Hello, Thanks everyone :) Wanye - I too finally came to the conclusion that it was a blotched water snake. I did not get help from my local wildlife center. I sent in the image and was told that it was a dimaond back. I knew this was not correct. I was then told it was the blotched water snake by - Clint at Texassnakes.net. He was very nice and quite helpful (SUPER NICE GUY). The animal control officer that I sent the image to, said it was a yellow belly water snake, whatever - I dont care as long as it is not a cottonmouth. I have let the snake alone - and will purchase some tongs if I need to relocate it because my husband just cannot come to grips with a water snake in our yard. Otherwise - it is free to live in my garden. Besides with the water source, if he were to kill this one, there would just be more anyway, especially since I have seen the babies for two summers now. Me and my fourteen year old daughter are perfectly ok with being bitten by a non-venomous snake. It only hurts for a little while, not much more than a bee sting in my humble opinion. Speeking of bee stings - I hate to kill things - so much -that a couple of years ago - I moved a honey bee hive (see I truly do hate to kill) I called a couple of beekeepers, and no one would come out - so I moved them myself :)-(Thank God my husband was working in Japan - he would have totally freaked out on this one too) Only ended up with two stings - and that is because when I went back for the second load of bees, guess I did not get the queen the first time. I was too lazy to tape my sleeves to my gloves. I moved them a couple of blocks away to a open field. I looked so funny carrying a box of bees, dressed all in white - and having a hat and my husbands old jersey stretched over it, I had to peek through the holes in the shirt. (my home made version of a bee keepers suit:) I can only imagine what the people driving down the main road where thinking!!! Back to the snakes. I would like to know however - are they agressive by nature, or only if provoked? Meaning, do they try to reatreat if given the chance, or do they stand their ground - there are only a few of these types snakes that I am aware of, but not sure about the water snakes. Thanks for all the help - RT

That's very interesting! I admit I was leaning towards grapefruit based on how the skin looks in that photo of it in your hand (looked more like grapefruit than an orange to me, but then again I eat a disproportionate amount of grapefruit....) so congrats! As to the variety, could be a lot of it being seedless hopefully narrows it down. It might be a Thompson Pink (which ironically isn't usually pink) or a Marsh Seedless?

Thank you for the speedy responses, much appreciated! Thank you for the identifications Imontestella - very helpful! I did wonder about the glass jars, they are very decorative but I was worried they may not be the most suitable potting option. I will definately consider re-potting, maybe once I've done a little bit more reasearch. I am living in the South East of England, and the plants are currently on a South facing window sill. Taking your advice rina, I shall move them to a location with less sunlight until I've put them in more appropriate containers. Thank you again for the comments!

Here is a comment on differentiating the two species of Gentian mentioned here: "Bottle Gentian [Gentian andrewsii] is a wierd-looking plant with a striking appearance. The adorable flowers are often deep violet, although other shades also occur, even in the same cluster of flowers. The only other gentian that this species can be confused with (among those that occur in Illinois) is Gentiana saponaria (Soapwort Gentian). Usually, Soapwort Gentian is pale violet or greyish blue, while the interconnecting fringe of the corolla is shorter than, or equal to, the length of the lobes. This interconnecting fringe is always taller than the lobes in the corolla of the Bottle Gentian. Sometimes the segments of the calyx curve outward in the Bottle Gentian, while they remain reasonably upright in the Soapwort Gentian, but this is not always a reliable distinction." Source: http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/bt_gentianx.htm Just Life, where are you? For instance, I know that the similar plant I saw growing in a ditch along a class 6 (woods road) through a friend's property is most likely G. andrewsii since G. saponaria doesn't seem to grow in NH according to BONAP. Here's a link to the page with all the gentians on BONAP - there's a link to the color key at the top, and if you click any particular map it will open larger. Both bloom in late summer/fall, and both are happy with damp soil, though G. saponaria is also happy with average soil moisture.