Boraginaceae
Ever heard of Boraginaceae? They are plants with alternately arranged leaves and they germinate in the dark. They have hairy leaves and if you have a sensitive skin, better stay away from them since some of them could cause skin irritations. Most Boraginaceae changes colors from their original colors which could be yellow, pink, orange, blue or purple to light blue. When it turns light blue, it means they are near wilting. If you're a bee or any pollinator, it means - the Boraginaceae flower has no nectar to offer you anymore.
The flowers of Boraginaceae plants normally have 5 sepals and 5 petals with 5 anthers, too. Three of the Boraginaceae that I got from the Green Peace as seeds are the Borage, Forget-Me-Nots and Phalecia Tanacetifolia.
Forget - me -not
Though they are pretty tiny I love them because if you sow them in groups you then get a lot of those vibrant pink, purple, light blue to white flowers specially in summer. I planted them in a pot this year because I didn't get much seed from last year. There were not much bees in 2014 to 2015 and I have no knowledge on pollinating them so I had a few success gathering seeds. I still didn't get much this year but since the bees seem to be back and the bee hotel in the back yard is occupied, I'm hoping for a different turn this year. These are what the seeds of the Forget - me - not look like. They tend to stick to clothes and similar fibers.
There are many stories behind this flower but one that I like the most is that of a lover who found them in the Danube River - blooming along the deep banks and the guy, tried getting those blooms but was taken away by the strong current. He shouted at her to not forget him and so came the name "Forget - me - not". This myth has given the plant the many things it symbolizes.
The plant is very easy to take care of and the only challenge is letting it germinate. If you have a place in your garden that is not too sunny, sow them there and just transfer them in full sun once they germinate. Make sure their soil is always moist, the lover's story should have given you a hint. They were not found in the banks for nothing . They are not pest susceptible and though aphids could come once in a while - you'd probably just find 1 or two of them. The good thing is hover flies love their flowers so in a day or two, the aphids would be gone.
What fascinates me the most is that the pollen holder of this plant is purple compared to the normal yellow - gold ones that other flowers have. They smell pretty sweet and light. You will have to stick your nose in them to be able to sniff their scent.
Like the Forget - me -not, they are also very easy to take care of. In fact, they are considered here as a weed. I would want to have them everywhere in my garden because like clovers they fertilize the soil. Unfortunately, they are not invasive. One seed produces just one sprout and that's it. If you plant them in rich soil they tend to grow pretty huge and the flowers are huge as well.
I have placed them just beside the entrance of the strawberry greenhouse because hover flies love them. The aphids attack the strawberries and the later are very attractive to ants which supply the aphids and when its no longer lady bugs season, I can only rely on the hover flies. The good thing about Phacelias are that I don't need to collect their seeds. They re - appear where I plant them automatically.
Just remember, the seeds are photodormant meaning, you should sow them in the area of your garden where there's not much sun. Like vampires, they tend to germinate in the dark. Every Boraginaceae seeds are photodormant.
If you're also looking forward to Spring and would want to make sure you have pollinators this year in your garden, Boraginaceae plants are one to count on.
There many other plants belonging to Boraginaceae do you happen to know any? Have you got them in your garden?
I took the rest of these pictures with my Samsung Galaxy A3 2016 edition and have only shared them in Steemit.
Here are my other gardening articles:
- Grow Your Own Tropical Mangoes in Western Europe and Other Countries with Hard Winters
- Grow Your Own Citrus Plant in Pots in Your Own Backyard or Veranda and Even Indoors in Cold Countries
- How and Which Tropical Plants Can You Actually Grow in Cold Countries
- My Log in Growing My Own Moringa Plant Indoors in A Cold Country, Half a Year Later
- Garden Hacks : On Propagating Sweet Potato Plants
- Gardening Hacks : On Planting Tomatoes and Other Nightshade Plants
- Follow My Experiment Log on Planting Chestnuts and Walnuts From Seeds
- Gardening Hacks : Basic Tips in Growing Cacti Indoors
- Which Cactus Is This?
- Tips on Propagating Succulents Like Echeverias
- Flowers That Are Still In Bloom in Late Autumn, 2016
- Firethorns in Autumn
- Mispel or The Medlar Fruit
Forget me not's are smashing, I have them in my garden. Good tip on the hover fly's!
@meesterboom thanks! I love them in a bunch ^ ^!
Thank you @englishtchrivy for posting.
Lovely photographs and commentary. The bleus are so very attractive in both of these flowers. Yes as @meesterboom has said...thanks for the tip regarding hoverflies and who can resist forget-me-nots.
Well done.
All the best. A bientot/Tot later.
@bleujay thank you :)
A very nice job of distracting everyone from the cold weather outside :)
@vegascomic, thank you. Looking forward to Spring and I'm not the only one gardening here ;)
so preparing the earth for a full bloom hahah :) You know, I live in the Netherlands right? The Dutch are so crazy about plants and flowers you have no idea how much bloom this place has in Spring. Those who have pollen allergy better stay away :)
Leuke bloemetjes! Hier nog een fotokadootje: vergeet-mij-nietjes in het wild:
@ocrdu Beautiful!
This is a Myosotis-sylvatica judging on the yellow bottom of the petals
next time collect the seeds mail me :D
is that allowed?
I'm not sure, but my neighbours have them in their garden, so ...
