A botanical tour of Herbie's home

 

What's this? Kath sitting in our garden?  No, she's sitting next to Herbie at our berth in the marina.  Here's a closer view

Lovely innit?  No wonder we haven't taken the boat out since we arrived yesterday; we're just taking the chance to relax.  Well we did drive out to Tescos today to lay in food stores, but that's it for today.  Maybe we'll cruise out tomorrow , weather permitting.

I took a stroll round our end of the marina looking for blackberries, but sadly there were barely any ripe ones.  Back at home we're getting a few lovely ones in the local hedgerows. It's all about latitude perhaps, or maybe it's just the Thames Valley climate at home that helps.

Now if we wanted crab apples, we have them in abundance at the marina although you'd want them riper to make crab apple jelly.

The waterside flowers though, are doing well.  Only fifty yards from Herbie we get all the following:

Purple loosestrife of course - very common along canals

along with the even commoner Willowherb

and the ubiquitous bindweed

You all know them, but do you know what this is?

here's a close up

it has a few names, orange balsam, orange jewelweed, or spotted touch-me-not.  The latter name being to do with how the seed pods explode like its relative Himalayan Balsam. Apparently it has been used to treat skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema.

Then how about this? I think it is Bristly Oxtongue.  You might need some if you have parasitic intestinal worms (terms and conditions apply)

This next one is probably Angelica, used candied in desserts or to flavour drinks and is apparently good for fighting off witchcraft and the plague amongst other things (worth bearing in mind then)

Then in the hedge, Guelder rose, not really a wild plant, but there's a lot of it here

and lastly, dogwood berries, some types of which are edible while others are poisonous.  I don't think I'll bother to test them.

All these within 10 yards of each other and less than a minute's walk from Herbie's pontoon.  Now perhaps you see why we're not in a rush to move out onto the canal today.