22 Wednesday Nov 2023
Posted in flowers, wildflowers
≈ Comments Off on It’s spring!
Spring? Oh, wait. We haven’t had winter yet. Well, I found my first flowering Primrose – the traditional harbinger of springtime –lurking under the trees and shrubs in the scruffier part of a local park during today’s walk. Although it has been even wetter than usual this autumn, it has been very mild so perhaps that has fooled some plants into thinking spring is just around the corner.
19 Sunday Nov 2023
Posted in flowers, plants, wildflowers
≈ Comments Off on Hop trefoil
At first I hesitated to name this Hop trefoil (Trifolium campestre) as it’s a new plant for me but, when I posted some photos online, I got a thumbs up from a botanist and, looking at the ID guidance on the Naturespot website, I think it meets the criteria:
Short, hairy, erect plant. Trifoliate, leaflets oval, narrowed towards the base, the central one short stalked. Flowers pale yellow, becoming pale brown eventually, 4 to 5 mm long in small, globose, stalked heads to 15 mm across
And
… Larger and paler than Lesser Hop-trefoil, and turns brownish with age. Both trefoils are similar to Black Medick in flower, but Black Medick leaves are much more hairy and have an apiculate point (i.e a short fine ‘needle’ from the end of the leaflet)
12 Sunday Nov 2023
Posted in autumn, flowers, wildflowers
I was surprised at the start of the week to find wildflowers blooming that should long since have gone to seed and that inspired me to see just how many wild flowers I could find during this week’s walks. The answer, of course, is in the title of this post – 59! That is to say, I have 59 images to share but there were a few more plants in flower that I didn’t manage, for one reason or another, to photograph. Some wildflowers were quite unexpected, like the Carline thistle that had one flower open and 3 more buds still to develop; some were abundant, like the Yellow-wort still standing tall in a field at Cosmeston; others, like the Common stork’s-bill, were the last survivors of the strimmers that have been very active this month. Here they all are …
29 Sunday Oct 2023
Posted in flowers, wildflowers
≈ Comments Off on Crane’s-bill vs stork’s-bill
Tags
British wildflowers, Common Stork's-bill, crane's bills, Erodium cicutarium, Geranium pratense, Meadow crane's-bill, stork's-bills
It occurred to me today, after seeing both Common stork’s-bill (Erodium cicutarium) and Meadow crane’s-bill (Geranium pratense) still flowering locally, to wonder what the difference is between stork’s-bills and crane’s-bills. According to my Flora Britannica, it’s to do with the length of the birds’ bills, i.e. the seed cases of the stork’s-bills are longer than those of the crane’s-bills. The photos below show the relative differences, Meadow crane’s-bill above, Common stork’s-bill below.
And because they both have lovely flowers, albeit of very different sizes (Common stork’s-bill is a tiny plant compared to Meadow crane’s bill), here they are, again Meadow crane’s-bill above, Common stork’s-bill below.
24 Sunday Sep 2023
Posted in autumn, flowers, wildflowers
≈ Comments Off on 39
39. That’s the number of wildflowers I photographed as I wandered around Cosmeston Lakes Country Park yesterday. I was also on the look out for American birds (if you’re not local or a birder, you may not know that there’s been an unprecedented number of American birds found in western parts of Britain after the remnants of Hurricane Lee swept through last week), but the sheer numbers and varieties and colours of these wildflowers were very welcome compensation.
These beauties are in the order I found them as I walked: Oxeye daisy, Common ragwort, Common knapweed (with unusual contrasting petal colours), Eyebright, Bird’s-foot trefoil, Red clover, Black medick, Agrimony, Wild parsnip, Devil’s-bit scabious, Selfheal, Wild carrot.
Goat’s-beard, Yellow-wort, Meadow buttercup, Bramble, Creeping thistle, Large bindweed, Great willowherb, Common mouse-ear, Hogweed, White clover, Meadow vetchling, Daisy
Carline thistle, Scarlet pimpernel, Common centaury, Musk mallow, Flax, Rough sow-thistle, Blue fleabane, Creeping cinquefoil, Mouse-ear-hawkweed, Yarrow, Hemp-agrimony, Common fleabane, Tufted vetch, Spear thistle, Red bartsia.
10 Sunday Sep 2023
Posted in flowers, plants, wildflowers
As mentioned in yesterday’s post, the challenge for this evening’s #WildflowerHour on social media is #seedheads.
This is a topic I’ve posted about on here many times previously because I admire and enjoy photographing the sculptural aspects and diversity of floral seed heads.
Some seeds, those with silken, feathery or fluffy attachments, have obviously been designed to be caught and distributed by the wind; others, with tiny hooks or burrs, to be caught on the fur or fabric of passers-by and transported with them to new destinations.
This week I’ve pared back my photos, turning to black and white and trying to simplify the backgrounds in order to emphasise the shapes and designs of these remarkable seed heads.
24 Thursday Aug 2023
Posted in autumn, flowers, wildflowers
≈ Comments Off on Midweek treat
Tags
Autumn Lady’s-tresses, autumn orchids, autumn-flowering orchid, British native orchids, orchid, Spiranthes spiralis
Think of them as a palate cleanser; a floral pick-me-up; a Thursday tonic; a spiralling shot in the arm – the cheerful sight of Autumn lady’s tresses (Spiranthes spiralis) in full bloom amongst the lush grasses and wildflowers at my local country park. I hope you have some growing near you to help brighten your day!
13 Sunday Aug 2023
Posted in flowers, wildflowers
≈ Comments Off on An interlude of orchids
When I first spotted these Broad-leaved helleborines sprouting back in June, I despaired for their survival in the dry heat. But several weeks of intermittent rain have brought them back to life, and they look as beautiful as ever.
23 Sunday Jul 2023
Posted in flowers, wildflowers
With their roots in the water along the edge of a local canal, these Yellow loosestrife (Lysimachia vulgaris) plants were so exuberant and lush I initially thought they were some other species. They had obviously found the damp niche that suited them best.
Though I would never advocate the use of herbal medicine (just being cautious about matters I don’t understand or have knowledge of), Yellow loosestrife did, apparently, have a large number of traditional uses as a medicinal plant, from treating diarrhoea and haemorrhaging to cleaning wounds and being used as a mouthwash. And the First Nature website reports on other common uses:
Yellow Loosestrife tied around the necks of oxen was reputed to keep irritating flies away from them. In the distant past these and several other kinds of ‘loosestrife’ plants were also used to get rid of infestations of flies in houses. The plants were dried and burned indoors, and toxins in the smoke drove out the flies (and no doubt also any human occupants).
16 Sunday Jul 2023
Posted in flowers, wildflowers
I almost want to whisper this post, as it’s a miracle the local council hasn’t poisoned these wildflowers out of existence as they usually do a couple of times over the summer months, this despite the dangers of those herbicides to humans, insects and birds, even the dogs that get walked along the back lanes, and despite the council having declared a ‘nature emergency’! So, for now, the back lane between my street and the next is alive with wildflowers, some of which I’ve featured in this little video.