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~ a celebration of nature

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Tag Archives: autumn wildflowers

Frost and flowers

20 Sunday Nov 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, flowers, wildflowers

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autumn colour, autumn wildflowers, British wildflowers, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, frost, frosty leaves

Yesterday saw our first real frost of the season, with the ground crunchy and vegetation covered in a sparkling layer of ice crystals.

221120 frost

Despite these signs of the cooler weather to come, there were still plenty of wildflowers in bloom so, as I meandered up and down the east and west paddocks at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, I photographed those I found: Blue fleabane; Bramble; both Creeping and Meadow buttercups; the ubiquitous Daisy and Dandelion; one or two Devil’s-bit scabious and Flax flowers hanging on in the more sheltered spots; Wild carrot enjoying a second flowering; and Yellow-wort, whose little bursts of bright sunshine yellow dotted much of the west paddock.

221120 cosmeston wildflowers

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Mid autumn bloomers

23 Sunday Oct 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, wildflowers

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autumn colour, autumn wildflowers, British wildflowers

If proof were needed to confirm how mild this autumn has been so far then this is it: 48 species of wildflower still in bloom during this past week (and I know for certain that I’ve missed a few of the smaller ones I’ve seen during my wanders).

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Along an old railway line

25 Sunday Sep 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, flowers, walks, wildflowers

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autumn wildflowers, British wildflowers, wildflowers along former railway line

A railway line used to run along the south Wales coast from my town to the next large town but it fell victim, like so many other railway lines, to the Beeching cuts of the 1960s (the last passenger train ran on 4 May 1968). Part of that old line is now a well-used walking and cycle path, the rest runs through land that is both in private hands and owned by the Welsh government. When Covid first told hold and our county council stupidly closed the local country park (where people could exercise with space in safety), many locals began using the government land or either side of the old rail line. Though there are government plans afoot to turn this land into a cheap, nasty and overcrowded housing estate, in the interim local people continue to use the area for walking, both themselves and their dogs, which means it’s now also possible to access the old rail trail. Today’s little video shows the trail and the wildflowers that were still in bloom along it during a walk I took earlier this week.

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More late autumn wildflowers

31 Sunday Oct 2021

Posted by sconzani in flowers, wildflowers

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autumn colour, autumn wildflowers, British wildflowers, October wildflowers in bloom

Despite last week’s surprising total of 31 wildflowers still in bloom, I knew when I posted last week’s video that I hadn’t photographed all the flowers I’d seen that week so, during this week’s meanders, I’ve been keeping an eye out for more. By the end of Friday, I’d found exactly 31 more still in flower, and made my video.

Then, on yesterday’s walk, I found 4 more: Barren strawberry, Tormentil, Yellow corydalis and, astonishingly, several Oxlips. And I know I’ve missed some of the smaller plants along the back lanes, like Shepherd’s-purse, Chickweed and Petty spurge, as well as ignoring some of the yellow-flowered Dandelion lookalikes, so my total of 66 wildflowers in bloom over these two weeks is actually an underestimate.

211031 barren strawberry211031 tormentil211031 yellow corydalis211031 oxlip

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Late autumn wildflowers

24 Sunday Oct 2021

Posted by sconzani in autumn, flowers, wildflowers

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autumn colour, autumn wildflowers, October wildflowers, wildflowers in bloom

As this autumn has been very mild, the verges and paddocks, woodland rides and footpath edges are still full of blooming wildflowers. It’s a delight.

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327/366 Around the town

22 Sunday Nov 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, wildflowers

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autumn colour, autumn wildflowers, British wildflowers, wildflowers in bloom

For this week’s wildfloral fest, I’ve taken a couple of meanders around my town to see what I could find along the back lanes, in cracks on stone walls, on the verges, bordering the pavements, in the churchyard and cemetery. And here are the bloomers: Bramble, Daisy, Dandelion, Field speedwell, Hedge bindweed and Hedge woundwort, Hemp agrimony, Herb Robert, Ivy-leaved toadflax, Nipplewort, Oxeye daisy, my first Primrose of the season, Purple toadflax, Red dead-nettle, Red valerian, and Wood avens. Not a bad haul for late November.

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313/366 Flowers in a field

08 Sunday Nov 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, wildflowers

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autumn colour, autumn wildflowers, British wildflowers, farm field wildflowers, wildflowers in bloom

Running alongside the local coastal path are a series of farm fields, belonging, I understand, to the Welsh government.

201108 a field

These fields are usually leased for farming but, because there are currently plans to build 500 houses here (and don’t even get me started on how ludicrous that is!), it seems no local farmer was willing to lease the fields this year so they have not been cultivated. This has been an incredible bonus for wildlife (this is a well-used flyway so migrating birds have taken advantage of the re-wilded environment) and for the wildflowers that would usually be sprayed to death prior to crop planting.

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This week I’ve checked which flowers are still in bloom in these fields and their surrounding hedgerows, and found the following: Hedge bindweed, Bramble species, Bristly oxtongue, Creeping thistle, Dandelion species, Field speedwell, Rape, Scarlet pimpernel (the day was too dull for the flower to open), Smooth sow-thistle, Spear thistle, Sun spurge, and Ragwort.

201108 x ragwort

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286/266 Still blooming

12 Monday Oct 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, wildflowers

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autumn colour, autumn wildflowers, British wildflowers, wildflowers in bloom

Botanically speaking, I’ve been a bit preoccupied in the past few weeks with the structural shapes of seedheads and the autumn bounty of fruit, so yesterday, during a walk across farm fields and along woodland rides, I thought I’d record how many wildflowers I could find in bloom. Turns out, there are still rather a lot, including Agrimony, Bramble, Broad-leaved willowherb, Creeping buttercup, Creeping thistle, a Dandelion species, Hedge woundwort, Hemp agrimony, Herb Robert, Knapweed, Meadow vetchling, Ragwort, Red campion, Red clover, White clover and Yarrow.

201012 agrimony
201012 bramble
201012 broad-leaved willowherb
201012 creeping buttercup
201012 creeping thistle
201012 dandelion
201012 hedge woundwort
201012 hemp agrimony
201012 herb robert
201012 knapweed
201012 meadow vetchling
201012 ragwort
201012 red campion
201012 red clover
201012 white clover
201012 yarrow

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289/365 Hedge woundwort

16 Wednesday Oct 2019

Posted by sconzani in autumn, flowers, insects, nature, plants

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autumn wildflowers, flower bug, Hedge woundwort, south Wales coastal path, wildflowers in bloom

Determined to make the most of a few hours of sunlight yesterday, I headed along the south Wales coastal path to see what I could find, taking just my small camera as more rain was forecast.

191016 hedge woundwort (1)

Vegetation along the path had been severely cut back since my last walk that way, which meant that wildflowers were few and far between, though I did find a few plants of Hedge woundwort (Stachys sylvatica) still flowering.

191016 hedge woundwort (2)

And while trying to get some close-ups of the flowers, I had the distinct feeling I was being watched. A tiny, early instar flower bug (not sure which species) was sitting atop one of the flowers and, as if curious, it pranced across from the further flower to the nearer to see what I was doing. Cute!

191016 hedge woundwort (3)

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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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