That blue flower: A spring spotter's guide
Spring is a prime time for blue flowers and my daily walks currently have several from the same plant family* lining the local footpaths. As I walked past the Donkey Field the other day, I overheard some children ask their parents** what the pictured blue flower was. It reminded me it's often mistaken for those other familial blues and this time was no different, as they said it was forget-me-not, instead of the green alkanet it actually is. As well as similar flowers, most of these plants are hairy in their nature, flower around the same time, and favour damp, shady places. Many of them are great for pollinators too, especially bees and this week's warm weather has certainly drawn them to these flowers. This makes it even more likely for these plants to be mistaken for each other and it's a great opportunity for me to put together a spotter's guide in case you find the same flowers on your outings. Staying with green alkanet, the key features which set it ...
hm--well, i don't have a blog, so can't reply to others! however, it has never been a problem commenting on other's blogs :)
ReplyDeleteI am doing it too!
ReplyDeletewww.viewsfromthebikeshed.blogspot.com
And it's darn hard work - comments always welcome.
Mark
What a great idea, VP! I love leaving comments and getting them. Who doesn't?!!
ReplyDeleteFab idea. I need a great excuse to catch up with all those blogs that I miss because I'm always juggling too much. :-)
ReplyDeleteI wasn't aware it was blog posting month. I wouldn't have been able to do it anyway because of Thanksgiving, the attendant pre-Thanksgiving preparations, the kids being off from next Wednesday through the holiday weekend, the actual day, the boy's birthday, the party for the boy's birthday on a different day, the lunch at the Walnut Room. Whew, I'm tired already. Maybe I could swing the comments things, but I'm not making any promises.
ReplyDeleteHow do you find out about these things. I am struggling to write more than two posts a week at the moment but am trying to catch up with my blog reading and leaving comments
ReplyDeleteWhat have I done! - I just joined NaBloPoMo! Have no idea what I'm doing but for a minute there I thought it would be fun - eek! What a wally.
ReplyDelete1.
ReplyDeleteJust kidding. I like the idea a lot, so I'm going to give it a go, making it "International Comment Leaving Day."
Right, OK, this counts as my first comment doesn't it? I'm warming up as we speak, flexing my typing fingers and trying to think where to go next...
ReplyDeleteI'm so much more capable of doing this than the whole blog post thing - it's hard enough getting two written a week, never mind seven!
Umm - isn't that what we do anyway? I mean if you want a daily blog - you do one. And if you don't - you don't. And if you don't have material for a daily blog . . . here comes a lot of twaddle. And (another 'and') it seems to me people who leave comments tend to . . . leave comments. And if people have something to say . . . the comments are valued and looked for and are very cheering and one sometimes feels one is getting to know some impressive people - at least in a limited way - and that is good. But if they don't have anything to say . . . here comes an even 'more twaddle' alert.
ReplyDeletePeople who leave comments on your blog, VP, tend to leave proper comments and questions, ones which are worth reading, so I feel in safe company to suggest a 'say something interesting month'.
And Petoskystone . . . it is sometimes a special pleasure to receive comments from people who don't have blogs. One knows they aren't simply leaving them as a way of fishing for return visits.
Ho hum.
Lucy
I decided not to do NaBloPoMo this year.
ReplyDeleteAs for comments I have always replied to every one made on all my blogs, and I comment frequently on others! Flighty xx
I don't think I could manage a daily post every day VP and take my hat off to you for doing so. I have been most remiss about responding to the comments on my blog for quite some time, so have resolved to get cracking there. Your post has given me a welcome much needed nudge.
ReplyDeleteP.S.Teza's Garden is also participating in the NaBloPoMo project.
I like the idea of the comment leaving, which I try to do anyway although I do occasionally find myself drowning in really good blogs with no chance of commenting on all of them unless I give up sleep. Why isn't there more rubbish?
ReplyDeleteVP, Thanks so much for the link love! I see you're going great guns yourself... even though you're going (or gone) away. Hope your holiday was everything a break should be.
ReplyDeleteComments are my favourite part of blogging. Mind you, I've been so busy blogging this month, that commenting seems to have taken a back seat. Still, it's good for the brain. Thanks for putting the NaBloPoMo bee in my bonnet.
Petoskystone - yes and your comments are even more precious because you don't blog but still join in on such a regular basis :)
ReplyDeleteMark - well done - I've amended the piece accordingly and intend hopping on over as soon as I've caught up on here. It's proving rather tricky :(
OFB - I do for sure, especially as I get such good ones :)
AMG - I know what you mean and I must stop lurking over at yours!
MMD - I feel tired just reading your comment. Whatever you do is real bonus. Besides you're always pretty regular with your posting and commenting anyway :)
PG - a lot of it I find out whilst researching other articles or reading (not necessarily online). This one's been bookmarked since last year and a diary note made to possibly post about it!
Carrie - there's absolutely no pressure on you to do anything even if you've joined. Don't worry!
Susan - hurray for you!
Dawn - it's quality, not quantity which counts. Look forward to following you around the blogosphere again, it'll be like old times :)
Lucy - you're just what this post needs and you're always coming up with such thought provoking points of view. Yes, some of us (like Flighty for instance) do exactly that, but lots don't too. That's not to say that either approach is the right one, but hey, we all love the conversation side of blogging and this was a good excuse to write about it. And many thanks for your compliments - I'm particularly proud of how everyone joins in here at Veg Plotting
Anna - I will visit Teza to cheer him on - thanks for letting me know.
Elizabethm - I know exactly what you mean, there's loads of really good blogs to read and I'd like to do more. However, I'm also trying to strike a balance with having a real life too and as you say, sleep is needed from time to time!
Helen - I'm so glad you're enjoying the project. It's good to have a blogging challenge from time to time :)
Nice post, thanks for sharing this wonderful and usefull information with us.
ReplyDeleteGreen Tea
Thanks Herina and welcome to Veg Plotting!
ReplyDelete