Stranger in a Strange Land – Part 2

Continuing the memories from the summer – with this second catch up from the 14 September 2013.

At the beginning of the previous blog I said I had been studying a couple of strange plants at the allotment, the second of these plants was hiding amongst the Celeriac. By the time I found this plant at the end of July it was about a foot tall and never really grew much taller than this. As with the Apple of Peru this plant had slightly lobed, diamond shaped leaves, but with out any purple colouring, above which were several cream trumpet shaped blooms. By the time I found this plant the central flower had already gone and a seed was forming at the top of the stem, a distinctively prickly seed that looked like it was going to form a bur of some sort. As for the identification – not so difficult this time as I’ve seen flowers like this before on greenhouse plants called Angel Trumpets, so I soon tied this plant down to Thorn Apple.

Thorn Apple – 17 August 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

I suspect that this is another plant that I shouldn’t have left in the allotment, especially as it was a poisonous plant amongst the edible crop of Celeriacs, but the delicate cream trumpets were very pretty and the bur covered seed pod in the centre of the plant was fascinating. This seed pod over the weeks from summer into autumn grew in size and by September had reached a size, that made the plant look like a matchstick man with the leaves forming the arms and the main stalk the legs, with the bur as the head. This plant also fascinated a number of the other allotment holders who also agreed with me that it looked like a matchstick man.

Ripening Seed Head – 13 September 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

As the summer ends this seed pod has continued to grow and finally begun to brown and ripen. I know that before the plant had got to the stage of having ripe seeds, I should really have removed it and deposited it on the compost heap, especially as the RHS web site says that the seeds can live for a number of years in the soil. All I can say was that I was totally fascinated by its development, it was almost as if it was animal rather than plant. It felt like I was totally hypnotised! Well thank heaven its not a Trifid and I’ve a trusty hoe that will keep it’s progeny under control.

Stranger in a Strange Land – Part 1

More memories from the summer – this catch up is from the 14 September 2013.

Over the course of August and into September I have been observing the development of several unusual weeds on my allotment, which first came to my attention back at the end of July when I returned from my travels.

The first of these plants were growing amongst the Tomato plants, at the time it was a leafy plant, with a deeply grooved stem which was stained a deep, rich, purple and that supported the slightly lobed, diamond shaped leaves. Above this was an inflorescence, formed from a number of individual bell shaped flowers; that were open when I first saw the plant at the beginning of the afternoon, but by late afternoon had shut tight. When open the flowers were a delicate lavender blue bell, with a white interior and distinctive blue markings that leaked out from the very centre, like ink on blotting paper. So with this picture in my mind, it was off to search for an identity that wasn’t very hard to come across as the plant really is very distinctive – as for the identification, it is the Apple of Peru also known as the Shoofly, and as the name suggests is native to Peru.

An Apple of Peru Flower – 18 August 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

So how does this stranger arrive here in my southern Scotland allotment? According to the information available it is sometimes a contaminant of compost and also forms parts of many bird seed food mixes from which it regularly escapes. Both of these situations could be the source of my plant, for the Tomatoes were brought in as seedlings. They then lived on the outside windowsill at home to harden off, where the local bird population are not unknown to hide seeds from the feeders in. More worryingly according to sources this plant is quite capable of growing to five or six feet in height, maybe not such a good idea amongst the Tomatoes, but at the time I had failed to read this part and the plant amongst the Tomatoes showed no signs of growing more than eighteen inches tall and if anything the Tomatoes where outgrowing the Apple of Peru.

Part of an Inflorescence – 14 September 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

Shortly after the first plant was discovered, a second came to light, this time growing amongst the Perilla plants (a set of plants grown from seed this time in brought in compost, and harden off on the windowsill again) and this one once it reached eighteen inches just kept on growing and growing. By the end of the summer it had easily reached four feet and was well on the way to being nearly five feet tall! At this height it was a decidedly a stately and bushy affair, making a most magnificent plant, when covered with its lavender blue flowers, and especially when these flowers were in their full glory, early in the afternoon. Even when the flowers were opening or closing, the calyxes that would eventually develop into the seed pods were amazing structural elements in their own right. They were five sided pointed affairs that were again stained with this rich dark purple colouring.

Ripening Pods – 14 September 2013(Copyright Carol Jones)

As the summer has moved on these plants have grown and developed, and I had grown far too interested in how they would develop to take them out, especially as they weren’t really in the way of other plants. So they are likely to continue to grow and develop until they are killed by a sharp frost, which may mean that they set seed. I therefore wonder when next year comes, whether I shall rue the day that I let these plants stand, as I pull and hoe out their countless progeny!! But only time will tell and may well prove to be my folly of my ways.

The Never Ending Song

More on changing seasons – this catch up is from the 05 September 2013.

As the long days of summer headed into the shorter days of autumn, Blackpool Moss has remained green and bright but now it is separated from the more scruffy surroundings  as a strip of hay has been taken from around the moss, making it look as though the site has been tied up with a neat browning ribbon. Even so the greens of the moss have begun to gain a yellowish tinge and the summer polka dot pattern of colours has now decreased to just the occasional spot, most noticeable of which were the mauve heads of the Devil’s-bit Scabious and the odd white Sneezewort head.

Blackpool Moss – 05 September 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

The end of summer and the beginning of autumn is a strange time when the colourful beauties of summer have faded, but the wonders of autumn have yet to bloom, even so there are still sights to be seen. For me this day’s eye catching splendour comes in the form of the ever moving and richly coloured heads of the Common Reed. By September their inflorescences have a shine that is rich and luxurious purple in the day’s sunshine and by now they are also highlighted with the odd patch of white, formed as the seeds within the heads begin to ripen. In the breeze, that on Blackpool Moss blows almost continuously, the tall stalks sway backwards and forwards, as though pulled hither and thither by an invisible force, and this breeze makes the rich purples shimmer and shine, as the light catches the shine first from one angle and then another. On this day though, this continual movement made the heads an almost impossible feature to capture with any sort of satisfaction within a picture, as the movement was making it impossible to focus on all aspects and too much of the picture remained as a fuzzy mess. Still though the sight of this continual movement intrigued and fascinated, as the Reeds continued there strange dance to that never ending, but unheard song.