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 …
01 Sunday Sep 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, autumn, flowers, nature, seasons, wildflowers
Tags
#365DaysWild, Autumn Lady’s-tresses, British orchids, British wildflowers, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, orchids, Spiranthes spiralis
Happy (calendar) Autumn!
Today’s plant couldn’t be more appropriate – these are Autumn lady’s-tresses (Spiranthes spiralis). True to their name, they usually appear when the weather turns more autumnal, and their twirling spiral form apparently reminded their original namer of the ringlets once popular in women’s hairstyles.
Though they like to grow in very short turf, Autumn lady’s-tresses are themselves quite small and, surrounded as these were by other wildflowers, especially the superficially similar Eyebright, they weren’t easy to spot.
Luckily for me, when I was having an early wander around Cosmeston this morning, I bumped into a friend of a friend, who is extremely knowledgeable about the local flora, and he very kindly showed me where these gorgeous little orchids were growing.
17 Saturday Aug 2019
Posted in flowers, nature, wildflowers
Tags
British wildflowers, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Field scabious, Knautia arvensis, scabious, wildflowers
Most of the scabious I see in local parks and reserves is Devil’s-bit but there is a small area of Field scabious (Knautia arvensis) at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park. The insects love it for its nectar and the birds, in autumn, for its seeds. Can you see what’s lurking on the stem?
15 Thursday Aug 2019
Posted in flowers, nature, plants, wildflowers
One of my favourite plants, the Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) looks fabulous whether wreathed with its tiny lilac flowers, which insects of all kinds find delicious, or bare and dry and oh-so-sculptural during the winter months.
