Millefiori

At this time of year - late spring - in wild and unkempt places, look for these bejewelled mixtures of wild flowers. In this part of the world they are considered unsightly by many, examples of lazy husbandry, to be sprayed or mown down. Certainly they seed profically, and in arable land some cause more than a nuisance, but for me they are always a pleasure. Their flowering is brief and I find most of them easy enough to weed out of garden borders or from under hedges once they grow rank. In the Secret Garden they are a prized asset. Common associations include red henbit or dead nettle, speedwell, shepherd's purse and chickweed, which is the tiny white flower in the photo. Flowering amongst it is oxalis and common wintercress. Other leafy textures are provided by cleavers, yarrow and puha.


Chickweed  Stellaria media
Common wintercress  Barbarea vulgaris
Oxalis latifolia