Vinca

This little purple flower with a white centre with five spiralling petals is called a Vinca. It has glossy dark green leaves and sprawls across the ground under dappled shady patches. We used to have some in our garden but I think the shade got too deep and other plants grew over it. We will have to try again. It cheers me to see this purple among the muted colours of helibores and fading tulips. Soon the summer will arrive and the flowers will change again.

Raspberry flower?

It’s Mid-october and things were mild but now they are getting colder. Last week we had temperatures in the high teen centigrade and this week they have gone down to 12 or 13 in the day time and 5 or 6°C at night. Leaves are finally starting to change colour but still some plants seem to think its Spring!

My Raspberry plants for instance have come back into flower. I don’t have a close up lens, but I managed to get a photo of this raspberry flower. It’s a bit cold and bedraggled after the cold, heavy rain we had today, but despite a tinge of brown on the edges of its petals its still trying. It probably won’t turn into fruit as there are no insects around now. Still interesting to see.

Flock or Phlox?

Next to my raspberries a tallish purple flower stands. I think it’s a phlox? I’m not sure of the spelling. Homonyms, words that sound the same but are spelt /spelled differently.

The English language can trip you up. It has evolved, with different spelling rules like ‘i before e except after c’, which isn’t always correct.

Anyway, back to this plant. I was really pleased I managed to get a reasonably close image of the flowers. With water droplets visible on the petals. Any ideas on identification?