A quiet morning along the River Ouse near Paxton and my attention turned to old friends. My walks are sometimes interrupted by wild orchids or other rarities, the celebrities of the plant world, but now let us honour the faithful everyday flowers, the kind that turn up every year and never let you down.
So here they are, gathered together just as in real life, between the flooded gravel pits and the river itself. For some reason it feels right in this context to give them their old-fashioned country names....
Gatekeeper butterfly / Jingling Johnny / Bedflower
Small White butterfly on a Pincushion Flower / Granny's Toenails / Hardheads
Flower of the Dead / Holy Rope / Meadow Queen
Clown's Heal-all / Staggerwort / Codlins and Cream
Tares / Policeman's Helmet / Adderwort
Ranting Widow / Hagtapers / Dashels (and a Red-Tailed Bumblebee)
Take care.
These names are like from fairy tales. Really cute sounding ones. The nature you see are so exquisite.
ReplyDeleteHi John - just lovely and so appropriate - I have a prompt this coming week about friends (local group) - so I'll refer to your thoughts here ... thank you. Brilliant it's always lovely to see plants I've known since I was a kid ... for some reason - always an interest, even after living overseas. Cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteI do love your friends. And their names. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteNice collection!
ReplyDeleteThe names are very picturesque, as colloquial names often are. I always appreciate scientific name for clarity, but it would bea great shame if these whimsical epithets were lost.
ReplyDeleteHag Tapers, I knew it was mullien, so I looked it up in Grigson, it also has the name - cuddy lugs, which refers to donkey ears, the leaves being large and soft as a donkey's ears. "The whole toppe with it's pleasant yellow floures sheweth like to a wax candle or taper cunningly wrought" 1578. The devil comes into it as well.
ReplyDeleteLove the names, so much prettier than vetch…
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of any of those, John! But I sure do enjoy your photos of them.
ReplyDeleteYou stopped to visit a lot of flowers.
ReplyDeleteYou have such beautiful old-fashioned friends.
ReplyDeleteThankyou for taking us on a walk through the flowers. Too many local names are disappearing
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice collection of lovely wildflowers!
ReplyDeleteNice friends you have, they look beautiful.
ReplyDeleteLovely to see but I don't know any of the names.
ReplyDeleteLots of purples and pinks. Gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteGranny;s toenails??Lady's fingers please.
ReplyDeleteThe old-fashioned country names are wonderful, and it's lovely of you to share them.
ReplyDeleteHave a pleasant weekend.
Ante tanta belleza hay que detenerse y sacar fotografÃas, para llevarlas al ordenador de la casa.
ReplyDeleteUn abrazo
These names are great! The only one I had heard before was hags taper, for Great Mullein. Such bright colors too. Great photos, John.
ReplyDeleteJohn, some of the plants, your old friends, seemed similar to ones I have seen either here in NH, NJ, VA or on our travels. But, when I read the old fashioned names I knew I would not have identified them correctly. You captured some lovely blooms to share.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful collage John.
ReplyDeleteInteresting names!
ReplyDeleteSigh. Oh how I needed to see this beauty.
ReplyDeleteOld fashioned and faithful they may be, but new and joyous for me.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to seek out old friends, I love their names:)
ReplyDeleteWhat delightful friends you have. I recognise most of them but didn't know their old-fashioned names.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful flowers.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful array of flowers with wonderful names.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!!A summer garden:)))
ReplyDeleteWonderful walking! I love the names of the flowers.
ReplyDelete