Country diary: The prettiest of castle flowers - but how did it get here? | Phil Gates

Stanhope, County Durham: The roots of this particular fairy foxglove are hotly contested, but I'm certain it didn't arrive on the sandals of Roman soldiersGuerrilla gardening, the illicit - some say anarchic - planting of garden flowers to brighten up urban public spaces, has become popular, even respectable. It cocks a snook at authority, brightens urban environments and generally pleases the public. This kind of surreptitious gardening has a long history.We'll probably never know who the community-minded horticultural benefactor was who introduced fairy foxglove (Erinus alpinus), a Pyrenean native alpine flower, to the walls of Stanhope Castle. It was first formally recorded here in 1934, but it may already have been well established. Every June its tiny leaf rosettes, rooted in crevices between masonry blocks, enliven the grey castle ramparts with a head-turning display of tiny purple flowers. Continue reading...