My wildflower patch

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I wrote before about how I had been avoiding mowing the lawn too much and instead encouraging my favourite wild flowers to spread, and in early summer the result was an expanding patch of ‘Fox-and-cubs’ with their sunny orange flowers https://www.mylot.com/post/3282452/who-needs-a-green-lawn But that wasn’t all! Later in the summer the ‘Fox-and-cubs’ was interspersed with other plants that had taken advantage of the new regime, most notably ‘Lady’s bedstraw’, creating a froth of yellow flowers with a lovely scent of honey – one of those smells I remember from childhood, although I couldn’t have named the smell, as soon as I smelt it, it was familiar. The finely-divided leaves are also soft and springy to walk on, a delight in bare feet. I can see why this plant was used to stuff ladies’ mattresses! Apparently it can also be used as a vegetarian alternative to rennet in cheese making. Definitely an under-appreciated little plant! All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2019.