5 things to discover about the sweet Forget Me Not flowers

Finches Lane Wild flower Florilegium of Britain and Ireland

Myosotis Sylvatica

The delightful azure blue flower that brightens up our gardens in the late Spring and early summer has a few secrets that I have unearthed. What I thought I knew about this charming flower is only a scratch on the surface of all there is to know. I will share a little bit of what I've found.

5 things you might not know about the wild flower -

the Forget Me Not

1. The first recent discovery I've made is that it's quite an ingenious little plant!

   When we examine the circles at the centre (the fornices), they have two distinct colours.

   These small coloured rings serve as nectar guides for pollinators, transitioning from bright yellow to white once insects have visited them, indicating that no nectar remains.

2. The charmingly named Forget Me Not is also referred to as scorpion grasses because they gradually unfurl as they grow, which reminded the original botanists of scorpion tails.

3. There isn't one type of Forget-Me-Not - there are more than five!

   The five you might see are:

   Woodland or garden (seen in the photos already). The biggest flower and the tallest stem. Leaves, stalk and seed cases are hairy.

   Water (myosotis scorpioides) is very similar to the Woodland but not hairy and lives in damp soil or streams.

   Field (Myosotis Arvensis) or Common, very pretty but much, much smaller flowers and not such a tall stem - hairy again though. Annoying when the dog runs through them and gets all the seeds stuck in their coats, they take ages to brush out.

   Changing (myosotis discolour) The small flowers are true to the name - the petals start yellow/cream and change to pink and blue.

   Early (myosotis ramosissima) its petals are a similar blue at edges but it fades to white nearer the centre and the petals are blunted and slightly notched.

4. It's latin name 'Myosotis' means mouse ear, which is referring to the fluffy rounded leaves.

5. There are three other plants which are very similar but aren't Forget me nots - Siberian Bugloss, Green Alkanet and Speedwells

Even more information:

The plant's seeds are small, black, and glossy, and their seed cases can attach to clothing and animal fur. My garden is abundant with these charming flowers, and the dogs frequently get covered in the seed pods. The plants are simple to cultivate since they self-seed annually. You can also purchase the seeds and scatter them in May and June for the next year.

If you love Forget Me Not flowers like I do, check out the Forget Me Not flower patterns in the Missy Rose Collection at our shops, at the moment we have wallpaper, fabrics and home wares..