Osa pulchra: a rare tropical plant that needs a midwife

Osa pulchra flowering at Kew

Last month I was lucky to see a rare tropical shrub/small tree, Osa pulchra, in full bloom. Huge, trumpet-shaped flowers hung just overhead, still and improbable, translucent against light pouring through the magnificent high roof of one of Kew Garden’s conservatories.

At the time I didn’t understand what I was looking at, but I knew it was special. To an observer I must have appeared like a human version of the His Master’s Voice dog. Continue reading “Osa pulchra: a rare tropical plant that needs a midwife”

The Wildness of Foxgloves (Digitalis Purpurea)

Wild foxgloves growing with grasses and ferns along a country lane in Lancashire

While I enjoy seeing foxgloves in gardens, I can’t help comparing the straight, sturdy, varieties of commerce to wild foxgloves that weave around Lancashire’s fields and country lanes.

Rarely without some form of wave or bend – the ‘nod’ of folklore – wild foxgloves can grow with aplomb wherever they find themselves, high or low. Much of their charm is in their willy-nillyness. Continue reading “The Wildness of Foxgloves (Digitalis Purpurea)”