A celebration of seed heads, plant life of the future . . .
Seed heads, Autumn 2021
17 Sunday Oct 2021
Posted in autumn, flowers, plants, wildflowers
Tag Archives: British wildflowers
Pale toadflax
26 Sunday Sep 2021
Posted in wildflowers
I seem to be seeing a lot of toadflax in flower at the moment – both Purple and Ivy-leaved are flowering in the lane behind my house, the former adorning the edges, the latter sprouting from niches in the old brick walls, and I spotted a lot of the yellow-flowered Common toadflax in bloom along the coastal path yesterday.
And, during another of this week’s walks, along a route I’ve only visited once before, I found a new-to-me species – this is Pale toadflax (Linaria repens). (You can read more about it on the excellent First Nature website.)
Late summer brights
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.
Late summer mellows
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.
Variations in pink and white
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.
Balm
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.
The bumble and thistle
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.
In praise of thistles
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.
The Andrex plant?
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.
Marjoram and sage
18 Sunday Jul 2021
Posted in wildflowers
Two of this week’s wildflower finds are herbal so it makes sense to blend them together here. First up, is Wild marjoram (Origanum vulgare), known in the Mediterranean countries as Oregano, though it doesn’t smell quite as pungent when grown in Britain’s cooler climate. This lovely plant can often be found in chalk and limestone grasslands, under hedge rows and in roadside verges, where its flowers are favourites of butterflies and other insects.
The second plant, a new one for me, is Wood sage (Teucrium scorodonia), another wild herb that doesn’t have the strength of scent you find in the sage you use in cooking. As you might guess from its name, this plant thrives along dry woodland rides, but can also be found in coastal situations, in dunes and heaths and on cliffs.
earthstar 
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