So I expected the wildflowers to come a lot later this year than last year. Imagine my surprise when I looked at last year's blog and saw my Siberian Squill entry was dated April 20! And I actually noticed the flowers beginning to bloom around April 10. In 2012, the Squill first showed up on March 19, but that was a very warm year.
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| Siberian Squill |
Despite the name, the plant is not native to Siberia, but it does come from southwestern Russia, the Caucasus, and Turkey. It has also been given the Award of Garden Merit award by the Royal Horticultural Society, according to Wikipedia. To qualify for this award, the plant
- must be available horticulturally
- must be of outstanding excellence for garden decoration or use
- must be of good constitution
- must not require highly specialist growing conditions or care
- must not be particularly susceptible to any pest or disease
- must not be subject to an unreasonable degree of reversion.
Giving an award to a wildflower seems a bit odd, but coming from a "royal" society it fits, since, like wildflowers, royalty gets accolades simply for being there and looking good.
