Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua)

Sweet gum is really nice garden tree, because its variation of its colour can bring fresh and new feeling to people. In earlier spring, the leaves of sweet gum are cool green and in October, it will turn orange or yellow, but the colour is maybe distinctive with PH of soils. A appropriate soil condition is recommended that is in lime-free or acid soils(A Garden Tree Nursery, 2010)

Sweet Gum is 18m in the height, and 12m across.Its crown looks like long conical: its leaves are like star shape with jagged lobes.. Interestingly, sweet gum’s twig smells a little bit scented, which is a advantageous reason as a lovely garden tree. Buds is a little reddish in earlier spring, so it is different from other tree .and its fruit  looks like a ball with many thorns.

Sweet gum is frequently found on riverbank, because here it can get full sunlight and moist  soils. It has the tolerance of a wide range of conditions, but in lime-free and acid soils would be better.

There is a wide space under sweet gum, so annual wild flowers can be planted around it, which can provide a vibrant contrast in the garden, thus it is suitable in a large garden rather than a small yard.

Reference

A Garden Tree Nursery.(2010) Blue Arboreturn and Nursery. available online.http://www.bluebellnursery.com/catalogue/trees/Liquidambar/L/6633994

Figure available online.http://www.bomengids.nl/uk/soorten/Amberboom__Liquidambar_styraciflua__Sweetgum.html

Upright Brome(Bromus erectus)

Upright brome, this sort of wild grass is often seen in the east and south district of the UK, because it definitely prefers chalk and limestone(The Reader’s Digest Association Limited, 1981). It is fairly flourishing in wasteland and roadsides as well.

This plant which belongs to perennial species has a very strong ability of reproduction, it depends on the wind to transfer pollen from one plant to anther(The Reader’s Digest Association Limited, 1981).But its pollen is irritating to sensitive crowd.

Upright brome  looks like oats which are also characterized by loose sems and flower- heads,  so sometimes people confuse its name.

Upright brome’s stems are erect and smooth. The joint between the stem and its leaf blade is called leaf sheath(Agriculture and Consumer Protection, 2004), which is with hair. It is approximately 40-120cm high. From June to July it begins to bloom. Its long and pliable spikelet consists of several sharp florets.

Seeds of upright brome is 9-11mm long excluding awn, 1.5mm wide, and 1-1.2mm thick(Agriculture and Consumer Protection, 2004).

Sowing should be carefully considered, because it need a appropriate seed bed, and PH is between 6 and 7.

Wood brome bears a strong likeness to upright brome, however, its flower-head is drooping.

Reference

Agriculture and Consumer Protection.(2004) Site-Specific Grasses and Herbs. available online .http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/y5576e/y5576e0b.htm

The Reader’s Digest Association Limited. (1981) Wild Flowers of Britain. London: Great Britain.

Downy Rose ( Rosa tomentosa)

Downy Rose is a sort of common shrub which bears its loose stems in clusters in Britain, but except Scotland.

Downy Rose’s Latin name may trace back to ancient Indian; ‘rosa’ means red in Sanskrit, that is a kind of literary language of ancient Indian( The reader’s Digest Association Limited, 1981): ‘tomentosa’ is associated with a banquet in Imperial Rome( The reader’s Digest Association Limited , 1981), later they are used as that name of Downy Rose.

Downy Rose is usually 90-180cm tall, and its stems are long and slender bearing a little bit curved thorns.Two or three pairs of pale green leaflets constitute a leaf of Downy Rose. Usually. it begins to bloom from June to July. its flowers are either pink or white.

The fruit of Downy Rose is red oval. and also is edible.Furthermore, its medical value cannot  be neglected as well. its seeds are enriched full of Vitamin and certain component which has cancer-resistant function, in the meanwhile, it can prevent heart disease as well.

Downy Rose should be planted sunny place, it will grow better in clap and sand . It is acn be planted nearby garlic, it will grow better as well, because garlic can prevent insects’ attack to it.

Soft-leaved rose is the same genus as Downy Rose, Latin name is Rose villosa, but its fruits have a crown with five sepals.

Reference

The Reader’s Digest Association Limited. (1981) Wile Flowers of Britain. London: Great Britain.

Orpine (Sedum telephium)

Orpine that is a sort of herbaceous wild flower widely survives in woodland garden, hedgerows or crevices which are mostly shade or semi-shade, surely, in sunny sites, they can grow so well. And they have strong resistence-either acid or neutral or alkalinesoils of which  Orpine may tolerant.(The Reader’s Digest Association Limited, 1981)

This plant also have another commen name-‘livelong’-deriving from its tolerance. In accordance with its such feature, there used to be a traditional costom, a maiden often hangs it up in her house, if they thrive together, then this girl would have a good prospect to chose a husband; if there is one among  them dies ahead, a foretaste of death would be illustrated, although it is superstitious.

Orpine’s leaves with shallow jagged edge are flat and succulent, which facilitates to survive during drought. Its light green leaves that are alternate are against the pink flusters of flowers with purple spikes, which looks freshy and elegent.The segments that always do not unfold are gathered together on long and uplight stems to shape a globle-shaped flower-heads. The holistic plant is approximately 20-60cm tall; it may be sowed in spring or early summer, bloom from July to Sep.(Plants For A Feature, 1996)

Not only Orpine contributes a lot to natural beauty, but it is used to in medicine-it has astringent function and remedy for diarrhoea as well. Its edibility is acknowledged.

Reference

Plants For A Feature. (1996) Plants For A Feature. [Online] [Accessed in 1996] http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Sedum+telephium

The Reader’s Digest Association Limited. (1981) Wild Flowers Of Britain. London: Great Britain.

Scentless Mayweed(Matricaria perforata)

This species of wild flowers is distributed throughout Britain, it is fairly common annual or biennial wild flower. Scentless Mayweed thrive in wasteland, embankment, and agricultural

area, meanwhile, it is a garden weed as well. Scentless Mayweed abounds in widespread lowland soils expect chalky soils.

Scentless Mayweed, this name seems to come from month of May, in fact, this sot of plant used to be freqently used  as a matorpher of a maiden’s complaint. Furthermore, it do not bloom in May, but from June to October. This race dislikes high tempreture, and also is intolorant as in places of waterlogging and drought(The Reader’s Digest Association Limited, 1981)

Concretely, its flower-head is round with more than ten white petals arund a yellow centre; is stem is always upright and leaf is deeply splitted into numerous narrow and long segments, finnaly converge into a terminal point on the stem.

Scentless Mayweed has a variety of size and habit, some have possessed strong resistant to certain herbicdes, so as garden weed, it is perfect species, but in arable land, it is irritating. Its taste is not accepted by livestock, but it can be a source of nector and pollen for beneficial insects(Garden Oganic, 2007)

Corn chamomile is an ajacent race which can be differentiated from Scentless Mayweed by some feature, as it has a sort of faint smell, and it would like to grow in chalky soils.

Reference

The Reader’s Digest Association Limited. (1981) Wild Flowers of Britain. Londen: Great Britain.

Garden Oganic. (2007) Organic Weed Management. [Online] [Accessed on Oct 2007] http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicweeds/weed_information/weed.php?id=51