A New Arrival

I never cease to be surprised by the wildflowers that pop up in the garden, especially when my attempts actually to grow plants deliberately so often come to grief (the latest casualties are some indoor herbs and the hawthorn hedge I hoped to grow at the top of the plot). These flowers have never appeared before. They are Bugle, a nice little plant which once had the reputation of being a wound-heal, good for ulcers and external application. However in parts of Germany it was thought that if you brought the flowers into the house it would soon burn down. It used to be called Thunder-and-Lightning in Gloucestershire and in Somerset, delightfully, Babies' Shoes.