in the year. After flowering cut the heads off as you don't want them making seed, but leave the leaves as they fatten up the bulbs to store energy for next year. The foliage of the wildflowers will hide the bulb leaves to some extent. Then the wildflowers take over and flower till autumn

Aster spp., Michaelmas daisy

Linaria vulgaris, toadflax

Lonicera spp., honeysuckle

Succisa pratensis, devil's bit scabious

Mentha pulgium, pennyroyal

Butterfly Garden

Bee Garden in Europe or North America

 

 

Plants for moths (including larval food plants and adult nectar sources) from Gardens for Wildlife - Practical advice on how to attract wildlife to your garden by Martin Walters as an Aura Garden Guide. Published in 2007 - ISBN 978 1905765041:-
Angelica - Angelica archangelica
Barberry - Berberis vulgaris
Birch - Betula species
Blackthorn - Prunus spinosa
Bramble - Rubus species
Centaury - Centaurium species
Common knapweed - Centaurea nigra
Cowslip - Primula veris
Dandelion - Taraxacum offcinale
Dock - Rumex species
Evening primrose - Oenothera species
Foxglove - Digitalis purpurea
Goldenrod - Solidago canadensis and Solidago virgaurea
Harebell - Campanula rotundifolia
Heather - Calluna vulgaris
Hedge woundwort - Stachys sylvatica
Herb Bennet (wood avens) - Geum urbanum
Herb Robert - Geranium robertianum
Honeysuckle - Lonicera periclymenum
Lady' Bedstraw - Galium verum
Lemon balm - Melissa officinalis
Lime - Tilia species
Maiden pink - Dianthus deltoides

 

Marjoram - Origanum officinale
Meadow clary - Salvia pratensis
Meadowsweet - Filipendula ulmaria
Mullein - Verbascum species
Nettle - Urtica dioica and Urtica urens
Oak - Quercus robur and Quercus petraea
Ox-eye daisy - Leucanthemum vulgare
Plantain - Plantago species
Poplar (and aspen) - Populus species
Primrose - Primula vulgaris
Purple loosestrife - Lythrum salicaria
Ragged robin - Lychnis flos-cuculi
Red campion - Silene dioica
Red clover - Trifolium pratense
Red valerian - Centranthus ruber
Rock rose - Helianthemum species
Sea kale - Crambe maritima
Sweet rocket - Hesperis matronalis
Toadflax - Linaria species
Tobacco - Nicotiana species
Traveller's joy - Clematis vitalba
Viper's bugloss - Echium vulgare
White campion - Silene alba
Wild pansy - Viola tricolor
Willow - Salix species
Yarrow - Achillea millefolium
and a chapter on Planning the Wildlife Garden.

 

Sewage Pollution in the UK rivers and its surrounding Seas:-

This is being ignored by the UK Government, Local UK Government and Commerce, so again they will do nothing about this, and continue to ignore the death of the wildlife, marine life, the dairy, farming and fishing industries, together with the onland and ocean producers of oxygen during 2024.

Why not visit the UK and add your excrement to the increase of 102% of raw sewage spills into rivers and the seas in 2023 from 2022, while 240,000 new homes will be built each year without the future Labour or Conservative government stopping their excrement being offloaded into the sea to affect all the other countries surrounding us. If 92% of the seagrass has been smothered that means nowhere round the UK is either safe to swim in or for its fish and other marine life. The same could be said about the farmed salmon in the seas round Scotland and any fish caught in the rivers of the UK.

I had a conversation in Medway on the 146 bus on 5 April 2024 with an Old Age Pensioner, who told me that at any time of the day when she runs her cold water tap to get water for her kettle, that sometimes her fresh tap water smells. So, if that happens she keeps the water flowing until it does not smell, fills her kettle and boils that water twice. She never drinks any of the tap water until it has been boiled twice.
1000's of new houses, flats and commercial premises have been built during the last 2 years and continue to be built in Medway supported by the surrounding local councils building alongside in 2024.
They will be using the same water supply.
Over-extracting water from chalk aquifers tends to the position of no water left; as has happened in India.
Southern Water showed a graph indicating that they had over-extracted water from the chalk aquifer under Medway for 2 months in the summer of 2017 - if they have over-extracted since then I have not seen the graphs since that year when 1000's more buildings are using that same supply of water.
That chalk aquifer is getting less water as the land above it is being covered in concrete, tarmac and buildings, where the rain is directed into the sewer/storm drain and out to the river.

Ocean Pollution as reported by the Marine Conservation Society
Pollution has been reported to be one of the five main drivers of the current biodiversity crisis, threatening 37% of marine mammals with extinction:-

Marine pollution is diverse, from tiny fibres which shed from clothes, to chemicals washed down the sink. Pollutants, including plastic, chemicals and bacteria travel from our towns and cities to our seas, as well as from activities directly in our ocean.

If we don’t tackle pollution at source, these highly persistent chemicals and plastics will continue to increase in our ocean causing untold damage. That's where we come in.

 

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Marine Conservation Society - Seagrass: The ocean superhero at risk from sewage:-Seagrass meadows are a key player in helping to combat climate change – but untreated sewage pollution in our seas is threatening their future.

Seagrass meadows are the Swiss army knife of marine habitats. They create hotspots for biodiversity and provide vital nursery habitats for various fish species.

