The MGS Forum

Miscellaneous => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: Cali on March 14, 2012, 03:40:55 PM

Title: Blues in bloom now (March)
Post by: Cali on March 14, 2012, 03:40:55 PM

I've noticed that many of the wild flowers I've been picking in the last week are in shades of blue. Here's a sampler of: Bellevalia ciliata,Muscari commutatum, Muscari armeniacum (naturalised), Iris unguicularis, Anemone blanda (naturalised), Anemone de Caen (naturalised), Hyacinthoides hispanica (naturalised), Viola odorata, Tristagma (naturalised)

Title: Re: Blues in bloom now
Post by: ezeiza on March 15, 2012, 12:09:17 AM

Cali, where do those Bellevalia ciliata come from? They are very uncommon in cultivation.

Title: Re: Blues in bloom now
Post by: Cali on March 15, 2012, 07:06:57 AM

They're not in cultivation--they grow in the wild.

Title: Re: Blues in bloom now (March)
Post by: Alisdair on March 15, 2012, 08:59:51 AM

Cali, though many of these are wild flowers I'm tempted to move this to the month-by-month section on Our Gardens, as the timing thing seems to fit better there.
I'm away from home but can't check, but I have a faint recollection that Jackie Tyrwhitt in her book about Sparoza noticed a similar sort of thing, with blue flowers now, then the yellows rather later?

Title: Re: Blues in bloom now (March)
Post by: Cali on March 15, 2012, 10:59:55 AM

After the querry by ezeiza I've been moved to my identification (of many years standing so I no longer remember my source) of this muscari-like wild flower that is now in bloom around here. Any opinions? Oron?

Title: Re: Blues in bloom now (March)
Post by: Cali on March 15, 2012, 02:59:05 PM

I don't know, Alisdair. Many are quite small so you have to be up close to see them so they can't be said to affect the landscape, the way the masses of white daisies do right now. The only blues in evidence from any distance are the Lunarias, though even they look more purple than blue in full sunlight.  My copy of Jackie's book has disappeared so I can't check either. (One of those ill-advised loans!)The yellows have already started, even though we don't have the tinctoria daisies you see on the mainland.
More wild blues in bloom now: One I'm pretty sure is an Anchusa but I've no idea what kind, one I think is a Veronica of some sort and one Lunaria. I'd appreciate help in identification.

Title: Re: Blues in bloom now (March)
Post by: oron peri on March 15, 2012, 04:05:31 PM

Cali,
It is Bellevalia dubia.
Distributed from  Italy to Turkey, including Greece.

Title: Re: Blues in bloom now (March)
Post by: Cali on March 15, 2012, 05:10:11 PM

Thank you, Oron. Any ideas about the Anchusa or possible Veronica?

Title: Re: Blues in bloom now (March)
Post by: oron peri on March 15, 2012, 05:54:03 PM

Cali
Anchusa seems like  A. cretica [difficult to say from this photo]
Lunaria is L. annua
Veronica is V. persica

Title: Re: Blues in bloom now (March)
Post by: pamela on March 16, 2012, 08:24:08 PM

I have definitely read before that the blue flowers bloom first in the wild and then the yellows.....

Title: Re: Blues in bloom now (March)
Post by: ezeiza on March 17, 2012, 12:10:44 AM

Thank you, Cali.

Oron, you should write a book some time.

Title: Re: Blues in bloom now (March)
Post by: Alisdair on March 17, 2012, 11:34:24 AM

Alberto, Oron is hard at work doing exactly that! (Which explains why he's not such a frequent poster on the forum at the moment....)
And, Alberto, we're all waiting for your book, too!

Title: Re: Blues in bloom now (March)
Post by: Cali on March 17, 2012, 12:12:38 PM

Thank you, Oron. Delighted to hear about the book.
Cali

Title: Re: Blues in bloom now (March)
Post by: Cali on March 20, 2012, 02:26:20 PM

Another wild blue: Gynandris monophylla. Opened last week

Title: Re: Blues in bloom now (March)
Post by: Alisdair on March 20, 2012, 07:35:47 PM

Peter Goldblatt's latest revision has reclassified the gynandriris as Moraea mediterranea.

Title: Re: Blues in bloom now (March)
Post by: Cali on March 20, 2012, 08:31:08 PM

Why am I not surprised? Thank you, Alisdair. What would we do without you to keep us up on the latest tweaks of nomenclature?

Title: Re: Blues in bloom now (March)
Post by: ezeiza on March 20, 2012, 11:42:25 PM

Cali, is it in a wild setting?

Title: Re: Blues in bloom now (March)
Post by: Cali on March 21, 2012, 07:01:02 AM

This particular one in the photograph, which I now see has several leaves, is I suppose a sisyrinchium (I have in the past, though not yet this year, seen monophylla). It is in the cleared edge of the cultivated part of the garden as are several others.