At the moment, there is a striking orange flower blooming. This is Fox-and-cubs (
Pilosella aurantica). It has a basal clump of hairy leaves and a cluster of flowers on top of a hairy stem.
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Fox-and-cubs flower
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| Fox-and-cubs hairy stem |
It is quite happy in gardens and will spread by sending out runners or fluffy seeds. It is a wildflower but is attractive enough to be a garden flower, though it needs to be kept in check if you don't want it to spread too far. The buds start off a deep red before they open.
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Fox-and-cubs bud
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There is another pilosella blooming at the moment. The flower is a lemon yellow colour with red stripes under the petals - Mouse-ear-hawkweed (Pilosella officinarum), It also has a basal clump of hairy leaves and then a stalk with a single flower.
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| Mouse-ear-hawkweed |
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| Mouse-ear-hawkweed, ligule stripes |
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| Mouse-ear-hawkweed, basal leaves |
Another flower in my veg patch is more usually found at the edge of fields, Common Hemp-nettle (Galeopsis tetrahit).
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| Common Hemp-nettle |
It is quite bristly and the stem is slightly swollen beneath each joint.
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| Common Hemp-nettle, swollen stem |
I think it must be sown as a crop as I found a whole field of it at Ballachroan a few years ago:
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