Cornflower. Fractal created by Lynn. Used Fractal Explorer.

    Centaurea cyanus, commonly known as cornflower or bachelor's button, is an annual flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Europe. In the past, it often grew as a weed in cornfields (in the broad sense of "corn", referring to grains, such as wheat, barley, rye, or oats), hence its name. It is now endangered in its native habitat by agricultural intensification, particularly by over-use of herbicides. However, Centaurea cyanus is now also naturalised in many other parts of the world, including North America and parts of Australia through introduction as an ornamental plant in gardens and as a seed contaminant in crop seeds.

Centaurea cyanus is an annual plant growing to 40–90 cm tall, with grey-green branched stems. The leaves are lanceolate and 1–4 cm long. The flowers are most commonly an intense blue colour and arranged in flowerheads (capitula) of 1.5–3 cm diameter, with a ring of a few large, spreading ray florets surrounding a central cluster of disc florets. The blue pigment is protocyanin, which in roses is red. Fruits are approx. 3.5 mm long with 2–3 mm long pappus bristles. It flowers all summer.

 Centaurea cyanus. Fractal created by Alida. Used Apo. 

    Centaurea cyanus is native to temperate Europe, but is widely naturalized outside its native range. It has been present in Britain and Ireland as an archaeophyte (ancient introduction) since the Iron Age.^[ In the United Kingdom, it has declined from 264 sites to just 3 sites in the last 50 years. In reaction to this, the conservation charity Plantlife named it as one of 101 species it would actively work to bring 'back from the brink'.

In the County Clare (VC H9) in Ireland, Centaurea cyanus is recorded in arable fields as very rare and almost extinct, while in the North-East of Ireland, it was abundant before the 1930s.

    Centaurea cyanus is considered a noxious weed in arable crops, especially cereals and rapeseed. In winter wheat, one plant per m² can cause a yield loss of up to 30 kg / ha. Centaurea cyanus produces around 800 seed per plant, which are either shed shortly before the harvest of cereals, or they are threshed together with the cereal grains, contributing to the further spread of the species by the harvesting machinery and contaminated seed. The occurrence of Centaurea cyanus strongly decreased during the last decades due to improved seed cleaning, more intensive nitrogen fertilization and herbicide use. However, Centaurea cyanus has become more common in cropland due to an increase in crop rotations dominated by winter cereals and rapeseed and the use of more selective herbicides with a low effectiveness against Centaurea cyanus. In addition, the emergence of resistance against the herbicide class of sulfonylureas has been reported recently. Due to its strong roots, Centaurea cyanus is difficult to control mechanically in spring.

text below All About Cornflower (americanmeadows.com)

    Centaurea cyanus is a member of the Asteracea or Compositae family, which is a large and widespread group of plants that includes sunflowers, daisies, and asters. The genus is Centaurea, which includes both annual and perennial varieties. The following description focuses on C. cyanus, which is the annual flower, grown easily from seed and popular as a bedding plant or cut flower for home gardeners and florists.

Centaurea cyanus readily grow from seed and will thrive when sown indoors in pots 4 weeks before a frost-free date, then transplanted, or outdoors directly in the garden.

Centaurea cyanus is often used as a boutonniere in weddings, and because of their popularity, have been bred to produce plants for a wider range of blossom colors, including white, pink, red-purple, deep burgundy (sometimes called black) and the crisp blue which is the only true natural color.

Centaurea cyanus is called ‘Bluet’ in England and ‘Bluebonnet’ in Scotland, in North America they are sometimes called Ragged Robin, or Ragged Sailor because of the shaggy petals. They are one of the few true blue flowers that are also edible, imparting a sweet cucumber like taste. In the garden, they are visually stunning planted with brightly colored Nasturtiums, Marigold and California Poppies. In a vase, they blend well with Snapdragons, Sweet William and Love-in-a-Mist (or Nigella)

The Centaurea cyanus shape and brilliant blue color is similar to chicories, and has many associations throughout the world; it is the national flower of Estonia, representing the Estonian political party, and a symbol for social liberalism with the Swedish National Party. The blue cornflower also plays a role in German history, thanks to Queen Luis of Prussia who purportedly hid her children in a field of cornflowers. 

Centaurea cyanus blue was adopted for the uniforms of the Prussian army. In France, the cornflower is a common symbol for veterans of World War to wear, as a reminder of the 1918 Armistice, similar to the remembrance of poppies worn in the UK and Canada.

 

Jaskier polny/Ranuculus arvensis. Fractal created by Krys. She used INCENDIA

Ranunculus arvensis, the corn buttercup, devil-on-all-sides or scratch bur, is a plant species of the genus Ranunculus. It is native to Europe, but it can be found on other continents as an introduced species and sometimes a weed, including in North America and Australia. It was formerly a common annual arable weed in Britain, but is now rare there. It is most often found in moist places, such as spring puddles in meadows.

     

Clover. Fractal created by Krystyna. She used Incendia. 

4leaves Clover

Fractal created by Louise

She used Fractal Exolorer

    Trifolium arvense, commonly known as hare's-foot clover, rabbitfoot clover, stone clover or oldfield clover, is a flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae. This species of clover is native to most of Europe, excluding the Arctic zone, and western Asia, in plain or mid-mountain habitats up to 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) altitude. It grows in dry sandy soils, both acidic and alkaline, soil with dry-mesic conditions and is typically found at the edge of fields, in wastelands, at the side of roads, on sand dunes, and opportunistically in vineyards and orchards when they are not irrigated.

