Ramson Note (wrong suspect)

Ramsons or "Wild Garlic" on the bank of the Water of Leith, Edinburgh. Allium ursinum is everywhere at this time of year, carpeting the woodland and river banks before the nettles take over later in the year.

EDIT: Wrong suspect. Well thanks to feedback from ralphcooper, I did a bit more inter-web-ing and discovered that this is in fact Allium paradoxum, the "Few-flowered Garlic" or "Few-flowered leek." Thanks! I always like to be wrong, it means I've learned something! Here's a dead handy DEFRA guide to garlicy things in the UK.

There's a small wood near Spott that has old footpaths through it, long abandoned. Heading for another wood, I cut through one spring and didn't realise my mistake until I got home - my expensive cycling shoes were soaked in garlic oil. They never recovered despite boil washes.

It's a lovely plant though and can be eaten. Perhaps this year I'll finally get round to wild nettle & garlic cooking. I'll not wear my good shoes though!

Today I took my new 300mm lens out to try to take some shots with it. This is the wrong way (for me, anyway) to go about things - go out looking for an opportunity to use my kit. Instead I should have my kit if I need it, and see what I see. So, I stopped and took the Ramsons with a standard 18-55mm lens then continued to the Botanics where I fitted my new 300mm lens. I had been disappointed the other day to not be able to photograph the magnolia which is resplendent just now, because it's so high up. I had a go at that, and used the macro mode to take some butterfly shots. But it was this humble garlic that came out best. Lesson learned.

A few more on Flickr.

One other thing to mention - I've always thought magnolia is a bit of an ugly name for a startlingly lush flower. That's because I'm British and say, monotonically, MAG-NOH-LEE-AH. Listen and learn : There were a couple of European ladies walking at the same time as me and one went over to read the species label, Magnolia kobus. She said mang-YOH-lee-ah k-OHHH-boos. Ah, now I get it. What a lovely name.

P.S. Whilst I was inter-web-ing about this I found a hilarious Ransom Note Generator which I hope you have a laugh with.