Wot Thuh ‘Eh-ow Is That Anyways?

Discussion in 'Flower Gardening' started by Sjoerd, Sep 30, 2022.

  1. Sjoerd

    Sjoerd Mighty Oak

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    We were digging up the area where the bee hives were and came upon this monster:
    FA149D5A-C2BE-4CF3-BE6C-98DF2A859F1B.jpeg

    Any idea wot thuh eh-ow idiz?
    More to come.
     
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  2. Tetters

    Tetters Young Pine

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    It's clearly a dead garden gnome. It needs to be buried again with a stone. Name to add - ''unknown garden helper''
    I would keep the new resting place away from prying eyes if I were you, otherwise you'll end up with a full cemetery and no room for veggies. :D
     
  3. Cayuga Morning

    Cayuga Morning Strong Ash Plants Contributor

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    I quite agree with Testers, a Garden Gnome. But, I hear they are like possums, great at playing dead. I bet if you tickle him, you'll see a twitch. So you'll need to figure out if he's a helpful Gnome or a malevolent one. Important distinction. Maybe Google that for help.
     
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  4. Melody Mc.

    Melody Mc. Young Pine

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    The private resting place of the Kraken's secret love child. Best not disturb it too much....you live quite close to the ocean...
    :smt064:sete_010:
     
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  5. Zigs

    Zigs Young Pine

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    That's the trouble with Gnomes, had the same problem with this Gnomes Graveyard :eek:

    holiday016.jpg

    On the other hand, I might suspect a Bryony root :worried:
     
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  6. Tetters

    Tetters Young Pine

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    I found this picture online ....''bryony root'' upload_2022-10-1_19-25-26.jpeg
     
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  7. Melody Mc.

    Melody Mc. Young Pine

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    Yikes...I looked that up - .... "A poisonous plant that is a purgative and will give you terrible diarrhoea. " ( As the Pepto Bismal commercial is now her earworm.....)

     
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  8. Tetters

    Tetters Young Pine

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    I think we may have solved this one @Sjoerd - You did say ''more to come'' ??
     
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  9. Sjoerd

    Sjoerd Mighty Oak

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    Bryonia dioica.
    upload_2022-10-3_11-39-55.jpeg

    Well, Tetters you are spot on. I grew these from seed and when I planted my plantlets along the rack there, they looked like little parsnips, shorter than the length of my hand. Over the years they began disappearing. I finally discovered it was a huge brown rat that was digging down in the winter and eating the roots. So, this is the last of this wonderful plant.

    It was such a shame to have to remove this popular “pollinator plant”, but there are some ladies up the way that have it filling their garden fencing. I am clearing this patch to do more veggies. Before the bees, it was used for rotated veg so the patch will return to its original purpose. I have a bitter-sweet feeling about it all.

    But all that Hx aside, again congrats on your investigations and correct conclusion. Well done you.

    68E4AA51-7B85-46D5-AAAB-BCC234317250.jpeg

    And at the end of the excision:
    5405D6B9-6C0D-4391-B02E-FB55CAE48249.jpeg

    Well, I cannot find the rest of the piccies that I took and downloaded. But as the Bride said, there isn’t a lot more you can show and not be boring. Chuckle.
     
    Last edited: Oct 3, 2022
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  10. Tetters

    Tetters Young Pine

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    Thanks for the congrats Sjoerd, but it was actually Zigs who was the clever one - I really thought it was a dead and buried garden gnome :snicker: I believe in fairies too!
    It is great though to have a puzzle or two to solve, and a good way of learning something new as well - so do please keep 'em coming.
     
  11. Zigs

    Zigs Young Pine

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    I thought it might be :D

    Bryony is also known as Devil's Turnips :eek:

    I remember a few years back, Ray Mears noticed the similarity between this European root and the Australian Cheeky Yam. This had been eaten by the Aborigines after processing to remove the dangerous calcium oxalates.

    He and his mate boiled up and washed our Bryony roots the same way the Australians did and then sent it off to a lab to get checked out. (They didn't eat it just for the telly program :D) The processing had removed the oxalates so it probably would have been ok to eat.

    Don't go eating one without processing, not if you've got kidneys :eek:
     
  12. Sjoerd

    Sjoerd Mighty Oak

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    An interesting note is that here in Nederland there is a solitary bee whose only food source is the Bryonia. We call it, “Heggenrankbij” (Andrena florea). The female takes nectar and the male takes the pollen.
     
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