Long seagrass blades buffer wave energy, protecting our shores against coastal erosion and storms. Their canopies slow the flow of water, drawing down suspended matter like pollutants and excess nutrients from the water column and burying it in the sediment below.

This also makes them one of the oldest and most effective carbon storage technologies, accounting for an estimated 10-18% of ocean carbon storage while occupying only 0.1% of the seafloor.

Unlike terrestrial habitats like forests, seagrass doesn't release the carbon it has captured back into the atmosphere when it decomposes. If undisturbed, seagrass can store carbon for thousands of years.

Seagrasses do a lot of heavy lifting in mitigating the stress that we inflict on the ocean. As ecosystem engineers, they’re skilled at adapting their environment to suit their needs. However, the flow of untreated sewage discharges into UK seas is posing a problem for seagrass.

Untreated sewage discharges contain excess nutrients and pathogens, which  encourage faster-growing macroalgae which reduce light availability and epiphytic algae which smother the seagrass leaves.

Research by Cardiff University and Swansea University indicates that insufficient monitoring and management of sewage and wastewater treatment threatens seagrass meadows around the UK.

Each of the 11 sites sampled in the study, ten of which were within marine protected areas, contained seagrass that was contaminated by nutrients “of a human and livestock waste origin”.

The findings show that sewage pollution is a stressor to seagrass – one whose effects are far-reaching and continues to have an impact far from its source.

The only effective way to protect seagrass and the whole marine environment from this stress is to tackle the issue at source.

We have already lost 92% of seagrass meadows in the UK, and their survival and recovery is further undermined by poor water quality. However, we can reverse this trend.

Removing stressors, such as untreated sewage pollution, is the most important factor in allowing seagrass to recover and we have seen seagrass successfully recolonise areas which were previously wiped out by sewage outfall.

Our seagrass meadows are an essential ally against global warming, a biodiversity crisis, and pervasive pollution. These superhero habitats need our help and a first major step towards this is to stop releasing untreated sewage into our seas.

 

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The sewage system is overflowing so that not only will your excrement go into the river and then the sea, but you will drink from that same river. Water for drinking purposes is processed from 10 places in the River Thames within London area, while 38,000,000 tons of waste is poured into that same River Thames from London annually, as well as the other 1000s of tons from the other polluters along the remainder of 215 miles.
The River Thames is 215 miles long (346 kilometres). It is split into 2 sections, tidal and non-tidal. The tidal part, which is affected by the North Sea's tides, runs for 68 miles (109 kilometres) from the mouth of the river to Teddington Lock in west London. Thus that 38,000,000 tons of waste can flow up and down 68 miles of the River Thames, so you could end up drinking your own p.

We must be grateful to the pensioners in America and Canada whose pension companies have shares in these bankrupt water companies for allowing those water companies to dump raw sewage into the rivers and thence the sea (Water companies in England have faced a barrage of criticism as data revealed raw sewage was discharged for more than 3.6m hours into rivers and seas last year in a 105% increase on the previous 12 months.).

 

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When you wish to buy British grown vegetables and fruit, you will have a problem with many farms being forced to close within 12 months from November 2023.
The goverment is not following it's own laws or laws accepted from the European Union and put into British Law; to stop the supermarkets from closing down British Agriculture.
The Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative is a cooperative of 500 British farmers who supply organically produced milk and dairy products to Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose, Safeway and Asda. This milk may be higher in Omega 3 and Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) than non-organic milk. Omega 3 is essential for maintaining a healthy heart, supple and flexible joints, healthy growth and strong bones and teeth. CLA boosts immune function and reduces the growth of tumours. Non-organic milk may have pesticide residues which affects child health.
The National Farmers' Union claim that supermarkets have increased their share of the retail price of milk.

In 1995 a litre of milk cost 42.1p, of which 24.5p went to the farmer.

In 2005 a litre cost 50.9p, of which the farmers got only 18.5p.

 

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Farmers fear food shortages caused by green schemes - they are warning that vegetables and grains could be next to the egg shortages as environmental schemes take large areas of land out of use for food production. Stephen Holt's main crop is winter wheat, but to ensure its success he grows a "break crop" of oil seed rape and beans between wheat harvests to break the cycle of weeds, diseases and pests and to improve soil health. He sells the break crops as a commercial product to make money on top of his wheat harvest.
Holt has now signed up for a new government subsidy to plant a legume cover crop instead of his break crops, which will help pollinators and soil health but will not be harvested for food production. "Instead of 1,300 tonnes of product, we will produce 900 tonnes of product from our farm" Holt said. "All our input prices are approximately 50% higher than before Putin invaded Ukraine but our arable crop prices are below where they were.

So, the government is getting the land for housebuilding by the backdoor, since the farmers will not be able to make a living.
It does not matter who wins the next election, they will build more houses with less water for each of them and all their sewage going out to sea. The phosphorus in human excrement kills algae producing oxygen in the sea and so we are slowly but surely rducing the oxygen we need to breathe to below safe levels and Thames Water investors are witholding £500,000,000 to get the sewage problem starting to be sorted until Thames Water forces its customers to pay more instead of currently in 2024 in dumping its sewage into the river Thames - See Table Waste of Time on Welcome Page

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