Jane Aston, painter.

Today I went for a stroll around the garden looking to see if there was any sign of life. The crocus  are the most impressive . I bought a few woodland plants at last years plant sale. I am pleased to see they have survived after the extreme winter freezes we get. I have yet to find Comfrey, maybe someone will have some this year. My Borage is resurfacing as is the Honeysuckle.

Pulmonaria or Lungwort
These plants above and below withstood the frosts here. They flowered early but then the severe weather knocked them back a bit.  It's a good addition to the garden, as are all the Borage family, for attracting  bees. This is believed to be because of the blue colours that they are able to see. They belong to the family of plants known as Boraginaecea. They get the name Lungwort from the silver spots on their leaves said to resemble lung disease. I find them fascinating, the little bell shaped flowers begin pink/ violet and move to blue as they age. The silver spots or folia pockets, presumably these are hairy areas, help cool the plant down. The idea is the more spots the leaves have the more sun they will tolerate.
The plants retain their foliage until late winter so mostly deciduous. They grow well under trees like hazel trees.

I have discovered a native one growing beside this one. The native one has longer leaves and is more sun tolerant. I will go and take a picture in a minute. Another great thing about this plant is that it's usually undervalued and thus very cheap. Mine were only 50 cents.

Sweet Williams from seeds. They have yet to flower. The wire is a bit of protection against geese.