Country diary: Time for the arable weeds to shine

Sandy, Bedfordshire: You can see why the Phacelia is also called 'fiddleneck', as its flowers go over in the slide towards autumnThe purple reign of the king of thistles has come to a brown end. No more glancing up from the kitchen sink at spectacular heads, now gone to seed. The nth summer in a row has passed in which I have failed to remember the name of these dazzling giants without a prompt. Think of cartoon. Ah yes, cardoon.In the garden, I struggle to remember any names that do not describe the flower. Paradoxically, I have no such problems in the countryside. Among a field edge wildflower mix of lucerne, white clover and chicory, sainfoin leaps out of my brain and labels the curled pink lips of a plant with a leguminous pea look. Continue reading...