The Purple Flowered Phacelia (Fiddleneck)

Driving down the road in my village, I spotted a lovely purple field. At first, I thought it was lavender, but we've not had lavender in the village for many, many years. What I'd spotted was actually phacelia.

I pulled up to take a better look. I even liked the rusty gate to the field. What is it about rusty gates? They are very photogenic with the weathering of the metal and paint, it can create interesting patterns and textures. I expect that if the gates could talk they could tell a tale or two who have walked through them or climbed over them.

The plant is actually native to the USA and Central America and has many names, such as purple tansy and fiddleneck.

Phacelia is fast growing, and bees and other insects love it as it is a good food source. It also acts as a natural fertiliser for farmer's fields. Source

I've never seen this amount in a field so perhaps its a new thing around here.

In the field, I also spotted a few different flowers and weeds. The common red soldier beetle is usually found on daisies, cow parsley, and hogweed, during this time of year. The field looked really nice so I'm glad I stopped to have a closer look.