They were here first

  • 7 Replies
  • 8251 Views
*

John J

  • Hero Member
They were here first
« on: March 01, 2015, 08:03:48 AM »
Alongside those plants that we have introduced to our garden, every year we get a variety of wildflowers, especially in our 'orchard' area. Rather than look on them as uninvited guests we consider them to have every right to be there, after all they were here first. However this philosophy does become a little strained when it comes to Oxalis pes-caprae>:(
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

*

Alisdair

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
Re: They were here first
« Reply #1 on: March 01, 2015, 11:29:44 AM »
John, surely Oxalis pes-caprae doesn't strain your philosophy! I don't think this invader even expects a welcome itself, as it sneaks up on us so furtively, getting its foot in the door before we have a chance of slamming it in its face! (And so unfair on poor Bermuda for us to call this south African weed "Bermuda buttercup", as it doesn't come from there - the first time I ever saw it in the Mediterranean, years ago, the people I was with said it was called Bermuda clover, and that's what I've thought of it as ever since, as its leaves look so much more like clover than buttercup.)
Alisdair Aird
Gardens in SE England (Sussex); also coastal Southern Greece, and (in a very small way) South West France; MGS member (and former president); vice chairman RHS Lily Group, past chairman Cyclamen Society

Joanna Savage

  • Sr. Member
Re: They were here first
« Reply #2 on: March 01, 2015, 11:33:41 AM »
John, could that be an Asphodel in your third pic.? It looks delightful.

Joanna Savage

  • Sr. Member
Re: They were here first
« Reply #3 on: March 01, 2015, 11:52:22 AM »
Here in the hills in Toscana we are a long way behind John J in Cyprus, in flowering times. However I did see these violets this morning. Mike has identified them as likely to be a hybrid between V.alba and V. odorata.

Joanna Savage

  • Sr. Member
Re: They were here first
« Reply #4 on: March 01, 2015, 11:55:58 AM »
And here's another I saw on my morning walk. I don't know whether it is Fragola or Potentilla.

*

John J

  • Hero Member
Re: They were here first
« Reply #5 on: March 01, 2015, 12:04:24 PM »
Yes, Joanna, it's Asphodelus aestivus. In Greek mythology it seems that the Asphodel Meadows was for ordinary or indifferent souls who had neither committed any significant crimes nor achieved anything worthy of them being admitted to the Elysian Fields. It was where mortals who didn't belong anywhere else in the Underworld were sent. I haven't stumbled across any such wandering souls in our Asphodel Meadow over the years but don't consider it could be that bad a place to end up!
Lovely little violets. We have a patch of what Mike identified as V odorata in flower now. They are below an outside tap so tend to get that bit of extra moisture to see them through the summer.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

*

John J

  • Hero Member
Re: They were here first
« Reply #6 on: March 08, 2015, 08:15:20 AM »
A few more of our resident plants taken this morning.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

*

John J

  • Hero Member
Re: They were here first
« Reply #7 on: January 31, 2017, 07:20:37 PM »
Seeing Alisdair's photo of wild violets on the Facebook page today reminded me to take a photo of the first flowers appearing on our little patch.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)