ABC Wednesday F is for . . .

Another traipse around the garden will lead you to a few things beginning with F.

We have Fish in our pond . . .

golden rudd

silver rudd

. . . Frogs.

In summer there are French marigolds (Tagetes patula) which would speak Spanish, or possibly Portuguese, if they could, rather than French as they are native to South America. Hoverflies love them. They are useful companion plants, the roots producing a substance that deters eelworms (form of nematodes) and repelling whitefly on tomatoes. Medicinally, a liquid concentrate from flowers and leaves is used in eastern cultures to treat nosebleeds.

Yellow dye from the flowers is used in food and textile colouring.

The flowers of Tagetes patula can also be harvested to extract the essential oil which is blended with sandalwood oil to produce ‘attar genda’, a perfume popular in India. In the west research is being conducted to determine the efficacy of the oil as an antifungal remedy, particularly for the treatment of candidiasis (thrush) and fungal diseases in plants.

French marigolds were brought to England by Huguenots (French Protestants) escaping from France after the massacre of St Bartholomew in 1572. Under the influence of the French queen, Catherine de Medici, Roman Catholic mobs killed tens of thousands of Huguenots.

Forget-me-nots (Myositis) bloom in the spring and early summer. They prefer moist growing conditions when they will self-seed readily.

You can find out more about them here.

Also flowering at the same time as Forget-me-nots is Firethorn (Pyracantha) With its strong, sharp thorns this plant can be grown as a very efficient barrier to intruders. In addition, it provides dense cover for roosting and nesting birds. 

The flowers are profuse, attracting myriads of bees, and are a valuable source of nectar in June when there is a dearth of nectar-producing plants. 

The berries are yellow, orange or red and provide a feast for birds during the colder months when there may not be much else for them to feed on.

The first Fuchsias were discovered in Hispaniola (now the Dominican Republic and Haiti) by a French monk and botanist called Charles Plumier. He gave them the name Fuchsia in honour of the German botanist Leonhart Fuchs. Fuchsias are an important source of nectar, particularly for bumble bees. 

We plant them in hanging baskets but they can be grown as small shrubs or used for hedging. 

Click here to see more Fabulous Fs.

Camera Critters #134

Recently I noticed  Wood Pigeons feasting on the holly berries in an adjacent garden. This is the first year I have seen this. Although  I watch the garden birds every day I've never seen pigeons eating berries before. 

There is plenty of food around still and so our holly tree has not been targeted yet. However, a pair of Wood Pigeons has been feeding on the heavily-berried Pyracantha outside our sitting room. I'm accustomed to seeing blackbirds and thrushes gobbling the fruit here and in the holly tree, but it's something of a novelty to see pigeons feeding on them. Blackbirds and thrushes feed rapidly and greedily but the pigeons are slower, as though the berries are an acquired taste or the habit of eating them is only just being established.

The juvenile lacks the white neck flash of the adult.

I noticed that one pigeon was an adult and the other a juvenile. Maybe the youngster is an adventurous adolescent whose mother is saying, 'I don't think you'll like them, but try them if you must. Mind the thorns, dear.'

Thank you to Misty Dawn who hosts this weekly meme. Click here to see more critters around the world.

Today's Flowers #113 Seeds and berries

Sunflower head with one remaining petal!

Close-up of developing seeds

Pyracantha berries - these will be eagerly consumed by blackbirds later on

Ripening holly berries on Ilex 'Golden King'

Blackbirds and thrushes will enjoy these. Sometimes a pair of Mistle thrushes will appropriate the tree and keep all-comers at bay!

Thanks go to the Today's Flowers team who organise and host this colourful weekly meme. Click here to see more flowers from around the globe.