This Sunday four photos, two plants. Wrap your eyes around these. But be warned, they’re not flesh-friendly.
Cotton Thistle: 26th June 2019
The Cotton Thistle is native to East Anglia, but a garden escape elsewhere
Cotton Thistle: 26th June 2019
Of course, neither of these photos do justice to this thistle’s height (topping a man by a good 2 ft). But found on wasteland, I went for close-ups to exclude the junk.
Teasel: 26th June 2019
Another giant of the wayside. These can grow to ten feet or more. This was a junior, but it’s still early season. The teasel was used in the weaving industry. Tacked in dense arrays on a flat board, they were used for cleaning and aligning the wool fibres, and once woven, to raise the nap. Here it was growing alongside Dyer’s Weld. Cannot be coincidence.
Dyers Weld: 26th June 2019
Dyer’s Weld yields dyes in all shades of yellow; it was one the three plants used to dye the threads for the Bayeux Tapestry; woad and madder being the other two. Together they produced the ten colours used.
crispina kemp 
Lovely pics ❤️
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Thank you. 🙂
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Great shots Crispina! Did you know that Theophalus Thistle thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb? Poor guy. One of the many tongue twisters I was subjugated to in voice classes at Drama School.There’s a purple thistle I love. Associated with Scotland I think.
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I thank you. Over 200 species of thistle; but only two found in Scotland (as in wild) so I’m guessing the Scottish thistle is the Spear Thistle. It has a certain grandeur.
Not come across poor Theophalus Thistle. I only know the Sister Susie thistle tongue-twister.
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The professor was a grand old Englishman. Quite the character. Could be the spear thistle. Purple in colour. I used to sell them in Floral. The Scottish patrons loved them and a all good Scots know they’re a great deal for the money, because they last so long.
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Ah well, there you are. And of course, you have Scottish ancestry. Though I should say we both have.
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They’re lovely to admire from a distance! 😀 ❤
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Yea, I chuckle. I’ve waded through too many thistle patches to like to be close. Though on this occasion, I didn’t need to suffer too much
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Glad to hear it and thanks for getting the pictures to share with us! 😀 ❤
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I like to share. I love taking the photos. I love the walks to find the plants. But it doesn’t seem right, then, to just play them as a slideshow on my laptop, all for me, myself, I, no one other to see them. They’re made for sharing.
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Not only do you take lovely pictures, you know your plants and what they are used for!
Love that.
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Ah, but it’s the textiles industry, the wool trade. It’s what created Norwich as England’s second city, after London … until the northern mills nabbed all the trade.
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Still.
I’m duly impressed.
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I thank you. Yes, over the years, I have done much research on the subject.
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Your love of the subject shines through
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Yea, I guess it does. 🙂
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Thistles are so prolific and often quite beautiful when in flower, but oh what an impossible adversary to conquer if you are trying to rid a garden of them!! I’d like to see the top one in flower, if it does flower..
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Oh yes, It flowers. You can see it in ornamental gardens, though this is the wild version. It’s flower is purple. If I see one when it’s in full flower, I’ll snap it for you.
And I agree, thistles are a nightmare in a garden
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LOvely ❤ I especially like the first picture. Just from the image, it almost coldly telling you to stay the heck away.
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Indeed, yes. And behind that one was a veritable forest of the things. Truly towering beasties
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Thistles are so interesting. I once had a physical education teacher who said when he got to heaven, the main thing he wanted to ask God was why he made thistles. I laughed and, like the child I was, said it was a part of the curse to make us humble, but now I think I agree more with the PE teacher – God didn’t make thistles, which flower so prettily and decorate our fields, as a curse upon mankind. Anyway, silly rant over…
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God made thistles to help the farmer. For they sure as hell deter the trespasser!
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Love your third photo of teasel!
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I thank you. Not yet in bloom. Their flowers are a pale lavender-mauve
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Ooh, sounds like a lovely shade!
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Quite delicate. Unlike the thistle whose purple can be quite strident
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Love your thistles – that cotton thistle is beautiful. I sowed teasels in my garden and didn’t realise quite how tall they grow … a good six or seven foot at the moment and not yet in flower! Kind of love them though and hoping the birds and insects will too. Lovely pics as always
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I’ve loads of photos of teasels in late winter, when they’re dry. They stand so tall. Though, I’d better correct that, for often the wind has had them over so they’re at a slant, propped up by various bushes.
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They’re giants but I do rather love them. Have some seedlings all ready for planting for next year’s show 🙂
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Brilliant. I’m not going to say they’re one of my favourite plants, but they do make fantastic plants for photography 🙂 Hopre yours grow mega-tall 🙂
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Taller than me and flowering now – the Triffids make me smile every time I pass them 🙂
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And I chuckle on reading this. So, will you harvest them? They make excellent dried decorations, which I’m sure you know.
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I could harvest some, couldn’t I? I was hoping the gold finches would be attracted by them and eat the seeds. Would love to watch them from my living room window
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I have seen finches swarm over them. Charming, on might say! And what a chance to watch them at close quarters
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Well, here’s hoping. There are gold finches around, but whether they’ll be brave enough to visit my front garden, so close to the road, who knows
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Yet I live in town and I have a wren nesting some place close. Perhaps the ever-present gulls help to protect it?
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Great shots, as always! I had always wondered why the Scottish crest featured a thistle — it seemed odd, such a strong culture associating itself with a flower. Then I moved to a region that has wild thistles and learned the truth: those are the fiercest plants I’ve ever met. Beautiful flowers, just don’t get too close to the rest! My back yard was colonized by just a few of them and it took Herculean force to clear the path. I never did find gloves that were protective enough. That’s one thing I don’t miss about my old house!
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And these cotton thistles are just sooooo tall. Wow. Ring your garden with them, you’d get no intruders.
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Too bad they don’t seem to grow well in Michigan (at least, I never saw them there), because folks are always trying to find border plants to keep the deer away from their gardens.
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Yea, I doubt the deer would eat them. Cattle don’t like it. Though goats will munch their way through an acre of thistles … if there’s nothing more tempting.
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Goats are tougher than I’d realized!
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Oh, they’re real toughies. But they’ll go for the soft option first. I think *survivors* best describe them
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Another wonderfully informative article! Love it!
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I thank you. I do try to deliver more than just photos.
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