Canines

The 'canine' of today's title, refers, not to the rather bouncy and lovable (and often wet and muddy) dogs we see on our walks, but to the plants which have various 'doggy' parts to their names. Starting with the Dog Rose (Rosa canina).

With their large, pink blooms and delightful - if rather feint - rose fragrance, these are a common sight in the summer hedgerow.

Scrambling about with the aid of their vicious thorns, Dog Roses make a lovely show, despite the name 'dog' meaning worthless. At this time of year, they are far from worthless.

The next canine name belongs to the Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea).

Foxgloves are also flowering in the countryside right now, but in far smaller numbers than the Dog Roses around these parts. So, these lovely, tall flower spikes are to be found in our back garden and I'm glad I sowed the seeds last year, because they've made a wonderful show.

These came from a mixed packet of seed although we seem to have only two different colours at the moment. A few white flowered ones are interspersed with the more normal purple/pink ones. But all are beautiful. And the bees love them!