"It is not the business of the botanist to eradicate the weeds. Enough for him if he can tell us just how fast they grow." (C. Northcote Parkinson)

While I get into this blogging lark, I thought I would revisit a few finds from 2014. I found this purple curiosity in Garforth, Yorkshire on a trip to my favourite local nursery (Millrace Nursery, sadly no longer trading after this year). Purple Greater Plantain (Plantago major ssp. major 'Rubrifolia'), a horticultural selection, grows true from seed and has vigorously colonised the lawns and borders of the gardens at Millrace. I wasn't entirely comfortable recording it as a "wild" plant from the gardens (although I would have had no similar qualms with regard to its wild relative), but I soon found it escaped over the garden fence in the adjacent pasture and farmyard making it fair game.