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Mystery guess #18 – the answer

Petasites japonicus

Greetings. Many thanks to everyone who took part in Mystery guess #18. Some said the close-up pic was a mahonia, while another blogger thought it might by Primula denticulata. Well, I’m delighted to announce that Joseph Tychonievich at Greensparrow Gardens blog was bang on the money with his mighty guess of Petasites japonicus. This answer was ably seconded by Rob, but as you know, there can only be one winner in this game, so Joseph has the honour of being the first Mystery Guess of the year. Well done. Now the technical bit. I spotted several clumps of petasites around the large pond at Hodsock Priory in Nottinghamshire. The plant itself heralds from Asia and is most odd, with the flowers developing in late winter before the lettuce like foliage. Good luck next time folk!

Mystery guess #18

Guess correctly and win...

Happy New Year!!! What’d ya mean it’s February already? Why didn’t anybody tell me? Ah well, since I haven’t posted anything since mid-December, I thought it best to offer you my best wishes for a great year ahead. Anyway, enough of the salutations. I’d like to announce that I’ve finally woken from my non-blogging slumber and hope to be able to write a little more often than I have of late.

To get things started I won’t bother telling you about some of the gardens I’ve visited recently, the celebrities I’ve spotted on my travels or reveal any salacious gossip I’ve been privy to. Oh no. I thought I’d treat to you something really, really special. Yes, you’ve guessed it, it’s a Mystery Guess – the web-based quiz where I post a macro lens shot of something I’ve seen and challenge you to guess what the hell it is.

Now you may think this looks like a close-up of a compound eye of tsetse fly with conjunctivitis, but it’s not. It’s actually part of a plant that I spotted in Hodsock Priory in Nottinghamshire a few days ago. Do you know the common or botanical name of the plant? If you do, post your answer below and even if you don’t, please take an educated guess or throw caution to the wind and take a wild stab in the dark. I’ll post the answer tomorrow or possibly the next day. Good luck Mystery guessers!

Normal service will resume soon

Please do not adjust your sets, Martyn Cox is currently trying to fix the fault

Please do not adjust your sets, Martyn Cox is currently trying to fix the fault

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