Angela's top 20 wild flowers; Number 19 is Meadow Saxifrage

I don't know quite why Meadow Saxifrage, or Saxifragia granula is all the way down at number 19, it really deserves to be in the top five of my favourite wild flowers, along with all the other 37 species I like so much.

Saxifragia granulata growing in Enviromat sedum matting

Meadow Saxifrage is on the favourites list because it's just the prettiest, delicate-looking but resiliant little plants to flower early in the year and it always marks the arrival of springtime on the Enviromat field.  

The family name Saxifrage means "stone breaking" because these plants are happy on poor, stony ground in exposed places which in turn, makes them really well suited to green roofing.

Flowering from April - June, these beauties are a source of nectar for butterflies and bees coming out of hibernation.  They're just exquisite!

Angela's top 20 wild flowers; Number 20 is Ribwort Plantain

As a child, I used to love going for walks with my Grandmother, Nanny Brown, who would encourage me to take note of what was growing beside the footpath and in the woods. As I grew up,  I became distracted by homework, ponies, Young Farmers, weddings, children, etc and wild flowers were pushed to the back of my mind. But since Q Lawns launched Meadowmat last spring, I've revived my interest in wild flowers and I've enjoyed re-learning their names, finding flowers that didn't grow in the hedgerows around Brickendon and of course remembering how simple life was back then. 

It's been soooo difficult putting together a top twenty chart of my favourite wild flowers and there are lots and lots of runners up.  But here goes.

Number 20: Ribwort Plantain





plaintain viewed from above - not so plain after all!

This is one plant that I've only really noticed in the past 6 months.  It seems pretty unremarkable really.  It's not showy, or fragrant or outstanding in any way. In the lawn, it's an undesirable; it doesn't have much nectar but the seedheads remain for most of the winter and are eaten by sparrows and dunnock. BUT there are a number of moth caterpillars that rely on plantains for food.

Why do I like plantains?  well,  my daughter has two baby tortoises to care for, they're too young to hibernate and they need fresh foliage all through the winter. Rhonda and Hermione are not allowed "Supermarket greens" because apparently they don't have the right balance of nutrients and so I have become hunter gatherer for a couple of reptiles.  Ribwort plantain and Yarrow are just about the only wild plants on the "safe for tortoises to eat" list that are easy to find in January, hence, they are both in the top twenty.

Plantains remind me of a certain kind of person, there's one in nearly every organisation.  Whatever the occasion they'll be there, but they're rarely noticed and even more rarely appreciated for what they have to offer.  Another elderly relative had a favourite saying "squeaky gate gets the oil" meaning those who make the most noise get the most attention, but the quiet, nay seemingly insignificant ones, could well be the most useful

It's wonderful to see wild flowers in winter



winter heliotrope taken 13th january 2012


Outside the office at Q Lawns, sits a sample of MeadowMat waiting to be collected by our salesman.  It's freezing out there, the vegetation is white with frost, yet bobbing about above the leaves are two blooms, one is ragged robin, the other yarrow.  It's so unexpected to see wild flowers in winter, these two are a real joy to behold.

I've not been down to the Meadowmat production field lately, but Robert Allen, our Production Manager tells me it looks amazing with the frost on it.  He says I can probably get some amazing photographs if I get up early in the morning when it's still freezing hard.  Hmmmmmm, I like the idea of some frosty photos, but getting up early?  It's just not me.....

I did manage to snap some lovely wild flowers while I was walking the dogs at the weekend.  I had no idea what they were and had never seen them in flower before.  Lucky for me, Nick Coslett from Palmstead Nurseries, Paul Addison from Q Lawns and Harriet Holland on Twitter were able to identify the plant for me.

I always assumed from the leaves that they are coltsfoot but in fact they're a cousin of coltsfoot called Winter Heliotrope or Petasites fragrans. Apparantly the plant was introduced to England as an ornamental in 1806, it's actually a nativ of the central mediterranean; is quite invasive, flowers from Nov - Feb, spreads via underground rhizomes and the flowers smell a bit like vanilla.  I'm afraid I can't verify the scent....I didn't fancy scrambling over the barbed wire fence just for a sniff!

ragged robin

yarrow