09 Thursday Sep 2021
Posted in insects, wildflowers
Tags
British bumblebees, Buff-tailed bumblebee, bumblebees, bumblees snoozing on flowers, Common carder bee
On grey and gloomy autumn days, it’s always cheering to see the bumblebees still out and about, even if sometimes they’re actually snoozing on their chosen flowers.
05 Sunday Sep 2021
Posted in autumn, wildflowers
Tags
Autumn Lady’s-tresses, autumn-flowering orchid, British orchids, native orchids, orchid, Spiranthes spiralis
A botanical treat I look forward to at this time of year is the final show of native orchids for the year, the delicately formed and perfectly named Autumn lady’s-tresses (Spiranthes spiralis).
When I first started visiting Cosmeston Lakes Country Park only one small clump of these little beauties was known but a couple of years ago another much large colony was discovered. I didn’t do an exact count but there were easily 30 stems, many not yet open, and probably more obscured by the other wildflowers.
They grow perilously close to a children’s playground area and are in constant danger of being trampled so let’s hope they survive to bloom another year.
29 Sunday Aug 2021
Posted in flowers, wildflowers
Tags
bright summer wildflowers, British wildflowers, late summer wildflowers, yellow flowers, yellow wildflowers
A selection of the wildflowers in bloom during these last weeks of summer – last week, my video featured flowers of more mellow, subtle hues; this week, you’ll need your sunglasses as these are the brights!
Featuring Agrimony, Bird’s-foot trefoil, Bristly oxtongue, Creeping buttercup, Creeping cinquefoil, Dandelion, Fleabane, Gorse, Honeysuckle, Meadow buttercup, Meadow vetchling, Melilot, Mouse-ear hawkweed, Nipplewort, Ragwort, Scarlet pimpernel, Smooth sow-thistle. Tutsan, Wild parsnip, Wood avens, Yellow corydalis, and Yellow-wort.
22 Sunday Aug 2021
Posted in flowers, wildflowers
A selection of the wildflowers in bloom during these last weeks of summer – this week, those of more mellow, subtle hues; next week, I’ll feature the brightly coloured flowers.
These are Bramble, Broad-leaved willowherb, Burdock, Daisy, Everlasting pea, Great willowherb, Hedge woundwort, Hemp agrimony, Knapweed, Large bindweed, Marsh woundwort, Meadow crane’s-bill, Mint, Oxeye daisy, Purple loosestrife, Red clover, Red valerian, Rosebay willowherb, Sneezewort, Tufted vetch, White clover, Wild carrot, and Yarrow.
15 Sunday Aug 2021
Posted in flowers, wildflowers
It fascinates me how many wildflowers vary from their standard colours, often changing from pink to white and vice versa. Here we have Centaury, usually pink but also commonly seen with white flowers; Knapweed, also usually a pinkish lilac, but I occasionally see a white variant; Thistles that are also usually pinky lilac but often flowering white hereabouts; and the usually white Yarrow, which I find growing with quite pink flowers in a local field.
11 Wednesday Aug 2021
Posted in plants, wildflowers
This is a new plant for me, an odd one to find growing at the edge of a local lane that’s only used for pedestrian, cycle and horse traffic, at some distance from houses and gardens. Perhaps it’s a result of a seed dropped from a walker’s shoe or a bird dropping.
This is Balm (Melissa officinalis), also known as Lemon balm, a native plant of the Mediterranean and most often found in Britain as a garden plant, though also sometimes naturalised in nearby waste ground.
From the shape of the leaves I originally thought it some kind of mint, though the white flowers didn’t fit with that possibility. A rub of the foliage between my fingers provided an aromatic clue, as the leaves are often used in herbal teas and remedies.
I thought about harvesting a few leaves to try but this particular Balm is low growing and sprawling along the lane edge, and the sight of a dog peeing just a little ahead of where this plant is growing put me off the idea.
08 Sunday Aug 2021
Posted in insects, plants, wildflowers
Tags
British bumblebees, British wildflowers, Buff-tailed bumblebee, bumblee and thistle, Carline thistle
Carline thistles may look dry and unappetising but, as you can see from the enthusiastic feeding of this Buff-tailed bumblebee, they are in fact nectar rich, and favourites not only of bees but also of many species of butterflies.
01 Sunday Aug 2021
Posted in flowers, plants, wildflowers
I’ve been watching these Broad-leaved helleborines since I first noticed their flower stems emerging through the grasses and wildflowers in a local park in early June.
They are plentiful and lush this year – presumably the very wet spring encouraged their growth but, unfortunately, our week-long heat wave has caused many to shrivel and dry before opening fully. Still, I find their flowers rather beautiful.
25 Sunday Jul 2021
Posted in insects, wildflowers
Butterfly larvae and various beetles feed on their leaves; scores of insect species feast on their nectar and pollen; the stems of the plants are home to various over-wintering insect larvae; and, when the flowers are finished, birds like Goldfinches, Linnets and Siskin feed on their seeds. The plants I’m describing are the various species of the much maligned thistle family. Despite the derision of some farmers and the ‘neat-and-tidy’ brigade of gardeners, thistles are superb plants for wildlife, and I also think their flowers are rather beautiful.
During recent walks I’ve been capturing images of some of the creatures I’ve seen enjoying the bounty of these wild beauties: Comma, Large skipper, Marmalade hoverfly, Meadow brown, Red admiral, Red soldier beetle, Red-tailed bumblebee, Ringlet, Scorpion fly, Six-spot burnet, Small copper, Small skipper, and White-tailed bumblebee.
22 Thursday Jul 2021
Posted in flowers, plants, wildflowers
I had to laugh when I read in Flora Britannica that, because this plant’s large leaves feel like they are covered in soft grey wool: ‘In a more modern – and practical – vein, mullein has been nicknamed “the Andrex plant”, and its leaves used accordingly.’ I cannot attest to the veracity of this statement!
This is Great mullein (Verbascum thapsus), which also has some wonderful, less recent vernacular names: Aaron’s Rod, Hagtapers, Adam’s flannel, and Our Lady’s candle. These names are no doubt inspired partly by those leaves and also by the enormous yellow-flowered spike, which can grow to four or five feet tall. Mullein is a biennial plant: in its first year there is just a rosette of leaves, and it’s not till its second year that the flower spike grows.
earthstar 
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