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.

12 Sunday Feb 2023
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.

05 Sunday Feb 2023
Posted in flowers, wildflowers, winter
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!

22 Sunday Jan 2023
Posted in wildflowers, winter
Tags
British wildflowers, Daisy, dandelion, Field speedwell, wildflowers in bloom, Winter heliotrope, winter wildflowers
After a week of hard frosts and bitterly cold winds, it’s not surprising that I’ve found very few wildflowers in bloom. Indeed, I’m rather surprised to have found any. But those I have found seem to be particularly hardy plants and are wildflowers I’ve previously found during the winter months. They are Daisy and Dandelion, Field speedwell, Gorse, Sun spurge, and Winter heliotrope.

11 Sunday Dec 2022
I’ve shown you this beautiful location several times before – this is Cwm George, in the small south Wales town of Dinas Powys – but I simply can’t resist sharing this year’s late autumn splendour. I couldn’t decide which view I liked best, so I’ve included three images, each one zooming in to the scene a little further. I hope you have somewhere magical like this to enjoy, to wander through, to escape into.

10 Saturday Dec 2022
Tags
A hard frost coated everything with a thick layer of ice this morning, the ground crunched under my boots, and my handknits were keeping my extremities warm and cosy. Without the luxury of thermals or boots or knitwear, my little Robin friend was keeping itself warm by puffing up its feathers, making it look like a cute little fluffball.

04 Sunday Dec 2022
Posted in flowers, wildflowers, winter
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.
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.

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.

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.

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.
27 Sunday Feb 2022
Posted in flowers, spring, wildflowers, winter
The title of today’s post may be later winter wildflowers but, in fact, my video includes some glorious hints of the spring colour we can all expect to see very soon. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed finding them.
12 Saturday Feb 2022
The secrets of life for over-wintering snails:
1) find a friend, or twenty, to huddle with
2) create a mucus seal around your shell opening to conserve moisture
3) slow down your metabolism and snooze.

26 Wednesday Jan 2022
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve, male Stonechat, Stonechat
A male Stonechat is overwintering at Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve. With his orange breast, dark head and streaky brown wings, all crisply edged in white, he’s a dapper-looking little chap, and he’s rarely still. Eyes peeled for the next tasty titbit, he prefers a lofty perch from which to survey his surroundings, and flits quickly down for the catch, then back up to the nearest best vantage point. He’s like a bright spark on a cold winter’s day.
23 Sunday Jan 2022
Posted in flowers, wildflowers, winter
Tags
British wildflowers, wildflowers in winter, winter wildflowers, winter yellow, winter-blooming wildflowers, yellow wildflowers
Limiting my palette to yellow, for the challenge and the sunshine cheeriness of the colour, I went searching for wildflowers in bloom in my local area this week. These are the dozen I managed to find …
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