Green Alkanet

Pentaglottis sempervirens

..which has been appearing recently in WildflowerWeek and which everyone - including me - always wants to call 'blue alkanet'.  Aren't its flowers a beautiful colour?

Funnily, I don't remember it at all from my childhood, and even Roy Vickery can't find more than a couple of country names for it (Bird's Eye, Pheasant's Eye), though he does say there's one record from London of the flowers being used in salads.  That would be rather pretty, wouldn't it, though on the whole I prefer them on the plant.

These were blipped in Clausentum Fen, where my walk took me on this wonderful blue day.  And now I'll just be bumbling about for the rest of the afternoon.

Hope yours is treating you kindly xx

PS:  I'm sure I should also be saying, 'happy Earth Day'!