02 Sunday Feb 2025
Posted in flowers, wildflowers, winter
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
26 Sunday Jan 2025
Posted in flowers, wildflowers, winter
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.
15 Wednesday Jan 2025
Posted in flowers, plants, wildflowers
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.
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.
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.
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.
05 Sunday Jan 2025
Posted in wildflowers
We’ve had torrential rain, light sleet showers, and heavy frosts, as you can see from the Daisy below.
And still the wildflowers open their delicate petals and brighten up my walks with their welcome pops of colour and dainty flowers. I found those shown below this past week so, strictly speaking, they’re not all from 2025, though I imagine most have survived this week’s wild weather.
The wildflowers above are Bramble, Dandelion, Gorse, Hoary mustard, Lesser celandine, Meadow buttercup, Primrose, Ragwort, Red clover, Sun spurge, Winter heliotrope, and Yarrow.
27 Friday Dec 2024
Posted in wildflowers
Tags
British wildflowers, Bush vetch, Common vetch, Crown vetch, Grass vetchling, Hairy tare, Meadow vetchling, Tufted vetch, Vetches, vetchlings
Wildflowers haven’t yet featured in this countdown so today’s post seeks to remedy that omission (you might think the letter W would be the obvious choice but that letter is already allocated to one of this year’s star species – can you guess which?). So, as these gorgeous members of the pea family are some of my favourite wildflowers, this year V is for vetch – and vetchling, and also Hairy tare as it’s one of the Vicia species.
Common vetch (Vicia sativa)
Bush vetch (Vicia sepium), left, and Crown vetch (Securigera varia), right
Tufted vetch (Vicia cracca)
Meadow vetching (Lathyrus pratensis), left, and Hairy tare (Vicia hirsuta), right
And, finally, my absolute favourite Grass vetchling (Lathyrus nissolia)
01 Sunday Dec 2024
Posted in wildflowers
Despite a cold snap, where even we who live in coastal south Wales saw light sleet showers, and then the blasting winds and drenching rain of Storm Bert, there are still a good number of wildflowers in bloom. These are the ones I’ve noticed this week:
Bramble, Cornsalad, Dandelion, Field scabious, Field speedwell, Gorse, Groundsel, Herb Robert, and Hoary mustard.
Hogweed, Ivy-leaved toadflax, Meadow buttercup, Meadow crane’s-bill, Musk mallow, Primrose, Purple toadflax, Common ragwort, and Red campion.
Red clover, Red valerian, Sea radish, Smooth sow-thistle, Tufted vetch, Wild carrot, Winter heliotrope, Yarrow, and Petty spurge.
24 Sunday Nov 2024
Posted in plants, wildflowers
Tags
autumn colour, autumn wildflowers, British wildflowers, Diplotaxis tenuifolia, Perennial wall-rocket
A new plant! As I’ve not been roaming far outside my local area this year, it can be difficult to find new plants to feature but, this week, I struck lucky as I had one of those ‘Oooo, that looks different!’ moments while wandering around Forest Farm Nature Reserve.
I haven’t had this confirmed but I’m fairly certain this is Perennial wall-rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia). I found it growing on a spoil heap, a mound of dirt and stone chips and other wildflowers, which, from what I’ve read, is one of its preferred locations. It’s a member of the mustard family, and it seems gardeners also cultivate it as a vegetable, so I assume this particular plant has become naturalised, possibly from the nearby local allotments.
20 Wednesday Nov 2024
Posted in autumn, wildflowers
Those of us who love wildflowers are now checking each week to see which wildflowers we can find that are still in bloom. These are a selection of those I found when wandering around my local area last Sunday. I thought they’d make a nice cheery mid-week post, especially as the temperatures have now plunged towards winter levels and flower numbers will no doubt diminish accordingly.
My image shows Bramble, Bush vetch, Creeping buttercup, Creeping thistle, Daisy, Dandelion, Field madder, Hedge woundwort, Herb Robert, Knapweed, Mayweed, Nipplewort, Pineapple weed, Ragwort, Self heal, and Sun spurge.
10 Sunday Nov 2024
Posted in autumn, plants, wildflowers
This post was prompted by my bumping in to ‘The Blackberry man’ during yesterday’s walk. I don’t know his name; he’s just a random stranger I got talking to two winters ago during a walk around Cardiff’s Grangemoor Park. I was picking a few Blackberries to eat, he was filling a small container to take home for his family. He’s an older man, originally from a Middle Eastern country, and doesn’t have great English, but we got by. And now, whenever we see each other at the park, we stop and chat for a few minutes.
Seeing him led me to look more closely at the Brambles. The majority of plants had already flowered, produced berries and the fruit that hadn’t been eaten had gone to seed but, scattered here and there amongst the plants, there were still a few flowers, and a few immature and ripe berries.
I also couldn’t help but admire the exceptional colour variations and intensity of colour displayed by the Bramble leaves as autumn progresses. So, thank you Blackberry man, for reminding me to look more closely at these often-overlooked plants.
20 Sunday Oct 2024
Posted in autumn, wildflowers
These are some of the wildflowers I missed from last Sunday’s mid-autumn wildflowers-still-in-flower video and have found during this past week, many found during a thorough walk around Cardiff Bay where the vetches, in particular, but also plants like Viper’s bugloss are still in bloom.
Goat’s-rue
Bush vetch, Common chickweed, Common cornsalad, Common stork’s-bill, Creeping cinquefoil, Crown vetch, Dove’s-foot crane’s-bill, Honeysuckle, and Lucerne.
Mayweed, Old man’s beard, Petty spurge, Prickly sowthistle, Scarlet pimpernel, Sun spurge, Tansy, Viper’s bugloss, and Wavy bittercress.
And, last but certainly not least, Rosebay willowherb, which I had to use my long lens to capture as it was growing down a riverside embankment.
earthstar 
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