California dreaming

Californian Yellow-eyed-grass (Sisyrinchium californicum)

When we moved in, there were a few small clumps of Californian Yellow-eyed-grass (Sisyrinchium californicum) growing along the edges of the pavement near the front door. These low, grass-like clumps have spread over the years, and now their starry little yellow flowers are sprinkled amongst the nearby paving slabs as well. As its name suggests, this is an introduced species; it's native to the western United States, and was first brought to the UK in 1796. Though perennial, it's short-lived. Fortunately, it spreads easily, both through underground rhizomes and through abundant, small, black seeds. Flowers bloom primarily from May through June (and in smaller numbers through the summer), hosting a nice mix of pollinators before closing around midday each day. The plant generally grows in wetlands and moist grasslands, so it's a bit surprising that it does as well as it does near the house. However, given that it evolved in a region with wet winters and cool summers with abundant cloud and fog, our typical Norfolk weather must suit it perfectly!

Very vetching

Common Vetch (Vicia sativa)

It's been a rather late spring on our cool, windy hill this year, but things are finally starting to really grow. And as we inch towards summer, Common Vetch (Vicia sativa) is one of the flowers beginning to make an appearance. It's rambling through some of the taller grasses in the pocket meadow and on the bank, its leafy tendrils coiling around the grass stems. As a legume (that is, a member of the pea family), it has a hidden superpower; it's capable of fixing its own nitrogen. That atmospheric element, which is vital for healthy plant growth, is out of reach for most plants. Legumes, on the other hand, contain bacteria in their roots which can convert nitrogen into nitrates, which help the plants to grow. And those nitrates become available to other plants when the legumes eventually die. Because of their nitrogen-fixing ability, legumes are often grown as "fertilizer factories", and Common Vetch was, for many years, one of the species used in agricultural crop rotation. Now, it's widespread across lowland Britain, preferring dry and sandy soils in grassland, farmland, waste areas and along the coast. The flowers are visited primarily by bumblebees, making them very welcome in our garden.