Rhinanthus minor

Today's the day …………………….. for a welcome sight

It's not everyone's cup of tea and probably most people wouldn't even notice it was there - but we got quite excited when we saw it today, in a bit of the garden where it has never been before.

It's the wonderful Yellow Rattle - an annual plant that thrives in grasslands, living a semi-parasitic life by feeding off the nutrients in the roots of nearby grasses.  In so doing, it eventually allows more delicate, traditional species to push their way through - which is just what we would like to encourage. 

It gets its name from the fact that, when the flowers fade, the brown calyxes in which the tiny seeds ripen, give a distinctive 'rattle' when they shake in the wind.  It's more than welcome in this garden ....................