Trifolium arvense are common names for plants of the genus Trifolium (Latin, tres "three" + folium "leaf"), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution with highest diversity in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes on mountains in the tropics. They are small annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial herbaceous plants, typically growing up to 30 cm tall. The clover is the color of evergreen. The leaves are trifoliate (rarely quatrefoiled; see four-leaf clover), cinquefoil, or septfoil, with stipules adnate to the leaf-stalk, and heads or dense spikes of small red, purple, white, or yellow flowers; the small, few-seeded pods are enclosed in the calyx. Other closely related genera often called clovers include Melilotus (sweet clover) and Medicago (alfalfa or Calvary clover).

Symbolism

Shamrock, the traditional Irish symbol, which according to legend was coined by Saint Patrick for the Holy Trinity, is commonly associated with clover, although alternatively sometimes with the various species within the genus Oxalis, which are also trifoliate.

Clovers occasionally have four leaflets, instead of the usual three. These four-leaf clovers, like other rarities, are considered lucky. Clovers can also have five, six, or more leaflets, but these are rarer still. The clovers outer leaf structure varies in physical orientation. The record for most leaflets is 56, set on 10 May 2009. This beat the "21-leaf clover", a record set in June 2008 by the same discoverer, who had also held the prior Guinness World Record of 18.

A common idiom is "to be (or to live) in clover", meaning to live a carefree life of ease, comfort, or prosperity.

The cloverleaf interchange is named for the resemblance to the leaflets of a (four-leaf) clover when viewed from the air.

Bellis perennis. 

Fractal created by Krys

She used Kalles Fractaler

    Bellis may come from bellus, Latin for "pretty", and perennis is Latin for "everlasting". The name "daisy" is considered a corruption of "day's eye" because the whole head closes at night and opens in the morning. Chaucer called it "eye of the day". 

In Medieval times, Bellis perennis or the English Daisy was commonly known as "Mary's Rose". It is also known as bone flower. 

The English Daisy is also considered to be a flower of children and innocence. Daisy is used as a girl's name and as a nickname for girls named Margaret, after the French name for the oxeye daisy, marguerite. 

 Many related plants also share the name "daisy", so to distinguish this species from other daisies it is sometimes qualified as common daisy, lawn daisy or English daisy. Historically, it has also been commonly known as bruisewort and occasionally woundwort (although the common name woundwort is now more closely associated with Stachys). 

Bellis perennis is native to western, central and northern Europe, including remote islands such as the Faroe Islands but widely naturalised in most temperate regions including the Americas and Australasia. It is a perennial herbaceous plant with short creeping rhizomes and rosettes of small rounded or spoon-shaped leaves that are from 2–5 cm long and grow flat to the ground. 

The species habitually colonises lawns, and is difficult to eradicate by mowing – hence the term 'lawn daisy'. It exhibits the phenomenon of heliotropism where the flowers follow the position of the sun in the sky. 2–3 cm in diameter, with white ray florets (often tipped red) and yellow disc florets. Each inflorescence is borne on single leafless stems 2–10 cm, 15 cm tall. The capitulum, or disc of florets, is surrounded by two rows of green bracts known as "phyllaries". The achenes are without pappus.

 

 USES 
Culinare 
This daisy may be used as a potherb. Young leaves can be eaten raw in salads or cooked, noting that the leaves become increasingly astringent with age. Flower buds and petals can be eaten raw in sandwiches, soups and salads. 
It is also used as a tea and as a vitamin supplement. Herbal medicine Bellis perennis has astringent properties and has been used in herbal medicine. 
Medicine
In ancient Rome, the surgeons who accompanied Roman legions into battle would order their slaves to pick sacks full of daisies in order to extract their juice; bellum, Latin for "war", may be the origin of this plant's scientific name. Bandages were soaked in this juice and would then be used to bind sword and spear cuts. 

lern more from the text about Leuthanceum vulgare

When the spring starts its activity, weed are visible at once on the surface of the ground. They are usually small, delicate and so beautiful but it's very hard to throw they our gardens out. Nor from OFG:(

Is not sonchus arvensis beautiful? 

Dandelion. Fractal created by Lynn. She used Fractal Explorer.

Sonchus arvensis, the field milk thistle, field sowthistle, perennial sow-thistle, corn sow thistle, dindle, gutweed, swine thistle, or tree sow thistle, is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae. S. arvensis often occurs in annual crop fields and may cause substantial yield losses.

                        

Sonchus arvensis. Fractal created by Krys. She used Incendia

The plant grows up to 1.5 metres in height, with leaves 10-35 cm long and 4–14 cm wide.It produces conspicuous yellow flowerheads about 3–5 cm

 wide, which are visited by various types of insects—especially hoverflies of the genus Eristalis.

Sonchus arvensis is native to Europe, where it is widespread across most of the continent. It has also become naturalized in many other regions, and is considered an invasive noxious weed in some places, such as North America (including Prince Edward Island), Russia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Australia.

It grows in areas such as pastures, roadsides, bushlands and the shorelines of lakes, rivers and sea coast.

USES

The young leaves, when less than a few inches long and not bitter in taste, can be mixed with other greens to make salad. They can also be boiled in a small quantity of water, changed once. The plant can contain toxic nitrates.