We call this one St. Peter Port Daisy, but it is starting to spread into other Guernsey parishes, It is a wall daisy or Erigeron Mucronatus. Naval or Wall Penny Wort Umbilicus Rupestris, We only recently got our new camera, so we missed the flowering time for this - one shoot with tiny greenish white flowers.I don't think this is the rare variety, but I think it is Lords and Ladies - the rarer one is Arum Italicum. You may know all these plants, but they grow either in my garden or nearby and are included in the Wild Flower guide.
There are many granite walls in Guernsey (our local stone) which are smothered with those St. Peter Port daisies. I tried to grow them in our garden walls, but was unsuccessful - I really don't know how they survive with very little water, in the smallest of cracks in the grouting. If you can remind me next year I will send you some of the drying flowers from a Penny Wart Nut, although they are not hardy, however you are right, they do fit in nicely mainly in the base of walls or trees.
It always amazes me when we watch programmes on the north or south pole or thereabouts and how there are plants way down under the snow and ice, that shoot up for the briefest of summers before being covered again. Plants are amazing aren't they!
I was just thinking before - do you have a wildlife pond in your wild garden nut? We are trying to plan one here, although we haven't started it as yet. We are waiting for a plumber/gardener man to pay us a visit to see if our unused bore hole is suitable for a pump for pond and watering system.as we would also like to put in some irrigation to save my back from further straining lugging watering cans around the garden.
2 ponds here GD but we didn't build them, they're old gravel diggings, just holes with water that goes up and down in the wet and dry seasons. Very difficult to plant, only the toughest can cope. Lots of life though, newts,dragonflies (larvae in the pond) and other insects.
If you could post some pictures perhaps another day, it would be great to see them - yes, they must be difficult to plant, but obviously doing well with your wildlife count. At present we have a tiny (2 x 4) preformed pond shape, which I hate but was deemed the correct pond at the time of purchase. However we do have frogs, newts, water snails, dragonflies & water boat men using it and probably other insects too, and even the heron makes a detour to cause havoc in the pond once in a while. The birds love dipping in the pond, however with a larger, gradually sloping pond we won't have to worry about the hedgehogs falling in.
Posts
Love the erigeron, and the wall
thank you.
and the pennywort leaves are so precise. I don't suppose I could grow that here but it would fit beautifully into gaps in some steps
In the sticks near Peterborough
There are many granite walls in Guernsey (our local stone) which are smothered with those St. Peter Port daisies. I tried to grow them in our garden walls, but was unsuccessful - I really don't know how they survive with very little water, in the smallest of cracks in the grouting. If you can remind me next year I will send you some of the drying flowers from a Penny Wart Nut, although they are not hardy, however you are right, they do fit in nicely mainly in the base of walls or trees.
I've seen little ferns and Ivy leafed toadflax growing in walls, nothing to live on as far as I can see.
In the sticks near Peterborough
It always amazes me when we watch programmes on the north or south pole or thereabouts and how there are plants way down under the snow and ice, that shoot up for the briefest of summers before being covered again. Plants are amazing aren't they!
They are. the speed of growth, especially of the ones we call weeds, is phenomenal
In the sticks near Peterborough
I was just thinking before - do you have a wildlife pond in your wild garden nut? We are trying to plan one here, although we haven't started it as yet. We are waiting for a plumber/gardener man to pay us a visit to see if our unused bore hole is suitable for a pump for pond and watering system.as we would also like to put in some irrigation to save my back from further straining lugging watering cans around the garden.
2 ponds here GD but we didn't build them, they're old gravel diggings, just holes with water that goes up and down in the wet and dry seasons. Very difficult to plant, only the toughest can cope. Lots of life though, newts,dragonflies (larvae in the pond) and other insects.
In the sticks near Peterborough
If you could post some pictures perhaps another day, it would be great to see them - yes, they must be difficult to plant, but obviously doing well with your wildlife count. At present we have a tiny (2 x 4) preformed pond shape, which I hate but was deemed the correct pond at the time of purchase. However we do have frogs, newts, water snails, dragonflies & water boat men using it and probably other insects too, and even the heron makes a detour to cause havoc in the pond once in a while. The birds love dipping in the pond, however with a larger, gradually sloping pond we won't have to worry about the hedgehogs falling in.
I'll see what I can find. Lots of photos but not much of a filing system
I can always take some more though
In the sticks near Peterborough