White Sweet violet

16 Sunday Mar 2025

Posted by sconzani in flowers, spring, wildflowers

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British wildflowers, Spring colour, spring wildflowers, Sweet violet, Viola odorata, Viola odorata var. dumetorum, violet, white Sweet violet

It’s violet time and, though I’ve blogged about violets several times before, I simply can’t resist sharing once again a photo of what for me are the prettiest of the violets, the white variations. The only white-coloured violets are Sweet violets (Viola odorata) and there are two white subspecies, Viola odorata var. dumetorum and Viola odorata var. imberbis. The violets in my photograph are the former, and I only know of two places locally where these grow. The latter variation doesn’t have a ‘beard’ (the tiny hairs within the flower), and I’ve still not found any of those.

Blooming Spurge-laurel

09 Sunday Mar 2025

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British flora, Daphne laureola, Lavernock Nature Reserve, native Daphne, Spurge-laurel

The highlight of my first visit of the year to Lavernock Nature Reserve was seeing, and smelling, the Spurge-laurel (Daphne laureola) in bloom.

This beautiful plant is one of only two Daphnes that are native to Britain; the other is Mezereon (Daphne mezereum), a plant I’ve never seen and which has only been recorded once in the wider Cardiff area, and that was 25 years ago.

Though its flowers are lovely and emit a scent like honey, they are quite understated, and it is the glossy evergreen of this shrub’s fleshy leaves that make Spurge-laurel stand out.

Winter 9 plus

23 Sunday Feb 2025

Posted by sconzani in flowers, wildflowers, winter

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British wildflowers, wildflowers in bloom, winter wildflowers

As poet Robbie Burns wrote ‘The best laid schemes … gang aft agley’, and such was my experience this week. I’d planned to go for a long walk today to search out as many wildflowers in bloom as I could but the weather has intervened, with forecast strong wind and heavy rain warnings. So, here are nine flowers I grabbed in a short walk yesterday, though I didn’t photograph all I saw. I know, for example, that Petty spurge, Groundsel, one of the bittercresses, Snow drops and Three-cornered leek, as well as Ivy-leaved toadflax, were among those I missed. Still, it was nice to see my first Sweet violets of the year and a little Red dead-nettle, and there’s always next Sunday …

Greeting the vernal sun

09 Sunday Feb 2025

Posted by sconzani in flowers, spring, wildflowers, winter

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British wildflowers, crocus, Crocuses, Spring colour, Spring crocuses, spring flowers

Though a tremor of the winter
Did shivering through them run;
Yet they lifted up their foreheads
To greet the vernal sun.

And the sunbeams gave them welcome,
As did the morning air—
And scattered o’er their simple robes
Rich tints of beauty rare.

Soon a host of lovely flowers
From vales and woodland burst;
But in all that fair procession
The crocuses were first.

First to weave for Earth a chaplet
To crown her dear old head;
And to beauty the pathway
Where winter still did tread.

~ four verses from the poem ‘The Crocuses’ by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911)

Winter 12

02 Sunday Feb 2025

Posted by sconzani in flowers, wildflowers, winter

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British wildflowers, winter colour, winter wildflowers, winter-flowering wildflowers

Some sub-zero overnight temperatures have knocked back many wildflowers but I was pleased still to find these 12 species in flower.

The first of this year’s Cow parsley, Creeping buttercup, and ever reliable Daisy

Dandelion, Field speedwell (I had to wait for some sunshine for these to open), and glorious Gorse

Groundsel, Honeysuckle (barely, but I’ll take it), and Lesser celandine

Primrose, Shepherd’s-purse, and the deliciously smelling Winter heliotrope

First Snowdrops

26 Sunday Jan 2025

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British wildflowers, signs of spring, snowdrop, winter wildflowers

The snowdrop and primrose our woodlands adorn,
And violets bathe in the wet o’ the morn
~ from Robert Burns’ poem ‘My Nanie’s Awa’, translated in to modern English

Have you seen your first Snowdrops yet? I spotted small clumps in two locations this week, surrounded by mud rather than snow, but they were still heartwarming to see.

Early bloomers

15 Wednesday Jan 2025

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Alexanders, Early blooming wildflowers, Hazel catkins, Hazel flowers, Three-cornered leek

I was struggling to find a subject for today’s blog until I went out for my daily walk and found three plants in bloom that I hadn’t expected to see, especially after our recent very cold weather.

250112 alexanders

Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum) thrives in my coastal location and, though it does die back in the colder weather, it comes away again very quickly. Still, I hadn’t expected to find flowers quite as early as January.

250112 three cornered leek

The same is true of Three-cornered leek (Allium triquetrum). The leaves begin growing in early winter but flowers don’t normally appear until spring, in early April.

250112 hazel

And this third plant is Hazel. The male catkins often open early, sometimes as early as December, but, in my experience, the female flowers don’t poke their vibrant pink ‘feelers’ until a bit later … yet here they are, in mid January.

Cyclamen at the cemetery

06 Sunday Oct 2024

Posted by sconzani in autumn, flowers

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autumn colour, cyclamen, flowers at the cemetery, mass flowering of cyclamen, naturalised plants

These are probably not wildflowers in the strict sense of the word, but more likely the offspring of a single plant that was placed on a grave in memory of a lost loved one. Yet, over the years, these cyclamen have escaped the confines of the concrete edging around the grave, to spread and naturalise in the surrounding grass and across neighbouring graves, providing this glorious display of autumn colour. What better way to celebrate the life of those we lose than with flowering plants as beautiful as these!

241006 cyclamen

Meadow saffron

15 Sunday Sep 2024

Posted by sconzani in autumn, flowers, wildflowers

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autumn colour, Autumn crocus, Colchium autumnale, Meadow saffron

Meadow saffron (Colchicum autumnale), also known as Autumn crocus even though it’s not actually a crocus, is currently providing visitors to Roath Park Lake with a magnificent display of colour.

240915 autumn crocus (1)

As well as the grassy area near Roath Lake, these gorgeous plants bloom annually in Cardiff’s Bute Park. I’ve blogged about them before, and provided more information, back in 2016 (The Naked Ladies of Roath and Bute, 9 September).

Water mint

18 Sunday Aug 2024

Posted by sconzani in flowers, insects, wildflowers

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British wildflowers, insects on Water mint, Meadow Brown, Mentha aquatica, Small copper, Volucella zonaria, Water mint

Is there anything more delicious on a hot sunny day than the refreshing smell of mint, whether it be in a long cold drink or when you’re out walking and brush against the leaves of one of the many species of mint that grow wild in the UK.

240818 water mint (a)

In the damper areas of my local walks, Water mint (Mentha aquatica) grows in abundance, and it’s now in full flower, a boon for hungry insects as some of the earlier summer flowers go to seed. I occasionally bring a few leaves home to infuse with a herbal tea that I leave to chill in the fridge but mostly I just enjoy the sight and smell of this pretty plant and the many insects that feast on it (in this case, Meadow brown and Small copper butterflies, and a Volucella zonaria hoverfly).

240818 water mint (b)