Notes on Identification

It's the time of year when things are starting to grow and it may be unclear what's what. Self-seeders green alkanet, comfrey and foxglove are all quite similar at an early stage. Add to that lesser knapweed, centaurea montana and it can get quite confusing. On the right with the longer leaves is comfrey. I know because it was there last year and the leaves are longer than green alkanet. On the left and behind to the right is green alkanet.

On the right green alkanet, especially easy with the blue flowers in bloom, foxglove in the middle at the back and centaurea montana at the front, large clump to the left and small clump to the right.

lesser knapweed in this pot with a few centaurea montana in the front

Bluebells and hyacinths can get mixed up but by April 1st all the hyacinths are in bloom or have finished blooming. The hyacinths below are not great plants as they were previously forced and I only just planted them out.  In the foreground below is a bluebell, not in bloom or even bud yet. It's one that got away, I've dug them all up from my garden as they formed huge clumps and got in the way of other things growing.

My neighbour has bluebells and in their garden, amongst the annual mercury and dandelions, they look nice. The leaves are longer and thinner than hyacinths.