@ocrdu though shall not covet your neighbors' forget me nots haha :D
=D
Just the seeds then. You do the coveting, I'll do the stealing.
@ocrdu no I don't want to be an accomplice hahahah
Your photos really shows the flowers beautifully.
@rynow thank you very much :)
We would like to add your post to the @gardening-trail curating team for upvoting, but we need to confirm that you have permission to use the copyrighted image, of the seeds, that you have in this post. Images that are public domain can be used without attribution. If the image is being used under a Creative Commons license, please follow its specific requirements. Images that are copyrighted, like the one used in your post, need permission from the creator holding the copyright.
You can read our full guidelines here. Thank you.
@haphazard- hstead I don't get you because if you click the blued Boraginaceae seeds that's its source. I think I may just author my post the way I want to besides I already mentioned that it's not mine if you just read this
I'm not a plagiarist and I would never take credit for something I didn't do myself and no worries if the gardening trail doesn't upvote it just because I formatted it differently. Cheetah would have come after me you know - nothing escapes that cat. I understand you're just doing your job but I also suggest to double check if sources have been really cited or not. Thanks
@haphazard-hstead I can't edit the longer reply so I wrote it here
click on the blued "seeds" above the picture of the seeds and you'll find its source. This is the 2nd time you've come to me on this and last time I have also explained it.
I always cite sources when something I posted isn't mine but I think it's up to me how to do it. Most of the blued words in my posts are sources, not all of them but most of them. I always back up my posts with sources even though they are actually all just out of my head and own experiences because it's better to have a back up source than not.
Here is the issue. I went to the source. But the source is copyrighted. That means there is not a license for anyone to use it, unless they have permission. So you would have to provide that permission in your post. If the source was to a public domain image, there is no problem. If the source has a Creative Commons license, then how the image is used, and how the source is cited, depends on the specific license. Some Creative Commons licenses require Attribution -- so you have to list the photographer and provide a link to the license. Other Creative Commons licenses are Share-Alike, so you have to put a license on your work that allows others to use your work with the same license. Other Creative Commons licenses limit the use to Non-commercial uses, meaning you could not get earnings from the post. So my issue is not the link to the source - but the source you linked to prohibited you from using the image without permission. I don't mean to be difficult about it, but for the curation, that is what we struggle with. The best sources for images that are not your own are (1) public domain, (2) Creative Commons images where you follow their citation requirements and use limitations.
@haphazard-hstead you could also just tell me to replace the picture or remove it. Its also possible that I just chose that because it's a clear picture.
To end this, I just edited this post and removed the picture. My original transcript didn't have it but since I posted a pic of the seed of the forget me nots I've decided to post a pic of the seeds of the phacelia as well - I cited sources so I thought that's enough. About whether I should ask permission or not - that I wasn't aware of cause I just chose that pic since it was clear, I could also just choose whatever shit pics of the seed right? Except for I didn't want to. Anyway, to end this I just removed it and edited my post but thank you.
@englishtchrivy - So many other people here on Steemit are using other images in violation of copyright or licenses. My purpose in curating for the @gardening-trail is to build community around gardening topics -- not to nag people or be a copyright lawyer. I will not bother you about any use of images, or how you source your images again, for sure! Seeing people misuse images is a stressful part of curating for SteemTrail, but ensuring that only original images, public domain images, or appropriately licensed images are used is not worth losing friendships or increasing stress for others. I will reduce my stress level, too, by letting anyone use any images, in any way, from here on out. Steem on!
@haphazard-hstead I appreciate you and your curating. If your intent is for the good of the community why stop?
My only suggestion is just give the people a benefit of the doubt - it's possible they didn't know something or see something that you do. When you came to me yesterday, I thought it was just cause I formatted my sources differently. I totally didn't get your point at all.
On your 2nd reply you said many things I didn't understand much - it didn't help me. I just got more confused so I went back to the source and check maybe I violated something , thinking maybe you saw something different from what I saw. However, I just saw the same thing I saw when I clicked on the page of that picture. There's no restriction on using that pic - that's what I saw but I thought - like a double tipped board marker - one with a head of black and red on the other maybe I'm just seeing red and you're seeing black. I don't like arguing so I just removed that - it's just a picture anyway. What's the point? Maybe you're just trying to save my ass right?
However, I suggest that you just tell the author you are curating what you saw and suggest what to do - we don't know it all you know - and I am not an exception. Just keep it simple - everything here is written so don't take it personally.
Since you sounded like you were in a "rebuttal" mood on your 2nd reply yesterday and I wasn't sure I could calm myself - I just went to one of your colleague in the chat to ask what on earth did I do wrong and how to fix it - I got a good advice and I used it on my next post. Don't worry - it's just the net, we don't see each other's expression nor see exactly how we feel - so let's not take it personally. Perhaps, next time, just go straight to the point. Had you just told me - please replace or remove this picture because - of the reasons you enumerated - that would have been easier to understand - and a lot easier to do. Just KISS it.
EDIT:
go after them, including me - if you see I also did - no one's an exception but perhaps like cheetah - give people the benefit of the doubt - specially newbies, when I was new here I don't know many things am already here for quite some time and I still don't know many things. However, you should know where I stand when it comes to plagiarism.
Upvoted by @gardening-trail
Thank you for following and upvoting @gardening-trail
Read our guidelines here. Join us In the Gardening-Trail and let's discuss Gardening Related Topics
@gardening-trail thank you