22 Wednesday Nov 2023
Posted in flowers, wildflowers
Spring? Oh, wait. We haven’t had winter yet. Well, I found my first flowering Primrose – the traditional harbinger of springtime –lurking under the trees and shrubs in the scruffier part of a local park during today’s walk. Although it has been even wetter than usual this autumn, it has been very mild so perhaps that has fooled some plants into thinking spring is just around the corner.
19 Sunday Nov 2023
Posted in flowers, plants, wildflowers
At first I hesitated to name this Hop trefoil (Trifolium campestre) as it’s a new plant for me but, when I posted some photos online, I got a thumbs up from a botanist and, looking at the ID guidance on the Naturespot website, I think it meets the criteria:
Short, hairy, erect plant. Trifoliate, leaflets oval, narrowed towards the base, the central one short stalked. Flowers pale yellow, becoming pale brown eventually, 4 to 5 mm long in small, globose, stalked heads to 15 mm across
And
… Larger and paler than Lesser Hop-trefoil, and turns brownish with age. Both trefoils are similar to Black Medick in flower, but Black Medick leaves are much more hairy and have an apiculate point (i.e a short fine ‘needle’ from the end of the leaflet)
12 Sunday Nov 2023
Posted in autumn, flowers, wildflowers
I was surprised at the start of the week to find wildflowers blooming that should long since have gone to seed and that inspired me to see just how many wild flowers I could find during this week’s walks. The answer, of course, is in the title of this post – 59! That is to say, I have 59 images to share but there were a few more plants in flower that I didn’t manage, for one reason or another, to photograph. Some wildflowers were quite unexpected, like the Carline thistle that had one flower open and 3 more buds still to develop; some were abundant, like the Yellow-wort still standing tall in a field at Cosmeston; others, like the Common stork’s-bill, were the last survivors of the strimmers that have been very active this month. Here they all are …
29 Sunday Oct 2023
Posted in flowers, wildflowers
Tags
British wildflowers, Common Stork's-bill, crane's bills, Erodium cicutarium, Geranium pratense, Meadow crane's-bill, stork's-bills
It occurred to me today, after seeing both Common stork’s-bill (Erodium cicutarium) and Meadow crane’s-bill (Geranium pratense) still flowering locally, to wonder what the difference is between stork’s-bills and crane’s-bills. According to my Flora Britannica, it’s to do with the length of the birds’ bills, i.e. the seed cases of the stork’s-bills are longer than those of the crane’s-bills. The photos below show the relative differences, Meadow crane’s-bill above, Common stork’s-bill below.
And because they both have lovely flowers, albeit of very different sizes (Common stork’s-bill is a tiny plant compared to Meadow crane’s bill), here they are, again Meadow crane’s-bill above, Common stork’s-bill below.
15 Sunday Oct 2023
Posted in insects, wildflowers
Tags
British butterflies, British wildflowers, butterfly, Common knapweed, purple flower, Small white, Small white butterfly
I had something different planned for today but ‘the best laid plans’ and all that. So, here is the first scene that greeted when I arrived at the local country park this chilly autumn morning, a lovely little Small white butterfly sipping from a pretty purple Common knapweed flower.
08 Sunday Oct 2023
Posted in plants, wildflowers
When I spotted these plants during a walk to a new place last week, I thought perhaps they were Sea asters (Tripolium pannonicum) and, indeed, they might be, but I’ve since heard how frequently other species of Aster self-seed on waste ground, which has cast doubt on my identification. These were growing in rough ground near a very busy road but quite close to the banks of a tidal creek. I’m going to have to ‘phone a friend’ but, in the meantime, if you’re familiar with Sea aster, please do venture an opinion in the comments.
01 Sunday Oct 2023
Posted in wildflowers
After dazzling you with 39 different wildflowers last Sunday, today I have just one offering, but I think it is equally dazzling. There’s just something about the blue of Sea holly that I simply adore.
24 Sunday Sep 2023
Posted in autumn, flowers, wildflowers
39. That’s the number of wildflowers I photographed as I wandered around Cosmeston Lakes Country Park yesterday. I was also on the look out for American birds (if you’re not local or a birder, you may not know that there’s been an unprecedented number of American birds found in western parts of Britain after the remnants of Hurricane Lee swept through last week), but the sheer numbers and varieties and colours of these wildflowers were very welcome compensation.
These beauties are in the order I found them as I walked: Oxeye daisy, Common ragwort, Common knapweed (with unusual contrasting petal colours), Eyebright, Bird’s-foot trefoil, Red clover, Black medick, Agrimony, Wild parsnip, Devil’s-bit scabious, Selfheal, Wild carrot.
Goat’s-beard, Yellow-wort, Meadow buttercup, Bramble, Creeping thistle, Large bindweed, Great willowherb, Common mouse-ear, Hogweed, White clover, Meadow vetchling, Daisy
Carline thistle, Scarlet pimpernel, Common centaury, Musk mallow, Flax, Rough sow-thistle, Blue fleabane, Creeping cinquefoil, Mouse-ear-hawkweed, Yarrow, Hemp-agrimony, Common fleabane, Tufted vetch, Spear thistle, Red bartsia.
11 Monday Sep 2023
Posted in autumn, insects, wildflowers
Tags
British butterflies, British wildflowers, butterfly, butterfly on scabious, Devil's-bit scabious, Meadow Brown
Nothing says late summer/early autumn to me more than a Meadow brown butterfly on Devil’s-bit scabious. This is a typical sight now at my local country park.
10 Sunday Sep 2023
Posted in flowers, plants, wildflowers
As mentioned in yesterday’s post, the challenge for this evening’s #WildflowerHour on social media is #seedheads.
This is a topic I’ve posted about on here many times previously because I admire and enjoy photographing the sculptural aspects and diversity of floral seed heads.
Some seeds, those with silken, feathery or fluffy attachments, have obviously been designed to be caught and distributed by the wind; others, with tiny hooks or burrs, to be caught on the fur or fabric of passers-by and transported with them to new destinations.
This week I’ve pared back my photos, turning to black and white and trying to simplify the backgrounds in order to emphasise the shapes and designs of these remarkable seed heads.
earthstar 
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