22 Wednesday Jan 2020
Posted in flowers, nature, wildflowers, winter
I saw my first Snowdrops of 2020 today in Cardiff’s Bute Park.
Candlemas bells, Mary’s taper, Snow piercer, February fairmaids, Dingle-dangle – all vernacular names for Snowdrops, according to my Flora Britannica. In Welsh, Snowdrop is Eirlys (pronounced Ire-liss), a lovely word that’s sometimes used as a girl’s name. How pretty!
22 Sunday Dec 2019
Posted in flowers, nature, plants, wildflowers, winter
Tags
#WildflowerHour, #winter10, British wildflowers, wildflowers in bloom, winter wildflowers, winter-blooming wildflowers
It may be the shortest day of the year but I’ve found more blooming wildflowers this week than in the previous weeks of wildflowerhour’s winter 10 challenge. Here we have: a Buttercup species; Daisy; one of the many Dandelion species; Hemlock water dropwort; still quite a bit of Herb Robert about; Ivy-leaved toadflax is flourishing in the wet weather; a Knapweed; a lovely surprise, a couple of plants of Musk mallow; Oxeye daisy; plenty of Petty spurge; surprisingly, a few Primroses already in flower (though most partly eaten); Common ragwort; Red clover; quite a lot of Red valerian; what I assume is Sea radish; plenty of Shepherd’s purses; one of the Sowthistles; Violets – sweet, I think; a Thistle species; White clover; an umbellifer which I think is Wild carrot; quite a lot of Winter heliotrope in flower now; Yarrow; and, a bright burst of Yellow corydalis.
08 Sunday Dec 2019
Posted in flowers, nature, plants, wildflowers, winter
Tags
#WildflowerHour, #winter10, British flora, British wildflowers, wildflowers in bloom, winter wildflowers
Though my title is ‘Winter 10’, I’ve actually found 18 wildflowers in bloom during this week’s meanderings. They are: Bittercress species, Black nightshade, Bristly oxtongue, Daisy, a Gorse species, Groundsel, one of the Hawkbits, Herb Robert, the invasive Himalayan balsam, still one flower of Meadow crane’s-bill, Petty spurge, Common ragwort, Red clover, Red valerian, one of the umbellifer species, Winter heliotrope (this bud is not quite open but I couldn’t reach the one that was), and Yarrow.
My apologies for the sometimes blurry images and my fingers appearing in some shots – it’s been a week of frequent gusty winds and rain, not conducive to macro photography.
24 Thursday Oct 2019
Posted in autumn, flowers, nature, wildflowers
Everything was dripping today as my little bit of south Wales was cloaked in heavy fog. I headed down to Cardiff Bay hoping some interesting birds might be sitting out the murkiness but, if they were, I couldn’t see them. Plants were easier to spot so, as I walked back home up the zigzag path, I kept an eye out for which wildflowers were still in bloom. I was pleasantly surprised with the numbers I found, and the water droplets added a pretty touch to some of my photos, I think.
22 Tuesday Oct 2019
Posted in autumn, flowers, nature, wildflowers
I was surprised, but delighted to find this Honeysuckle plant still in flower today.
Did you know its scent, which is strongest at night, can be detected by pollinating moths a quarter of a mile away (Flora Britannica)? Did you know its vernacular name is woodbine (I know at least one of you did) and the plant is mentioned in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream:
Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my arms ..
So doth the woodbine, the sweet honeysuckle
16 Wednesday Oct 2019
Determined to make the most of a few hours of sunlight yesterday, I headed along the south Wales coastal path to see what I could find, taking just my small camera as more rain was forecast.
Vegetation along the path had been severely cut back since my last walk that way, which meant that wildflowers were few and far between, though I did find a few plants of Hedge woundwort (Stachys sylvatica) still flowering.
And while trying to get some close-ups of the flowers, I had the distinct feeling I was being watched. A tiny, early instar flower bug (not sure which species) was sitting atop one of the flowers and, as if curious, it pranced across from the further flower to the nearer to see what I was doing. Cute!
28 Saturday Sep 2019
Posted in autumn, flowers, nature, wildflowers
Tags
autumnal wildflowers, British wildflowers, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, flowering in September, wildflowers in bloom
Last Monday, on the day of the autumnal equinox, I decided to see how many still-flowering wildflowers I could find during my wander around the east and west paddocks at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park. My total was 33 – though I probably missed a few, I thought that number was impressive for the time of year. Here they are …
12 Thursday Sep 2019
Posted in autumn, flowers, nature, wildflowers
It occurs to me that I should be posting about the last of the summer flowers before they disappear for another year. So, here’s a pretty little thing I always enjoy seeing – it’s Scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis).
According to the First Nature website, ‘The genus name Anagallis comes from Greek and means “to delight again” – a reference to the reopening of the flowers each day when the sun comes out. The specific epithet arvensis means “of cultivated land”, which habitat is indeed commonly graced by these lovely little wildflowers.’
08 Sunday Sep 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, insects, nature, wildflowers
Tags
#365DaysWild, Bog hoverfly, British hoverflies, Devil's-bit scabious, hoverfly, Lavernock Nature Reserve, pink scabious, Sericomyia silentis
It looks a bit like a wasp but this black-and-yellow-striped minibeastie is a hoverfly with the rather tongue-twisting name Sericomyia silentis. Perhaps Bog hoverfly would be easier but, in my opinion, its common name doesn’t do this little beauty justice.
I spent a couple of hours today at Lavernock Nature Reserve, where the Devil’s-bit scabious is looking simply stunning and is attracting myriads of insects. I took lots of butterfly photos but thought to post one of the other little critters today. The Devil’s-bit is usually a lilac colour but some at Lavernock are this subtle shade of pink instead. Its nectar obviously tastes just as good!
03 Tuesday Sep 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, autumn, flowers, insects, nature, wildflowers
Tags
bees, Devil's-bit scabious, hoverflies, insects on scabious, Painted Lady, scabious, Small white butterfly
At this time of year, the delicate lilac tinge of Devil’s-bit scabious casts its imperial purple shadow across the meadows at Cosmeston and at Lavernock. I love it, and I’m not the only one.
It’s proving extremely popular as a late-summer early-autumn source of nectar for all manner of bees, butterflies and hoverflies. Here are a few I’ve seen in recent days …
