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Tag Archives: British wildflowers

Winter six

22 Sunday Jan 2023

Posted by sconzani in wildflowers, winter

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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.

230122 winter six

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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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Winter 50

04 Sunday Dec 2022

Posted by sconzani in flowers, wildflowers, winter

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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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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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An empty pod

06 Sunday Nov 2022

Posted by sconzani in plants, wildflowers

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British wildflowers, plant pod, pod, seed pod, seeds, vetch seed pod

This pod has done its job, encasing within its sturdy walls the growing seeds of the next generation of legumes, in this case one of the vetch family. Once the seeds were mature, the pod began to dry out, in the process turning from a lush green to rich brown. And then, when the time was right, the temperature and humidity at optimum levels, the pod split open, flinging its seeds as far and wide as possible to try to ensure the success of the next plant generation.

221106 seed pod

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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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Gypsywort

09 Sunday Oct 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, wildflowers

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British wildflowers, Gipsywort, Gypsywort, Lycopus europaeus

I was initially puzzled by this wildflower, growing lush and plentiful along the southern and eastern edges of the old Bute East Dock in central Cardiff. The structure reminded me of a dead-nettle but it wasn’t till I got home, checked my photos and did some online research that I discovered this is Gypsywort (or Gipsywort, depending on how you choose to spell that word) (Lycopus europaeus). It’s a wildflower I’ve only seen a couple of times previously and never in such profusion.

221009 gypsywort (1)

The intriguing name, according to Richard Mabey in Flora Britannica, comes from the fact that the plant can be used to produce a black dye that, people once believed, was used by Gypsies to darken their skin. More likely it was used by Gypsy fortune tellers, as the WildflowerFinder website suggests, to dye their clothes black.

221009 gypsywort (2)

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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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Happy autumn equinox!

23 Friday Sep 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, flowers, wildflowers

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autumn equinox, autumn flowers, British wildflowers, Cyclamen hederifolium, Wild cyclamen

Happy equinox! Today is the first day of astronomical autumn in the northern hemisphere, and what better way to celebrate than with some autumnal blooms, in this case some Wild cyclamen (Cyclamen hederifolium) flowers I spotted growing in a nearby green space earlier this week.

220923 wild cyclamen

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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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