IMG 7364-Echium vulgare - blue haze

A nice clump you ve got going there Lori.

Thanks Penny. I'm partial to blue flowers and as these are wildflowers I'm going looking for the wild chichory to interplant with these...and perhaps some rudbeckia. It's interesting that the wild plants aren't bothered by road salt, or extreme drainage.. They're blooming in the drought when others have turned up their leaves...(poor Phlox).

That mixture sounds lovely Lori and they flower even in drought. Weird how the rock salt on the roads dont kill them it certainly kills trees.

There is so much salt put on our roads to de-ice them that certain roadside trees are actually killed by it..and those which manage to struggle on are very stunted. With heavy traffic there is a spray that is spread up to 50 feet beyond the roadside and into forests. The native white pines are an example of some sad damage. They don't like exhaust fumes either...not a good tree for a city..but here in the wild it grows to amazing heights (60-80 ft. ) and makes a heavy cool shade. Their needles turn brown and the tree dies from the top down. It is so resinous that the resin preserves the trunk and it stands without bark and limbs like a herald of the coming doom! Was it you, Penny, who complained about adjacent trees?

Thats a shame when doing the road it s killing trees far away in the forest where big trees should be. Now the Woodland Trust not long ago sent me an email stating not to grow trees in our gardens but shrubs instead as the trees are stopping the polution from traffic rising as we are nearly grid locked with to many cars here now . My son heard it recently also to grow shrubs as so many have disappeared and we need shrubs . Yes trees make good shade they also stop the plants on the woodlands floor flowering a lot of Woodlands now here are being copiced to let the light through for the plants beneath.

Yes it is me complaing about over hanging trees in my garden mainly because of seeds and pigeon muck the leaves tangle in my wheel s of my chair and I cant get up my garden for leaves and pigeon muck getting in my wheels which then would spread all the inside of my house I get the leaves seeds all in my house soon as a door opens or a window then they get all in my washing on the washing line I then have to have it all rewashed with bugs crawling on the leaves stuck in my bedding especially also my neighbour at the rear of my house has complained to last year to housing. The leaves are blocking up the gutters and drain pipes of the houses too.