Wildflowers

[greenilex]

I wonder whether any other Forumisti collected and pressed wildflowers as a child?

Nowadays it is frowned upon except strictly for research purposes, but we used to have a class in the children's bit of Ellingham Show.

One can certainly still buy a press and heavy paper.

Some of the smaller ones - speedwell for example - were particularly successful.

[french frank]

Yes - and our village school had an annual 'autumn fruits' competition where we laid out our hips and haws on cotton wool in chocolate boxes. We didn't have presses, though: just heavy books.

I wonder whether any other Forumisti collected and pressed wildflowers as a child?

Nowadays it is frowned upon except strictly for research purposes, but we used to have a class in the children's bit of Ellingham Show.

One can certainly still buy a press and heavy paper.

Some of the smaller ones - speedwell for example - were particularly successful.

[umslopogaas]

I remember a similar autumn wild fruits exercise, when I collected hips and haws and mounted them for a display: by virtue of being the only entry, I think I also won a prize. I dont recall collecting wild flowers in any methodical sense, but I did Botany for A level and was keen on native flora. In fact, I probably knew it better aged sixteen than I do now, aged sixty seven. My grandfather and parents were all keen on flowers, and my grandfather, a book collector, had a thirteen volume of Sowerby's English Botany, now sitting proudly on my shelves.

My Botany master took me on a camping trip to Upper Teesdale to explore the native flora. I think we found Gentiana verna, and something called Minuartia stricta (though what it looked like, I cant remember). There was also a yellow semi parasitic flower called yellow Bartsia, whose latin name, I now discover, is Parentucellia viscosa (or was, my flora is very out of date).

I went on to do a degree in Botany, but my first job was in the tropics, where I stayed for eleven years and rather lost touch with the native flora. It is interesting that although the great majority of the planet's flora are in the tropics, tropical gardens tend to be a bit boring, and much the same whether you are in the Caribbean or the Far East: a croton hedge, a frangipani or two, a few Hibiscus and Bougainvillea. I think the heat discourages gardening, just put in a few shrubs and that's that.

[french frank]

I think the heat discourages gardening

Indeed (I've been out gardening this morning!).

I remember finding a very unusual flower in a field near our house which I picked and took to show the local wildflower expert. I came back crestfallen, having been told (very kindly) that I shouldn't have picked it. I was about eight - and it was a bee orchid

[Richard Tarleton]

Yes - and our village school had an annual 'autumn fruits' competition

This reminds me of the first time I gave a talk with slides to a WI (in a very rural village) and had to judge their competition - "Autumn arrangement in an eggcup". I disqualified one entrant because her offering was in a toothmug, not an eggcup - the competitor was a bit upset, explaining that it had been in an eggcup but that it kept tipping over, but rules are rules . The winning entry turned out to be that of the chairwoman, so that was OK . I've judged all sorts since, in a long career of talking to WIs - one on occasion (I think it was drawings) one member turned to me and said I was lucky I hadn't had to judge their cats, as a previous speaker had had to do.

[french frank]

but rules are rules

You're a hard man, Richard Tarleton!

[ardcarp]

When I was a small child it was common for mothers on Mothering Sunday to be presented with posies of wild flower (primroses and violets IIRC)....which of course would be utterly frowned on now.

We are lucky to live in a wonderful area for wild flora...Mrs A is the 'expert'...and I am always interested in the sequences of flowering from year to year. This year has been vg but late for snowdrops, the primroses have been out very early and wild (yes really wild) daffodils are locally abundant too. Although the snowdrops are now a bit tired, we've actually had all three flowering together. Many violets out too if you look hard. Bluebells in healthy leaf, though not yet flowering of course; but I love the hedgerows when bluebells and campions are out together.

BTW there is another wildflower thread:

http://www.for3.org/forums/showthread.php?14796-What-wild-flowers-have-you-seen&highlight=wild+flowers+ardcarp

[greenilex]

Amalgamate by all means.

But I feel somehow that there is an important distinction between a wildflower collection and a wild flower...blushing away unseen by botaniser or cataloguist. The latter is more a potential wilderness habitant and probably will set viable seed.

Seed banks in Arctic bunkers may be of use in future hard times.

[french frank]

Seed banks in Arctic bunkers may be of use in future hard times.

Wildflower meadows …

[gradus]

I recently came across some flowers pressed 30 years ago between the pages of a gardening book and forgotten about, not I'm afraid wild flowers but for some reason purple petunias. We used to have a flower press but it seems to have hidden itself, perhaps in another 30 years.......but not alas by me.

[greenilex]

Better to spend eternity in a book than in an onion patch.

Have they retained much colour?

[ardcarp]

Better to spend eternity in a book than in an onion patch.

For u, maybe, but not for their genes.

[Mary Chambers]

I pressed flowers between sheets of blotting paper, under several volumes of Arthur Mee's Children's Encyclopedia. I didn't do it very often, though. I preferred just to look at the flowers, and I learnt very soon that wild flowers don't last long if you pick them. I always found out their names, and impressed my grandfather when I was six by being able to identify yarrow.

My best pressed flower, from rather later in my life, is a white rose given to me in the '60s by Rudolf Nureyev after a performance with Fonteyn. To be honest, he gave roses to everyone in sight, so it isn't quite as romantic as it sounds. The rose looks more than a bit brown now, I'm afraid.

[gradus]

Better to spend eternity in a book than in an onion patch.

Have they retained much colour?

Enough colour to be recognisable, presumably the absence of light helped. I half-remember putting them there and others too of which there is no sign but perhaps in another book waiting to be found.

[Lat-Literal]

Wildflower meadows …

A lovely picture.

We had a wildflower book beside a fossil book. We found a lot of fossils in our garden which was a big slab of clay above our heights when we moved in to my parents' house. But I'm very keen on wildflowers, yes, and occasionally pressed them inside the book although they kept dropping out. There are also various photographs of us crouching in candytuft.

But my happiest memory is of my uncle playing cine film of us bluebell picking backwards. He reversed the film so it appeared we were planting bluebells in the woods and then roared with laughter. He had a light wicked streak like pinging the clothes line so that any birds on it would fly off cartoon style. These are examples of how historical contexts matter. Some today would view those actions as willful. But he was a townie who loved wildlife and he escaped to the countryside whenever he had a rare day off. There was a naivety there along with a surprising amount of factual knowledge. He was my godfather so more than an uncle and we were close. I doubt I'd have had rural leanings without him.

More broadly, there is always that thing when younger of being very friendly with some people until they pursued a hobby that interested another group of people but not oneself. There was a time when newt catching became very popular. I didn't take to it and I think now it was just too laboratory like with all of the jars. It was also rather colourless and it took ages to achieve anything of note. It is almost certainly another activity that is frowned on now. In contrast, wildflowers have increasingly had associations with arts and crafts.