Flowers we can pick (7) – Red Campion

Plantlife, the charity which speaks up for the nation’s plants, says that it’s OK to pick these 12 common flowers (provided you don’t go beserk in the woods and fields of the UK). Three things you might not know about Red Campion according to Plantlife. Another alternative name from the Wildlife Trusts probably relates to…

Flowers we can pick (6) – Meadowsweet

Meadowsweet is one of the plants that Plantlife says we can pick! It’s in the Plantlife Pickable 12. This must be a common plant because it is another one that I can actually identify! And this is the time to see it – there was plenty in the boggier bits of Perth and Kinross on…

Flowers we can pick (5) – Common Dog-violet

Would you really want to pick a violet?  They look so frail and tender to me. They look like they need a helping hand rather than a rough tug. But Plantlife says it’s OK provided we don’t go overboard in our picking. Who thought of calling them dog violets? What sort of a name is…

Flowers we can pick (4) – Cow Parsley

Cow Parsely is one of the plants that Plantlife says we can pick! It’s in the Plantlife Pickable 12. There is lots of Cow Parsley in flower by the roadsides at the moment – our motor fumes fertilise the verges and Cow Parsley is a species that laps that up! As a hopeless botanist –…

Flowers we can pick (3) – Primroses

  I was slightly surprised to see Primrose on Plantlife’s list of flowers it is OK to pick – I’m not sure why really because this is the third (out of three so far) of the ‘Plantlife 12 pickable species’ that I get in my garden! But I’ve always put Primroses on a bit of…

Flowers we can pick (2) – Daisies

  I recognise them – they are Daisies!  These plants jostle with the Dandelions to fill my lawn – I have a slight preference for the Daisy. Plantlife says it’s OK to pick a few Daisies now and again – good for them!  It’s a long time since I made a daisy-chain – it’s time…

Flowers we can pick (1) – Dandelion

Plantlife says that, provided we don’t go over the top, we can pick some of our commonest and prettiest flowers. That’s quite brave of them!  I’ll cover one of the ‘Pickable 12’ each week at relevant times through the spring and summer. Let’s start with the Dandelion – and you can come pick them in…