16th April 2009 (Thursday))
Unfortunately, today turned into a bit of a balls-up; having decided to head out of Bristol on the bus to have another go at tracking down the
Tuberous Corydalis (
Corydalis cava) at Ston Easton that I'd missed on Easter Saturday, I somehow managed to miss the stop and, instead, ended up in Wells town centre
Still, Wells has an old cathedral, with a moat and old walls, that looked promising for a few oddities; since I was here anyway, I thought, I might as well have a look around!
Yellow Corydalis (
Pseudofumaria lutea) &
Ivy-leaved Toadflax (
Cymbalaria muralis) had seized control of the cathedral walls and made for a pretty picture, but far more interesting were a couple of plants around the edge of the moat; two pink flower clusters of
Indian-rhubarb (
Darmera peltata), and a bush of
Fragrant Viburnum (
Viburnum farreri) - both, presumably, seeded from the cathedral grounds themselves.
I'd seen Indian-rhubarb before (though never in flower), but the viburnum was a new "tick" and, wandering around the town, I soon added another one - not the corydalis I'd started the day hoping for, but a close relative and probably a far more unusual one;
Turkey-corn (
Dicentra eximia), a native of North America apparently occasionally used in gardens.
(
Turkey-corn, Dicentra eximia)
Chinese Bramble (
Rubus tricolor) was another garden plant invading the same area, although for the life of me I can't understand why anyone would want to grow it
That was about it, apart from a couple of photos I took of the numerous ferns also covering the stonework; I don't officially "count" ferns on my list but, in case I ever change my mind, I do tend to grab a picture or two of any I happen to come across
What I can't do, though, is identify them... so if anyone can help me put a name to these, I'd be very grateful
(
Fern No. 1)
(
Fern No. 2 )