Plant taking over the world!

Looking at ivy in a different light!
English ivy is an herb. The leaves are used to make medicine. English ivy is most often used in the form of an extract and is seldom used as a prepared tea.
English ivy is used for disorders of the liver, spleen, and gallbladder; as well as for muscle spasms, gout, joint pain (rheumatism), chronic bronchitis, and tuberculosis.
It is also used for reducing swelling of the membranes that line the breathing passages and breaking up chest congestion (as an expectorant),muscle spasms. It seems to help breathing in children with chronic bronchitis.
Some people apply English ivy directly to the skin for burns, calluses, under-skin infections (cellulitis), swelling, nerve pain, parasitic infections, ulcers, joint pain (rheumatism), and swollen veins (phlebitis).
Personally, I hate it,but keep just enough for the birds to hide-and keep the fence up! lol

We have lots of red squirrels, the occasional sparrow hawk, and deers, passing though our Scottish garden. x

We did see eagles and a distant chamois and apparently there are bears but you're highly unlikely to see one.
As for Lynx

LOL. let's open a book now ;) We also have marmots at the Creux-du-Van and also at Chasseron, another local mountain. But I would kill (almost= to see one of our most favous residents, but they are very elusive- the magnificient Lynx.

Any of your ever tried xcountry skiing- the Jura is one of the best places for it-with amazing views of the Alps across the Swiss valley floor. But we digress - apologies.

If you open a B&B I'll definitely be on the waiting list to stay!

We went walking in the Dolomites and I was in plant paradise so I truly envy you granjura, I couldn't believe my eyes! The orchids and lilies just growing naturally were incredible.
I bought a flower guidebook and just looking through it brings back so many memories. We walked over 100 miles and climbed the equivalent of Everest in 12 days, way up in alpine meadows, with breathtaking views and above the snow line at times although it was June.
We even got really close to marmots, who didn't bat an eyelid at us trespassing on their meadows.
I just hope we do it again sometime.

The Jura is very different to the Alps though- less rocky and angular, more gentle and soft. I do love the Alps, but couldn't live there, too harsh.

Ahhh- now (and sorry if I go on) I forgot my favourite local wild lilly- the Martagon or Turk's Cap lilly. I tried to grow it several times in UK, but despite buying very expensive bulbs twice- I failed. A few years ago, I visited an old uncle in an OAP home about it- and we talked about their garden at their mountain house- he told me he had taken bulbs of martagon lillies in the wild in the 30s (totally illegal now, of course) and planted them in a rock bed there. When he saw how excited I was about it, he said he was going to sell the place and I should go and dig them up and put them at the house we had just bought. I did- before we moved here- and 2 years later they flowered for the first time and do better every year- I saw hope they will naturalise as they did n my childhood garden (the new owners blitzed them all with pesticides- because they were 'messy'- criminals!!! Perhaps explains my attitude to gardening now- can't bear tidy gardens full of bedding flowers in rows. Gertrude Jekill is my hero!

Well, when the new bathroom is installed soon in the 'guest wing' I may acutally go on to open a B&B with local guided visits to admire vistas, dales and mountains, and our amasing wild fauna and flora- x country skiing and even French lessons. See how it goes.

I envy your mountain flowers. We have had several walking holidays in Europe and love the variety of flowers and plants. I wanted to 'jump ship' on the Bernina Express. Everyone was oohing and ahhing at the mountains, I was staring at the ground, amazed at the flowers!
They even had large orange Lillie's growing. I though someone had planted them. x

Found some on line and ordered thanks!

Don't want to boast- but I love wild flowers here so much, in our Jura mountains (limestone country a bit like the Peak District and Yorshire Dales, but much more wooded). Friends and family cannot believe it when they visit. Wild daphné is my favourite at this time of year- small bushes that flower deep crimson, and so sweet smelling, on bare wood. In our back field, the wild flower meadow includes wateravens, spiked rapunzel (both white and blue- and both on the official almost extinct list in UK according to RHS), poets narcisii, stars of Bethleem, scillas, white and mauve crocuses in Spring and the big pink cochicum in autum- campion and big swaves of pink poligonum, kink cups, very dark alpine aqualigia, and deepest crimson wild rose (like a dog rose but much much darker colour), several orchids, and the most amazing pink thalictrum- little balls of purple pink feather heads- like mimosa, small and tall campanulas, and so many more.

Near us is a magical limestone circle, a bit like Malham Cove but much bigger- with amayzing wild flowers. The big blue Koch gentians, and lots of smaller ones, king cups, lots of different anemones, including yellow 'sulphur' and large white ones,so many different orchids and in June swaves of wild astrantias. and so many more.

It also has Ibex and chamois, peregrines, red kites, and all sorts of buzzards and falcons- as well as the Tichodrome- a small wall-creeper vivid pale grey and crimson pink, and rock swifts. Ooops sorry, but did I say I truly love this place. You can Google it, it is called Le Creux-du-Van.

Just love them- road sides verges around here are covered with them for months on end in Summer- some blue, some more crimson. As said, in our garden I Chelsea chop some of them to extent flowering season even more. Or I cut them down quite low after a few weeks of flowering, then get another long flowering period late Summer.

I was confused with the term Winter geranium- as ours are under many feet of snow from December to end April, lol.

Thanks J52 that's the name of the plant. Cranesbill.

The official name for these smaller perpetual geraniums is Cranesbill. They often grow wild in hedgerows.
There are many cultivated types and are a lovely plant to make a collection because they divide so well and you can share them with friends.
x

Granjura - The plant I had in the garden was a small pink flower, also purple, which my cousin called winter flowering geranium - although it didn't flower in the winter, but became dormant.

It's part of the geranium family but very hardy and in my old garden it spread well and provided cover and pretty flowers from spring until late autumn. It may have been called Pelagonium. (Not sure of the spelling.)

Galen wrong time of year for borage seeds and I didn't collect them at end of summer. If you can hang on I'll collect some next year, but I expect it'd be easier to order some on line.

granjura, don't forget that a very important use for borage is in Pymms. Cheers!

Anybody seen Little Shop of Horrors? Just saying.......!

These borage seeds are very naughty- the seed heads explode and send the seeds in all directions- a long way away. I'm sure I've got seeds somewhere- but it will be cheaper to get from your garden centre. They are easy to pull out if they do grow in the wrong place- and don't forget to use the flowers for decorating salads- they look just wonderful, espcially in taboulé, with french marigolds. DD1 got a packet of white borage seeds with a gardening magazine last year- so will plant those in a wild corner and see what happens.

If I can't get any seed I'll say yes!

Galen, I let my borage go to seed and spread naturally, so sorry no seeds collected. I hope little plants appear. If they do I could try and send some.
x

Very of hellebores and calendula, can't grow either whether I put in plants or seeds........
Primroses galore, pulmonariias by the dozen and grape hyacinths in masses but not what I want!

Wildish bit!
Ipad

Does anyone have any borage seeds going spare?
I want some for a wil dish bit of my garden

What I love about this thread (and why I started it) is the diversity of likes and dislikes.
It help put a positive spin on something you don't like, but can't get rid of!

X