Property News · August 19, 2017

All hail the magical power of lady’s mantle


Alchemilla by name, alchemical by nature… here’s a plant to transform any gardenJust before the snow line by a tumbling mountain stream grew some lady’s mantle, Alchemilla vulgaris. Of all the things I wandered through in those alpine meadows – the orchids, the arnica, the aconites and the clouds of butterflies – this was perhaps the least impressive. “Oh, that old garden plant,” I thought. Yet as the leaves caught the stream’s spray and rolled the mercurial water into droplets, I was struck by its brilliance.There are three main species that are widely available. A. mollis from the Caucasus is the best known, with its lime-yellow flowers. Dwarf lady’s mantle, A. erythropoda, comes from the Carpathian mountains and the Balkans and has blue-green, greyish foliage and yellow flowers. And finally, Alpine lady’s mantle, A. alpina, has delicate grey-green leaves that are edged with silver, and tiny yellow green flowers. Continue reading…

Source : theguardian.com
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