Scottish Wildflowers

**Bugbear** · 5th December 11, 03:06 PM

Well, for what it's worth, a marigold managed to self-sow in my California poppy patch, and is blooming.

I'm having to cover it with a box covered with a plastic bag at night because it's rainy and getting down to freezing during the nights; I want to collect it's seeds.
The California poppies are just little sprouts right now.

I'm guessing everything is ice cold and frozen, without bloom or leaf, in Scotland at this time?

**ThistleDown** · 5th December 11, 03:20 PM

Today was cloudy with a bit of sun and 3C at noon in Inverness. Nice day, in other words.

**piperdbh** · 5th December 11, 03:23 PM

Originally Posted by ThistleDown

Today was cloudy with a bit of sun and 3C at noon in Inverness. Nice day, in other words.

Lucky rascal! It was in the mid-50s F here today, and drizzly. I'm ready for winter.

Ted, try taking a plastic plate and cutting a radial slit from the edge to the center. Slip the stem of the marigold through the slit and place the plate on the ground under the plant. After the seeds dry out, you can crumble them off and they'll land on the plate.

**Bugbear** · 5th December 11, 05:04 PM

that's a good idea, piperdbh. It has several flower buds that have not yet opened, and one open flower; it re-seeded from a nearby patch of dwarf marigolds that bloomed this summer. Just need to get the plant through the cold nights, and I should be able to collect some seeds.

**Jock Scot** · 22nd December 11, 12:00 AM

I have been trying to post this picture for ages but somehow Photo bucket and my computer have not been talking to each other. So the nice people at photo bucket have spent many an exasperating hour trying to sort out the problem. So let's see-----

The Greater Butterfly Orchid.

Great stuff it works! Thanks chaps.

Anyway,they(the orchids) are not rare, but uncommon, and grow along the grassy edges of our river banks. There is also the Lesser Butterfly Orchid too and they do take some skill to differentiate between one and the other.

**Bugbear** · 22nd December 11, 10:23 AM

Glad you were able to post the picture, Jock, thanks. And thanks for posting the Celtic tale, Terry.

The self-sown marigold I posted about is still doing well and many of it's blooms have opened.