Garden + patio plants (photos)

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12th June 2020

Photos I took of a fruit tree, Foxglove and garden/patio plants. Ought to be placed between the photos of the 2nd and 20th June 2020. Whoops!

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Foxgloves

The foxglove bells, with lolling tongue,
Will not reveal what peals were rung
In Faery, in Faery,
A thousand ages gone.
All the golden clappers hang
As if but now the changes rang;
Only from the mottled throat
Never any echoes float.
Quite forgotten, in the wood,
Pale, crowded steeples rise;
All the time that they have stood
None has heard their melodies.
Deep, deep in wizardry
All the foxglove belfries stand.
Should they startle over the land,
None would know what bells they be.
Never any wind can ring them,
Nor the great black bees that swing them–
Every crimson bell, down-slanted,
Is so utterly enchanted.

– by Mary Webb

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Above photo: Foxglove. I sowed some foxglove seeds last year and apparently I have three of them in the long grass of the neglected flower/veg bed. They are a native flower of Britain and a favourite of ‘Cottage Gardens’. They’re featured heavily in Art Deco patterns on plates, cups, and embroidered table-cloths.

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“Foxgloves are an important source of pollen for bees. The species has evolved to be especially attractive to long-tongued bees such as the common carder bee. The brightly coloured flowers and dark spotted lip attracts the bee, while the lower lip of the flower allows the insect to land before climbing up the tube. In doing so, the bee will drop pollen from other foxgloves, allowing the plant to reproduce.” – Woodlandtrust.org.uk

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Above photo: a plenitude of golden buttercups! I sowed these seeds some time ago. I was missing this wildflower and the bees love it too.

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Above photo: the plum tree. I usually call it the apple tree – we have apples, pears and plums – but I think it’s the plum tree 😉  Look at the fruit emerging – still green, hard and completely inedible.

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Above photo: My beloved Granddad’s summerhouse peeking out from under the boughs of trees. When he passed on his summerhouse came here.

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Above photo: ferns from the nearby sand dunes seeded themselves here. Apparently the Victorians loved ferns so much they pillaged them from the British countryside. The loss of ferns – where they were abundantly growing – is even more significant today. I think they’re beautiful. I water them along with my other plants.

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Above photo: the blueberries before that one turned pink!

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Above photo: the tea rose, just buds and leaves…

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Above photo: the washing-line-clematis before it bloomed!

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Above photo: the tall, ragged daisies before they flowered.

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Reference links

Foxglove

Mary Webb

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Copyright Faith McCord 2020

Story and artwork belongs to Faith McCord who is the author and artist holding the copyright. This is not a public domain work. Worldwide rights.

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