Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. When I arrived at the South London Botanical Institute today a discussion of Bible lore was in progress prompted by this pot of Trachystemon orientalis. It's sometimes called Oriental Borage (though it hails from the Balkans and Turkey and it isn't Borage). It's also known as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob hence talk of the Scriptures which didn't shed any light on how T. orientalis came to acquire that name.

 Pulmonaria officinalis is probably my favourite flower of early spring so it was a pleasure to see it in numerous spots around the garden. P. officinalis has various common names, the most common being Lungwort. Another is... Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In this case I believe it might be a reference to the flowers changing colour from red to pink to blue as they mature but common names are frequently obscure and elusive.

 Primroses (Primula vulgaris) were gleaming in the sun all over the place. I have all of the above species at home but the Primroses are slow getting going for some reason and there are only a few Lungworts so it was good to get my fix at the SLBI.

The airy flowers of Cardamine quinquefolia were flourishing in several large patches. Another one I have in the garden which has yet to show itself! Plants have good and bad years according to the conditions (and perhaps last year's drought has left its mark?) so I hope C. quinquefolia hasn't gone for good.

 I helped out with some mulching of the beds at the front of the building where several of these triffids are doing well. This is Echium pininana sometimes called Giant Bugloss or Tree Echium which isn't far wrong as it grows to be three or four metres tall with countless small blue flowers in summer.
 It's a biennial (or sometimes triennial) that originates in the Canary Islands. Intriguingly it has been appearing in parts of the UK as a self-seeded wild thing (and each one must deposit thousands of seeds after flowering). I see it frequently in South London though less so north of the river. I have even seen it in Dorset villages. I assume it is naturalising in milder areas and becoming increasingly cold tolerant as a species i.e. the progeny that have greater resistance to cold will be more likely to survive and in turn pass this on as a genetic trait.
 Some ecologists bemoan the spread of "alien" species but actually I like it when the aliens have landed. The arrival of this one must be good news for bees. Giant Bugloss is a decent enough common name for E. pininana but perhaps I'll start calling it Abraham, Isaac and Jacob- see if it catches on.