#purplesunflower

Plant of the Day

Thursday 22 April 2021

In my friend’s garden a planting of a few Fritillaria meleagris (snake's head fritillary) have seeded over the years to create this magical meadow display. This bulbous perennial has thin greyish-green leaves with bell-shaped purple or white flowers. The tepals have are a distinctive checkerboard pattern. This species has become naturalised in Britain, favouring the moist fertile soil of flood-plain meadows.

It was also written in 2005. No one had beards then. Then the movies starting in 2008. Still no beards.

Plant of the Day

Tuesday 14 July 2020

At the moment the eye catching plant of the Cambridge Botanic Dry Meadow is the herbaceous perennial Berkheya purpurea (purple sunflower). The flower stalk grows from a rosette of spiny leaves with a downy-white underside. This drought-tolerant South African species requires a sunny spot with a free draining soil.