Back home again

Today was a dreary, drizzly day and I'd promised to lead a BPS group round Arduaine Garden, BPS meaning British Pteridological Society, the oldest fern club in the world. 

As it turned out there were only four of us, plus the new Head Gardener who joined us for an hour in the morning. We had a great day in spite of the weather and our various aches and pains, but I didn't take many photographs, so this offering of Rubus lineatus is the best I can do. 

This raspberry with the beautiful silver underside is native to Nepal and I well remember collecting seed of it in 1990 - the raspberries were yellow. We'd camped on a school yard at comparatively low altitude and spent the rest of the day climbing to a significantly higher altitude, where we camped again. The following morning I woke to find my new Ventnor Botanic Garden tee-shirt covered in blood; I'd unknowingly brought a leech up with me and it had spent the night sucking blood from my chest!

I will always remember this Rubus!

Do look back over the last few days if you're bored!