Friday, July 28, 2006

# 0258Total Allotment Time: 1 & 1/2 hrs
Principle Task: Lightly forking over soil newly exposed from under plastic sheeting to remove any remaining perennial weed roots as in recent posts. Picking dwarf French beans. Weeding.

2 comments:

Jimmy said...

Hi Tim

We get orchids by the thousand, we see them on almost all of our field trips but as the focus is normally on insects they tend to get little attention from anyone but the avid botanists. I am not a botanist by any stretch of the imagination. I was once taken to a "secret location to see a very rare orchid and then chastised for being seen to stand on one. Oops!
I didn't think it would make much difference as a car was parked on another and it seemed to do little harm. Sorry, I cannot remember what kind they were. It was a long time ago and as I said entomology is more interesting.

I would think all rhubarb varieties in Britain originate from the one import some time in the past and any variety which has been in situ since the war is very probably one of them. I would also add that they are a very good variety and not to chuck it out for one of the named kind. To "sweeten them up" you should leave the bare roots out over the winter - not it will not kill them, I have tried it, and it does seem to make a difference. They like plenty of dung too.

I once collected some green daffodils from the long vacant garden an old croft house, they were most interesting though I left them in my previous garden about 13 years ago. I do not know what variety they were but they were most interesting.

It is a bit like keeping sheep or cattle, if you like the breed you are caring for you will take more interest in them and better care of them: same goes for plant with or without names.

I have just noticed the most recent posting. Nice picture of a sheild bug and I think a male Bombus pascuorum.

Regards
Jimmy

Tim Hopper said...

Thanks Jimmy.

Glad to hear of the orchids. They've suffered great pressure down here from the so-called 'land developers' (agricultural, industrial and residential).

I wouldn't say I was a 'botanist', and I'm pleased I've not focused on one element of nature at the ignorance of another. That sounded far tougher than I meant, so I hope you get my drift. Maybe though I've suffered for not being able to keep to the one thing or the other (this year it's moths, then fungi, then orchids, then bees, etc, etc.) :o)

I'm really in a 'bad place' (to use a modern phrase) with my life at the moment, so I'll leave things at this tonight if I may, and promise to catch up further at a later date.

Regards also,
Tim :o)x