The Oxlip, County Flower of Suffolk

 

Engraving of an Oxlip plant

This was the first glimpse of carving to come

I have resumed my early morning walks, generally through the Spring-green Abbey Gardens and found, just beyond the West Front old houses, past the olive tree in flower, the tall cherry tree stump, its branches removed several months ago. It had puzzled me previously as to why the denuded trunk had been left. But now I see why!! Local wood-carver, John Williams, has begun his skilful work on the tall stump, and an oxlip flower carving is emerging! In fact, his entire design includes the profile of the Green Man, an environmental guardian, presenting the oxlip in cupped hands, to Nathaniel Hudson who founded the Bury St Edmunds botanic gardens in 1831. The carver’s aim is to finish this imaginative arboreal work of art by July.

The five-flowered Oxlip or
Primula Elatior

The oxlip is, in fact, the county flower of Suffolk, voted as such in 2002 following a poll by wild plant conservation charity, Plantlife. Its biological name, Primula elatior, signifies its membership of the primula family while ‘elatior’ suggests height. Its preferred habitat is open woodland and meadows, with damp earth for its roots though it grows happily on cow dung. Its common name comes from the Old English ‘oxan’ and ‘slyppe’ which may well refer to the fact that oxlips are often found growing on dung and in boggy pastures used by cattle. Alas, there has been a gentle but steady reduction in the density of oxlip plants in East Anglian in woodland sites over several centuries. Changes in climate, woodland management practices and the intensity of deer grazing are all likely factors in its decline. Oxlips colonise newer woodlands very slowly so it is hoped that the current trend towards the protection and retention of remaining patches of ancient and semi-natural woodlands will bear results.

The oxlip is not to be confused with the cowslip (Primula veris) which can easily be mistaken for the oxlip but has deeper yellow flowers which don’t all face the same direction as is the case with the five oxlip flowers. Leaves are very similar in shape but taper and do not stop abruptly like those of the oxlip. Cowslips are also more common than oxlips and can be found across much of the UK. while the oxlip, with its rare and charming flowers, grows only in Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex, blooming in April and May. The Oxlip is a nationally scarce species and is classed as ‘near threatened’ in Britain. As an early flowering plant, it provides nectar for early emerging bees and butterflies which will in turn pollinate the plant. It was traditionally used to treat coughs and rheumatism though nowadays, its compounds are thought to have antibacterial properties.

The charming cowslip which seems to be appearing,
planted among the grasses in and around the
Abbey Gardens and surrounds. It seems more
robust in structure and more yellow in flower
than the Oxlip.

The Oxlip carving so fae.

POST SCRIPT

September 7th, 2024

Meanwhile, the leaves are a different
bright green

Suddenly, this last week, the artist has 
coloured the stems  of the carved oxslips
a very bright yellow-green and the flowers
white with yellow.

                                      Not at sure I like this brashier late addition; considering it!

River Danube Cruise

 April 4-11, 2024

Our sleek home for a week 

Esztergom
Day 2

There has been a hiatus with the blogs as I have been away cruising on the peaceful River Danube finishing, nourished by the cultural sights seen, but weakened by the week-long physical effort. Since returning I have been ill, unbelievably, with a second visitation from the dreaded bronchitis.

My first river cruise experience was on the whole, great! Loved our cabin on the highest deck, with its glass wall and door overlooking the river and the shores beyond. Could not believe that the huge boat with around 156 passengers on board, plus crew, could possibly glide along the river without sound or apparent engine control noise in the background. It rendered the many gazing hours aboard, silently magical. The cuisine was fantastic as one realised that this nautical palace was, in effect, a marvellous up-market hotel-on-water!! The daily visits to nearby cities or occasional monasteries were eye-opening in the discovery of such elegant, often huge, always imposing, Gothic and Baroque buildings and city centres spaces, Local guides at each stopping point were splendid too, so knowledgeable and informative.

Bratislava
Day 3

Durnstein and Melk Abbey
Day 4

 

However, this latter benefit was also two-sided, Janus-like, for Cait and me. Neither of us really liked being in Group Two with perhaps thirty others, for instance, trailing with our tiny radio-reception kits, listening to the guide and picking out the high spots of the view indicated, around us. We were torn! The information we wanted but not the ambient, accompanying audience. Each time, eventually, we quietly peeled off the edge of the group and did our own thing. I imagine we missed out on some interesting facts but we hugely enjoyed wandering the centres, stopping for coffees at outside tables to watch the world go by. We became, in effect, happy flaneuses, lucky to have sunny, warm weather each day and the delight in individually exploring new cultural sights.

 

 

Vienna showing the New Danube; Danube Island; the
old Danube [left to right]
Day 6.

Salzburg
Day 5

Budapest from the Danube
Day 7.

One of our favourite treasures to behold was the Blue Church in Bratislava which was inexplicably omitted by the group tours. It is the church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary and its style, sometimes known as Hungarian Secession, is repeated in the nearby grammar school on Grösslingová Street. Originally indeed, the Blue Church was the chapel for the Gymnasium. Both were designed by Budapest architect Edmund Lechner and built in the early twentieth century (the church foundation was laid in 1909 and consecrated on 11 October, 1913). Both the interior and exterior of the church are painted in shades of pale blue and decorated with blue majolica; even the roof is tiled with blue-glazed ceramics. 

Entrance to the Blue Church

The structure also incorporates a 36.8-metre round tower. Graceful lines and additional architectural attributes in the French Art Nouveau style popular in Europe between 1890 and 1910, give the building a truly fabulous look. It is believed that the architect, Eden Lechner, was probably a member of the Masonic fraternity. The interior of the church is literally strewn with various Masonic symbols: Here you will find the “all-seeing eye”, and the six-pointed star of Bethlehem, and the “radiant delta”, pentagrams and others. Even the choice of colours is associated by many precisely with the architect’s Masonic preferences. White for the Masons symbolizes purity, and blue is the colour of being chosen.

Blue pews continue the
colour scheme.

The 'all-seeing eye'
Mosaic above side entrance to the
Blue Church.

In the imposing cities we visited, all on or near the Danube, we saw so much to savour in the historical Gothic and Baroque buildings everywhere, but the charm of the Blue Church lingers.