Old Varieties

Celebrating and remembering old fruit and vegetable varieties

You are here: Home / Archives for Leaves

Leaves

Carlin Pea in Flower

Earlier in the year we published an article about Carlin peas and Audrey from Lancashire decided she would have a go at growing some.

Carlin pea in flower
Carlin pea in flower

Shortly after Easter she planted a few Carlins which she had purchased from the grocer to eat.

The peas were planted in spring, just the same way as one would plant any other pea. The resultant 6 foot pea plants have just bloomed in the last week of June.

The Carlin pea flower is small and delicate, typical of the pea family, with a pale, almost translucent lilac upper (banner) petals and a rich wine or burgundy wings and keel.

The opposing leaves of the Carlin plant are almost heart shaped, unlike the oval shape of cultivated peas.

Deep veining is prominent in both the flower and the leaves.

Much like sweet peas, the Carlin pea does require something to grow up, as these plants in Lancashire have currently reached around 6 feet or more.

Audrey is going to keep us posted on their progress

The Foxglove

The Foxgolve ( Digitalis pupurea) is a native plant of Europe and used to be found growing in many British hedgerows.

Plate Drawing of Digitalis Purpurea by Koehler
Plate Drawing of Digitalis Purpurea by Koehler

Its botanical name means “finger-like” and refers to the easy ability to place an open flower over your finger, just like a thimble.

Tubular flowers are produced along a tall stem and depending of the species, vary from purple to pink, white, and yellow. Of course the best known species in the UK is the Common Foxglove or Digitalis purpurea.

Wild foxgloves are biennial, This means that they take two years to develop from seed to flower. The first year of growth produces a rosette of long basal leaves.

New spring growth on woodland foxgloves
New spring growth on woodland foxgloves

In the second year, the tall stem appears, thrusting the flower buds sometimes as high as 1.5 metres tall.  The delicate pale pink buds open to reveal darker pink to purple flowers with speckled throats.  These flowers surround the top third of the stem.

 

Foxgloves are loved by Bees and used to grow wild in hedgerows and waste ground in the UK.  They are still to be found but not in such profusion.

 

 

 

Digitalis Purpurea
Digitalis Purpurea

The entire plant is very poisonous from the roots to the seeds and should never be picked or handled without the correct gloves and knowledge. 

 

A long history of medicinal use surrounds the Foxglove and they are still used to this day to produce a heart medication called “Digitalin”.

Cottage garden designs invariably include foxgloves but instead of the native biennial foxglove which self seed so easily they can become a real weed, there is now a wide range of hybrid varieties including a perennial version which flowers every year.

 

The Digitalis Camelot Trio from Thompson & Morgan
The Digitalis Camelot Trio from Thompson & Morgan

The Digitalis Camelot trio from Thompson & Morgan is the first ever F1 Hybrid Foxglove.

Grows reliably in our UK gardens and becuase it’s and F1 hybrid, it does not self seed and take over the garden.

Worth remembering though, is the fact that Honey and Bumble bees require the native variety for its pollen and nectar.  So if you have room and want to grow foxgloves, make sure you plant some of our native Digitalis Purpurea.