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earthstar

~ a celebration of nature

earthstar

Category Archives: flowers

Fit to bursting

05 Sunday Mar 2023

Posted by sconzani in flowers, trees

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male yew flowers, tree flowers, Yew, Yew tree flowers

I was checking this Yew tree for galls – found none – but it was absolutely covered in flower buds that were almost literally about to burst open. A few more days and this male tree will be spreading a sea of yellow pollen all around anytime the wind blows or someone brushes against its branches. How do I know it’s a male tree? Well, in a previous post, Flowering Yew trees from way back in March 2016, I blogged about Yew flowers so, if you want to know more about these fascinating trees, just click on that link.

230305 yew flowers

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End of winter wild flowers

26 Sunday Feb 2023

Posted by sconzani in flowers, trees, wildflowers, winter

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British wildflowers, catkins, tree flowers, winter colour, winter flowers

As another winter draws to a close, I thought I would document the plant and tree flowers currently in bloom in my little bit of south Wales.

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First Blackthorn blossom

19 Sunday Feb 2023

Posted by sconzani in flowers, trees

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blackthorn, Blackthorn blossom, Spring blossom, tree blossom

230219 blackthorn (1)

Merrily, merrily shall I live now
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.
~  from the song ‘Where the bee sucks’, William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act V

230219 blackthorn (2)

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Spring flowers in winter rain

18 Saturday Feb 2023

Posted by sconzani in flowers, wildflowers

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crocus, Lesser Celandine, primrose, raindrops on flowers, Snowdrops, Spring colour, spring flowers, Winter aconite

As the remnants of Storm Otto continue to blast and batter, a local meander turned up these glorious spring flowers, little beacons of colour and light on a grey winter’s day.

230218 spring flowers winter rain

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Crocuses

12 Sunday Feb 2023

Posted by sconzani in flowers, winter

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

crocus, Crocuses, winter colour, winter flowers

I have no new native wildflower blooms to share this week but I was captivated by the beauty of these Crocuses, growing under trees in a Cardiff park and thought you might enjoy them too.

230212 crocuses

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Spring messenger

05 Sunday Feb 2023

Posted by sconzani in flowers, wildflowers, winter

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

British wildflowers, Lesser Celandine, signs of spring, winter colour, yellow wildflowers

According to Flora Britannica, Spring messenger is a now defunct local name for Lesser celandine, and how wonderfully appropriate that name is. I’ve been watching several areas of Lesser celandine plants, wondering which would put forth the first flower but, in fact, this particular bloom was a complete surprise. I had to cross a narrow country road so a truck could complete its turn in to a tight driveway entrance and, as I was crossing, I spotted this tiny drop of sunshine beaming out from under a bush. Spring magic!

230205 lesser celandine

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New year, new plant hunt

08 Sunday Jan 2023

Posted by sconzani in flowers, wildflowers

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British wildflowers, New Year Plant Hunt, wildflowers in bloom, winter colour, winter wildflowers

I flagged the forthcoming New Year Plant Hunt in a post last week, hoping to encourage those of you in the UK to include wildflowers in bloom in your new year rambles. From all reports, the hunt went well but, as was my experience, the numbers of wildflowers in bloom were quite low this year, due either to the December cold snap or, locally, both the cold and the lingering rain. I managed to find 15 flowering species during this week’s walks: Common field-speedwell, Daisy, Dandelion, Field scabious, Gorse, Groundsel, Mayweed, Narrow-leaved ragwort, Red dead-nettle, Red valerian, Shepherd’s-purse, Sea radish, Winter heliotrope, Sun spurge, and Yarrow.

230108 wildflowers

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New Year Plant Hunt, 2023

29 Thursday Dec 2022

Posted by sconzani in flowers, wildflowers

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#NewYearPlantHunt, British wildflowers, New Year Plant Hunt, wildflowers in bloom, winter wildflowers

The BSBI’s 12th New Year Plant Hunt runs from 31 December 2022 to 3 January 2023 so, if you’re at a loose end on one of those days or you’re looking for a reason to get out for a walk, look no further than this fun and important hunt for wildflowers in bloom. The Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland uses the data from this nationwide plant hunt to research the effects of climate change on our local flora and, as a citizen scientist, your contribution plays an important part in their research. You can read more about the hunt and events happening throughout Britain and Ireland, find out how to record your finds, and where to get help with identification on the BSBI website. Do please join in if you can.

Wildflowers in bloom, 25 December 2022
Wildflowers in bloom, 25 December 2022
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Flowers and berries

18 Sunday Dec 2022

Posted by sconzani in flowers, trees

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Holly, Holly berries, Holly flowers

There seems to me no better example of our changing climate and the confusion it’s causing in the natural world than this: finding one Holly tree in flower and others carrying berries all at the same time. In fact, the photo of the flowers, which are supposed to bloom during the spring and early summer, was taken at the beginning of this month, two weeks after that of the berries.

221218 holly

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Winter 50

04 Sunday Dec 2022

Posted by sconzani in flowers, wildflowers, winter

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Tags

British wildflowers, wildflowers in bloom, winter colour, winter wildflowers

First, a confession. I actually made the first two of these grids of wildflowers for last Sunday’s Wildflower Hour on social media. But, when I checked again over the last couple of days, all of last week’s flowers bar one were still in bloom, so I’ve simply modified them as necessary to accommodate this week’s finds.

221204 pinks x12

So, in this first grid of flowers in the pink-purple range, I removed a Field scabious flower that’s now turned to mush and replaced it with the first Sweet violet flower I’ve spotted. The flowers are: Creeping thistle, Sweet violet, Hemp agrimony, Herb Robert, Ivy-leaved toadflax, Knapweed, Meadow crane’s-bill, Purple toadflax, Red clover, Red valerian, Tufted vetch, and Winter heliotrope.

221204 white x16

This second grid, of (mostly) white flowers, has a whole new row at the bottom with this week’s extra finds. These are: Bitter-cress, Bramble, Bladder campion, White campion, Daisy, Large bindweed, Mayweed, Oxeye daisy, Shepherd’s-purse, Traveller’s-joy, Wild carrot, Yarrow, Barren strawberry, Black nightshade, Common fumitory, and Hogweed.

221204 yellows x20

The third grid, of yellow and green flowers, is totally new. These flowers are: Bristly oxtongue, Common toadflax, Creeping buttercup, Dandelion, Evening primrose, Gorse, Groundsel, Hoary mustard, Meadow vetchling, Prickly sow-thistle, Ragwort, Sea radish, Creeping cinquefoil, Meadow buttercup, Nipplewort, Yellow-wort, Sun spurge, Smooth sow-thistle, Yellow corydalis, and Petty spurge.

221204 extras x2

And, today, I’ve discovered two extra flowers, which it’s easiest to just add here at the end on their own. They are Narrow-leaved ragwort, a new plant for me, and Blue fleabane. It’s both wonderful, and a little alarming, to see so many (50!) wildflowers still in bloom at the beginning of winter but, with very cold weather forecast for later this week, I think numbers will soon quickly diminish. I’m enjoying this feast of colour while I can, and I hope you do too.

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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Recent blog posts

  • No woodland here March 15, 2026
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