23rd June 2013 .... Mothing on hold ... New garden plant .. WELD

Not much happening moth-wise so I thought I would mention a new wildflower that appeared in the garden a while back.
It's Weld ... Reseda luteola
This one has grown to a little more than 2 metres high and is now in flower.
The flower spikes bear insignificant flowers but it is a magnificent plant all the same .....

Weld ... Reseda luteola

The roots of this plant were used in pre medieval times to make a yellow dye (Woad was used for blue and Madder for red).
It was grown commercially on a large scale in Kent, Essex and Yorkshire until recent times, but it took 3 - 6 pounds of weld to dye 1 pound of cloth and gave way to more efficient chemical dyes, becoming a plant of wasteland, field edges, walls and limestone quarries.

Weld flower spikes 

Weld ... lots of smaller flower spikes on the lower branches