There is a plant that I have spent some effort to get established in the Magic Garden and have now persuaded it to grow all over the ‘alpine’ patch I established in the spoils from digging out the pond. It always makes me feel a little sad looking at it as it reminds me of my father who called it the Gairloch weed as it comes up all over the place in their garden in Badachro. He thought it a hoot that I could not get it to grow in the Magic Garden until eventually one of the plants he dug up for me did establish itself. I will probably eventually regard it as a weed too as I’m sure it will now spread like mad. It was introduced to the UK in the 1620s and spread so fast that it has been known as a pest plant ever since. I stilll like it though as a friend of the pollinators in the garden.

The wildflower Pilosella aurantiaca is known by most people as fox-and-cubs on account of its habit of having the open bright orange flowers on top of unopened buds. Its more prosaically known as orange hawkweed. It starts as a rosette & develops lance like leaves with the flowers on black hairy stems.

I look forward to spring and seeing the flowers arrive in time for my father’s birthday in June. Meantime I have to admit like Ben hibernation seems a good idea!